Connecting Through Our Lens

I’m excited to be lead artist alongside Joselle Ntumba on this community art project funded by Create-Ireland:

You are invited to join ‘Connecting Through Our Lens’, a community project led by an existing multi-vocal group that came together last year in Donegal. We are now inviting others living within the municipal district of Donegal to join us as the project continues to grow.

Across four unique bus trips (April–July), we will travel through our shared rural landscape, combining creativity, conversation, and food. The journeys will lead to a final public exhibition and a living archive, celebrating inclusion, belonging, and the many perspectives that shape our community.

Our wheelchair-friendly bus will pick you up and drop you off at your chosen location, helping ensure that everyone can take part.

We would love for you to join our group and be part of the project.

Get in touch: connectingthroughourlens@gmail.com

A Memory That Burns

Organising this event with poet Mohammed Moussa founder of the Gaza Poets Society, the Artists Against Genocide and Comhlámh. Join us on the 27th of March as part of the Imagine Festival Belfast for “A Memory that Burns” led by Mohammed Moussa (Gaza Poets Society) and chaired by poet and community worker Sarah Clancy at the Black Box Belfast.

JOIN here: https://imaginebelfast.com/event/a-memory-that-burns/

Shifting Edges - DEFY

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to take part in Shifting Edges, a nine-month development journey that brought together global justice educators from across Europe to explore ideas of difficult knowledge, affect, and their role in learning and change. This journey was part of the wider DEFY project 2023 – 2026, a joint project between Comhlámh (Ireland), Suas/STAND (Ireland), finep (Germany) and Zavod Voluntariat (Slovenia).

The journey came to a close a couple of weeks ago with an exhibition and workshop at the Fumbally Stables in Dublin. I’m deeply grateful for the experience — not only for the opportunity to connect with other educators and learn from such thoughtful and isightful facilitators, but also for the time and encouragement it gave me to reflect on and engage with my own questions around difficult knowledge in my practice.

One of the most meaningful parts of this process has been collaborating with Aniz a artist and educator, whom I met during the Shifting Edges one-day residency in Wicklow. Since then, we’ve met virtually almost every week, sharing aspects of our practice and thinking together about the broader contexts of difficult knowledge and modernity. Those conversations have been a valuable space for curiosity, challenge, and mutual learning.

This has truly felt like a journey, one that has opened new paths for exploration and reminded me how essential it is, as educators, to remain learners ourselves. It has also reinforced for me that while much of what we inherit can be limiting, expanding our understanding is something we can do collectively, in dialogue with one another, rather than alone.

You can find the zine which emerged from our Shifting Edges journey here

PeacePlus Creative Minorities School Programme

I was honoured to facilitate the first school programme at Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana, as part of the Donegal Intercultural Platform’s PEACEPLUS Creative Minorities initiative. Delivered over 15 hours across eight weeks, the programme centred the voices, ideas, and lived experiences of the young people through a process of co-creation. Together, we explored equity, empathy, migration and belonging, while celebrating cultural diversity and gently and thoughtfully addressing experiences of stigmatisation, stereotyping, and othering encountered by ethnic minority children. Using collage, stencil printing, and drawing, the young people took the lead in shaping a street art–inspired collective artwork, making visible a shared message that included everyone’s voice. Through this collaborative process, art became a tool for agency, dialogue, and connection, supporting a sense of belonging not only within the school, but across the wider community.

Bella Ciao - Zine

A few weeks ago, I joined other members of Artists Against Genocide to create this zine “Bella Ciao” for the opening of the Vault Artists Studio exhibition, ALL WELCOME. It was our way of contributing something meaningful—something that could live beyond the walls of the gallery and support people stepping into collective action.

This zine is designed to ignite connection, courage, and creative resistance. Part resource, part rallying cry, it gathers people around the shared work of anti-racist, human-rights–driven protest. Inside, you’ll find everything from mutual aid practices and community - care tips, to using art for collective action. The zine invites readers to enter movements with intention, solidarity, and imagination.

learning:

Global Citizenship Education (GCE)

Excited to be taking part in the ongoing GCE workshops with Meath Partnership, facilitated by the incredible Fiona Duignan.

Last week’s sessions featured powerful presentations from the Hope and Courage Collective and Dr. Lilian Nwanze-Akobo on rethinking our approach to anti-racist practice. I honestly learnt so much and am feeling inspired to continue deepening my GCE journey.

As Fiona reminded us, this work is lifelong learning — and as a facilitator myself, I know how important it is to keep learning, unlearning, and listening to as many voices as possible.

reading..

belle hooks - Art on my Mind - Visual Politics

'There must be a revolution in the way we see, the way we look'

Thanks to my friend Aniz for sending me the book x

Roscommon Pride 2025

Last year, I had the privilege of working with some of the Roscommon LGBTQIA+ community on a photographic portrait project commissioned by the Roscommon Arts Centre for the city’s very first Pride. As part of the exhibition, I also designed a flag for this years pride featuring pictures and quotes from some in the community about what that first Pride meant to them. The flag was proudly displayed outside Roscommon City Council’s office, where it continued to hang during this year’s Pride celebrations.

This year, I was honoured to be invited back to capture some of the key moments of Roscommon Pride. I’m deeply grateful to have been able to share these experiences with such an inspiring community. The love, dedication, and hard work that went into organising these events has been extraordinary, marking an important turning point not just for Roscommon, but for beyond as well. Congratulations to everyone involved—and happy Pride x

Roscommon Pride Flag 2025 ©Jessica Weber Patterson