Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha is an Irish multidisciplinary artist from Co. Wicklow. Through the mediums of painting, sound, text, sculpture and radio broadcast her practice interrogates the enactment of colonial ideologies and state institutions upon the body. This research is informed by archival

investigation, queer and decolonial theory and investigating the history of resisting imperialism. Her research pursuits over the last four years have specifically explored the creative expression in Ireland and its relationship to imperialism. Covering topics such as the lamentation practice of keening, the connection between 19th century landscape painting and imperial policing, Ballinasloe Asylum and folk cures, and the Irish language as somatic knowledge. Recent works include collaborating with Alice Rekab as part of Liverpool Biennial, 2025, ‘bless every foot that walks its portals through’ at Galway Arts Centre for TULCA 2023, and the performance ‘Echo’s Disarticulation’ at Project Arts Centre, 2022.

Statement on work submitted:

Since 2021, I have been working on a painting project called To Hold the Mountaineer in Awe. This project investigates the visual culture of the Military Road in Co. Wicklow in the 19th century. This project uses the Military Road - an example of colonial infrastructure used to police the Dublin and Wicklow mountains after the 1798 rebellion - as a case study to examine the relationship between colonialism, picturesque theory, tourism and the ideological implications embedded in the history of visual art in Ireland. Following the construction of the Military Road and the facilitation of increased policing in the Wicklow Mountains, a consequential rise in picturesque painting enthusiasts emerged in Co. Wicklow. The title of this project is taken from the 1827 survey ‘A guide to the county of Wicklow : illustrated by engravings, with a large map of the county, from actual survey’ by G.N. Wright and Illustrated by George Petrie.

Seán Ward is a curator and researcher based in County Derry. His practice explores how colonial narratives may persist in cultural spaces, using curating as a method to engage with spatial justice, contested heritage, and the hyperlocal, and approaches curatorial work as both a research method and a tool for commoning knowledge. Ward holds a BA in Curating from Goldsmiths, University of London, where he also studied with the Centre for Research Architecture. From 2023 to 2025, he was a Co-Director at Catalyst Arts, where he co-produced exhibitions, commissions, and public programmes. Ward is Currently part of Kunstverein Aughrim’s Creative Producer Programme.

His writing has appeared in Art Monthly and other independent publications. Across his practice, he continues to explore curating and writing as tools for situated, collaborative, and politically engaged cultural production.