Need a little boost this week?

Take yourself off for a stroll around a new local exhibition bursting with colour, character and heart.

Crawford Supported Studios, in partnership with Cork County Council’s LHQ Gallery, is presenting This is Ireland, a vibrant and deeply moving group exhibition featuring the work of 16 disabled artists working within supported studio settings.

‘This is Ireland’ explores how identity is shaped through storytelling, popular culture, local landscape and shared rituals.

Yvonne Condon, Street Painting on electrical box Princes Street. Credit: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision

Among the depictions of Irish culture included, there are members of Kneecap enjoying a pint, a pair of mummers wearing straw head-pieces and familiar street scenes reflecting threads of connection and belonging.

This exhibition offers fresh perspectives on what defines Irish culture. These artists experiment fearlessly with materials and techniques, producing work that is innovative, skilled and full of life. Any easy assumptions quickly fall away.

Among the exhibiting artists are Íde Ní Shúilleabháin, who has shown her work in Kilkenny, Columbia and New York; Yvonne Condon, whose artwork lit up a billboard in Temple Bar; and Tom O’Sullivan, recipient of the inaugural Visibility Bursary Award from Cork City Council and the Arts Council. They are joined by Judit Bakos, Ailbhe Barrett, Angela Burchill, David Connolly, Bríd Heffernan, Eoin O’Brion, John Keating, Mary Rose Marshall, Rosaleen Moore, Nicola Moran, Stephen Murray, Marie Sexton and Katie Whelan — each bringing their own voice and vision.

Tom O’Sullivan in the Studio. Credit: Roísín O’ Sullivan

All of the artists have developed their practices through Crawford Supported Studios, which provides sustained creative space, technical and artistic support, and vital networks that allow talent to flourish. The results are clear: confident, compelling work that demands to be seen.

LHQ Gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm, except for public holidays and the exhibition continues until April 24th, 2026.