Eileen O’Sullivan

Draíocht welcomes Eileen O’Sullivan to the Artist Studio for 2 months this Summer.

Eileen is a Fingal artist currently working primarily in the medium of painting.

Eileen O’Sullivan is an artist who is excited by painting. Recently, she has been investigating the intersections between acts of repair in the home, the displays in hardware shops and haberdasheries, and the value assigned to objects in galleries. Her work occupies a space between painting, DIY, and craft, questioning traditional hierarchies of artistic labour and the commodification of making.

When her residency begins, Eileen will have just completed her Masters in Fine Art Painting at the National College of Art and Design in May 2025 and exhibited in Rua Red Tallaght in June 2025. Having recently moved house in December to the area, she is excited to ground herself in the Fingal community. Eileen will use this time and space to reflect on her learning experience over the past 18 months in NCAD, strengthen the connections with Draíocht’s vibrant and diverse community - those new to art, those embedded in the art community, and all sorts in between.

Eileen is an experienced art facilitator, and feels strongly that art is really important in areas of suburban expansion. Access to art making ensures children grow up with skills that will help them develop self-worth, self-expression and critical thinking skills. Children’s creativity is a conduit for adults to bond, share skills they know and meet new people. She is interested in the space of tension between painting and facilitation, the two disciplines she is experienced in, to reflect on a demystification of creativity.

The generous studio space will allow Eileen to make larger scale works in the vibrant location. Draíocht is connected to new and old materials by its very location – next to the shopping centre, Coolmine recycle centre and the charity shops in the area. Eileen hopes to take full advantage of the shop-like front window of the space while on residency. Eileen’s choice of methodology in the studio stems from her experience of making paintings for a commercial art context along with facilitating communities to engage with art collections and exhibitions. She believes that creating cultural community lives in shared experiences of making with our hands in a fun, relaxed environment.