Coast is a collection of landscape images by photographer Tom Quilty.  The photographs depict the natural beauty of the Waterford coastline from Brownstown Head to Tankardstown on the Copper Coast. The exhibition runs until 27 March 2023. Tom joined the Waterford Healing Arts team in May 2022 as Art Installer, having worked in the print industry for many years. A keen amateur photographer, with an L.I.P.F. distinction from the Irish Photographic Federation, Tom says, “I like nothing better than to head off with my camera gear and capture the beautiful landscapes throughout the island of Ireland and sometimes further afield”. Tom is also a respected fine art printer and framer, which he feels completes the circle of his photography journey. Coast is Tom’s first exhibition on the Staff Art Wall at University Hospital Waterford. The Staff Art Wall is an initiative of Waterford Healing Arts, which aims to celebrate the creativity of staff working at UHW by providing an opportunity to display their work at the hospital For further samples of Tom’s work see: TQPictureFraming.com or email info@tqpictureframing.com      ...

Fancy a lift? is a series of daily poetry postcards, curated and read by poet Stephen James Smith @SJSwords, as part of the Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing 13 – 18 February 2023. Monday’s poem is ‘Amber’ by Eavan Boland.     Tuesday’s poem is  ‘My Wife Thinks I’m at a Poetry Reading’ by Phil Lynch      Wednesday’s poem is ‘Seed‘ by Paula Meehan     Thursday’s poem is ‘Bog Medicine‘ by Annemarie Ní Churreáin     Friday’s poem is ‘Camán/Hurley’ by Paul Casey   Curated and read by Stephen James Smith Graphic design by Alina O’Shaughnessy Video edit by DGM Photographic www.dgmphotographic.com Recording and soundscape produced by Gavin Glass at Orphan Recording Studios, Wexford The Well Festival celebrates all the ways the arts help us to feel good and is presented by Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford City & County Libraries and Waterford Healing Arts. The festival is kindly funded by the Arts Council, the HSE and Waterford City and County Council, with additional support from Sanofi. See...

Find the Butterfly, Find the Bee, a series of prints by John Conway has opened at University Hospital Waterford as part of the Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing 2023. The exhibition runs until April 2023. This colourful collection of nine risographic prints is inspired by snippets of conversations with paediatric healthcare staff from Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) about the role of art in their workplace (Temple Street, Crumlin and Tallaght Children’s hospitals). The collection of works offers a rare insight into life in the paediatric lane. While presented in a playful way, each statement intrigues, prompting the viewer to want to delve a little deeper to discover the story underneath. All prints are for sale at €100 unframed or €150 framed. Find the Butterfly, Find the Bee was originally part of a project by John Conway with healthcare staff entitled Our Stories, commissioned by CHI, with additional support from Dublin City Council Culture Company. This exhibition is part of the Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing 2023, presented by Waterford Healing Arts, Garter Lane Arts Centre and Waterford City and County Library Service. The Well Festival celebrates all the ways the arts help us to feel good and is kindly funded by the Arts Council, the HSE and Waterford City and County Council, with additional support from Sanofi. See www.wellwaterford.com John Conway is a visual artist based in Rua Red South Dublin Arts Centre. His work is characterised by innovative multi-disciplinary projects, and sophisticated solo and participatory artworks produced in response to sensitive, challenging, or novel...

Good Vibrations, Celebrating Love, Life and Magic, and Standing Shoulder to Shoulder: Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2023 announces programme of music, movement, poetry, art and stories to make us feel good. Festival dates: Monday 13 – Saturday 18 February  Taking place in Waterford Monday 13 to Saturday 18 February, the Well Festival features an inspirational line-up of fun, free, inventive and sociable arts events for all ages.  In this, its tenth year, the festival presents musicians, artists, poets, storytellers and dancers, as well as a programme of Wellies, the festival’s events for younger audiences. ***Click here for the full festival programme or see www.wellwaterford.com  ***Click here for our Well Festival 2023 promo trailer! The Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing champions and celebrates all the ways that the arts help us to feel good.  Each day, festival-goers will have the opportunity to witness colourful, beautiful, thought-provoking music, art, movement and literature, and to experience the joy of creativity through a range of workshops and interactive opportunities for all ages. Festival 2023 Highlights Highlights of the Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2023 programme include: – Fancy a lift?, a daily poetry postcard, curated by poet Stephen James Smith, delivered on meal trays to patients at University Hospital Waterford (UHW), through Waterford Libraries and online via www.wellwaterford.com ; – Celebrating Love, Life and Magic, a St Valentine’s Day joyful, inclusive dance workshop led by Traces Dance Ensemble members Grace Howley and Brian McSweeney, with mentor support from Trish Murphy, Dee Grant and Rachel Ní Bhraonáin; – Standing Shoulder to Shoulder, a special exhibition by the Waterford New Community Women’s Shed...

I brought the dream of flying…, a new exhibition by artists Corina Duyn and Caroline Schofield, opened on 14 January at GOMA Gallery of Modern Art, Waterford and continued to 11 February 2023.  Inspired by a broken-winged bird puppet which accompanied Corina when she moved to full-time nursing home care in 2021, the exhibition featured work made in response to this move and illustrated the new collaborative creative process Corina developed with Caroline as a result of her increasing disability.  The exhibition was presented by Waterford Healing Arts Trust and GOMA, with funding from Creative Waterford.     LIVESTREAM UPDATE: A film of the livestream of the exhibition opening is available to view on the GOMA YouTube channel here Artist, writer and puppet designer/maker Corina Duyn has been making puppets since her first rag doll, at the age of 10.  She became ill with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) aged 36.  The increasing limitations imposed by her illness took an increasing toll on her daily and creative lives and, having finally accepted that she could no longer live independently, Corina moved to Signacare Nursing Home in Waterford in 2021, aged 59.  Realising that she needed to take action to somehow maintain her creative spirit – “there is always a way” – Corina issued a plea to her friends and contacts to help her to continue her art practice.  Catherine Drea, Chair of Waterford Healing Arts Trust (WHAT), heard the call and a new connection was forged between WHAT artist Caroline Schofield and Corina. During a year of working together in Corina’s room in the nursing home, the artists spent time learning, being...