Paul Heary
Feb 2025
February 2025
Michael McLoughlin has been Artist in Residence in Draíocht since 2017. The journey began with an invitation to take on the role of ‘diviner’ (coined by Sharon Murphy, Curator in Residence); to spend time in Mulhuddart, developing an understanding of the communities within it and in turn begin to suggest possible linkages between Draíocht, Mulhuddart residents and the participations that could build potential points of connection. This project, Mulhuddart Satellite, has been the main focus of McLoughlin's art making for the last few years.
The Mulhuddart Satellite exhibition earlier this year was a midpoint in this journey and reflective on the learning, the exchanges and the conversations that have happened along the way. The show featured a series of mappings of Mulhuddart; exploring place, belonging, friendships and the connections we have to the people around us.
This year Mcloughlin’s focus is on the long-term; continuing to build from the exhibition and look at how connections between Draíocht and Mulhuddart can be developed further and sustained.
Over the next few months Michael will be revisiting stories and conversations with participants in the project since 2017. The hope in doing this is to imagine what this longer-term connection might look like and what we could do to help build it. This new focus, as with all McLoughlin's work during the residency, continues to highlight the work of the Mulhuddart Priority Task Group and is reflective of the local participation focus of Draíocht’s Strategy (2018-2022). More information can be found at mulhuddartsatellite.ie.
