Muine Bheag Arts is an artist-run organisation based in County Carlow, set up by Mark Buckeridge and Leah Corbett in 2020. Muine Bheag is a small town in County Carlow, situated along the River Barrow. The organisation engages with the local context to present projects in the public realm. The town’s architecture, infrastructure and history provide the backdrop for each of the projects we undertake. Our approach is collaborative, welcoming and experimental and aims to foster dialogue between artists, audiences, community and place.

Muine Bheag Arts presented its inaugural programme, Grass Roots, in 2021, followed by subsequent editions in 2022 and 2023. Grass Roots commissions artists to create site-specific works which respond to the town and are presented in public spaces. Art becomes part of daily life through encounters with the artworks along the riverbank, in the church, in laneways and fields or on the facade of the old mill.

The work and role of artists is central to our activities. We value creating the conditions to develop supportive and caring relationships with artists. Our programme includes exhibitions, workshops, events, residencies, publishing and radio broadcasts. These platforms provide opportunities for artists to research, experiment and make through close collaboration with the organisation and members of the community.

In 2024 we expanded our programme to include a broadcasting platform. Muine Bheag Arts Radio was set up to create a space for dialogue, connection and exploration through the medium of sound. Radio broadcasts have included an audio essay by artist Megan Hadfield, a radio play by 6th class students from St Brigid's National School and a float mediation by artist Niamh Seanna Meehan. Muine Bheag Arts Radio allows us to create work which exists beyond the temporary nature of the exhibition format and transmit ideas from a local context to a worldwide audience.

In August 2024 Muine Bheag Arts presented COMMUNE - a programme of live events in the Muine Bheag Community Centre. The programme invited contributions from artists, graduates-in-residence, filmmakers, community gardeners, local activists and zine-makers. The Community Centre acted as a shared space to host talks, workshops, performances, screenings and an exhibition of self-published artists’ books. We believe in adopting a collective approach to our programme as a way of building community and facilitating co-production where possible.

To date the organisation has worked with over 30 artists as well as with local schools and community groups. We will continue to prioritise our relationships with artists and the community going forward. Our aim as an organisation is to be adaptable, ask questions and maintain the experimental ethos of the artist-run model.