The Air We Share makes the invisible visible, by engaging with the issue of air quality through artistic interventions, citizen science and community action in Westside, Galway.

Brendan Smyth of the University of Galway’s Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, facilitating the workshop at Westside Resource Centre, November 2024. Photo: Avi Ratnayake

An intergenerational family workshop of children and adults making and programming low-cost air quality sensor units took place during the Galway Science and Technology Festival on 16 November in the Westside Resource Centre.  The event helped participants of all ages to better understand the causes and consequences of the present global climate and ecological crisis and the opportunities that exist to come up with solutions.

Dr Liz Coleman, Lecturer, Physics, School of Natural Sciences, University of Galway and the Project’s Scientific lead, said:

“It’s a huge part of our work to bring current research to the public, to share the science with the community, to inform but also to arm the public with the knowledge, the methods and the data to enforce change within their communities. The quality of our air, and more broadly, the state of the environment has an impact on everyone, so any real solutions will require everyone’s input and the more equipped everyone is – with knowledge, with skills, with ideas, the more likely we are to find solutions that will work for cleaner air, a healthier city and a thriving environment.”

The workshop was led and developed by Brendan Smith, Eoin Jordan, and Alex Acquier from the University of Galway’s Insight Centre for Data Analytics, and Dr Liz Coleman from the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies.

Build your own air sensor workshop, Westside Resource Centre, November 2024. Photo: Avi Ratnayake

Build your own air sensor workshop, Westside Resource Centre, November 2024. Photo: Avi Ratnayake

Build your own air sensor workshop, Westside Resource Centre, November 2024. Photo: Avi Ratnayake

Pictured left to right: Brendan Smyth, Liz Coleman, Eoin Jordan, Alex Acquier, Westside Resource Centre, November 2024. Photo: Avi Ratnayake

Pictured in Shantalla, Galway City’s Westside, at the announcement of three art commissions under the new ‘The Air We Share’ artists-in-residence programme are, from left, Christopher Steenson, Paula McCloskey, Sam Vardy and Leon Butler. PHOTO: Mark Stedman

Residencies to unite art, science, and community in Galway’s ‘The Air We Share’ climate action initiative

Galway Arts Centre, in conjunction with Galway City Council, today (25.11.24) announced the awarding of three art commissions under an innovative new artist-in-residence programme. The programme supports artists to engage with the communities of Galway City’s Westside and to creatively respond to scientific research on air quality and climate conducted by local citizens and climate scientists from the University of Galway.

The artist-in-residence programme lies at the creative heart of ‘The Air We Share’, a collaborative climate action initiative launched in July 2024. The initiative examines and highlights the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to air pollution. Through artistic interventions, citizen science, and community action in Galway’s Westside, it aims to deepen public understanding of air and its critical role in our shared environment.

Aligned with these objectives, the selected artists have been commissioned to develop innovative and collaborative arts projects that interpret and respond to scientific concepts and data on air quality, the atmosphere, and climate. They have been awarded funding to develop their projects between now and July 2025, when the final artworks will be presented publicly.

NO REPRO FEE 25/11/2024 Artists announced for new residency programme focusing on air quality and pollution. Pictured today at the ‘Sliding Rock’ in Shantalla, Galway City’s Westside, at the announcement of three art commissions under the new ‘The Air We Share’ artists-in-residence programme are, from right, Christopher Steenson, Leon Butler, Paula McCloskey and Sam Vardy. The residency programme supports artists to engage with the communities of Galway’s Westside and to creatively respond to research on air quality and climate conducted by local citizens and University of Galway scientists. Part of ‘The Air We Share’, a collaborative climate action initiative launched in July 2024, the programme aims to highlight the causes, impacts, and solutions to air pollution through artistic interventions, citizen science, and community action. The selected artists will develop innovative projects exploring air quality, climate, and the atmosphere, with public presentations planned for July 2025. For more information, visit theairweshare.ie. PHOTO: Mark Stedman

The selected artists are:

• Leon Butler: Galway-based artist Leon Butler’s project Phosphene blends art and technology to transform air quality data into a community experience. By using sensors to track and interpret this data, Butler will create “data sculptures” that reveal the health of Galway’s built environment in new ways. The project invites the local community to participate in design sessions to shape how air data is visualised, making the often-invisible aspects of air quality engaging and accessible to all.
• Christopher Steenson: Multidisciplinary artist Christopher Steenson’s project I talk to the wind explores air pollution through the act of breathing. His work will incorporate sound walks using live air pollution data and community workshops that consider climate futures through writing and discussion. Drawing on Galway’s air quality data, insights from scientists, and ideas generated through community workshops, Steenson’s project will connect participants with the realities of air pollution and its impacts on daily life through the shared experience of breath.
• a place of their own (Paula McCloskey and Sam Vardy): Art and spatial practice ‘a place of their own’ envisions Galway in 2054, where communities of insects, dust, microbes, and other “air dwellers” draft a new set of rights for the air: The 9 Freedoms for the Air. This project explores the knowledge and stories of microscopic communities in our atmosphere and builds a speculative future scenario in Galway. Through workshops, local residents will join scientists and environmental legal experts to create a collective textile artwork that reimagines air as a shared resource deserving of protection.

‘The Air We Share’ brings together a consortium of local partners, which is led by Galway City Council and includes Galway Arts Centre, the University of Galway’s Centre for Creative Technologies, Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, and the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, Westside Resource Centre, and Galway Culture Company. During their residencies, artists will have access to the facilities, support and resources of Galway Arts Centre, University of Galway, and Westside Resource Centre.

Pictured at the ‘Sliding Rock’ in Shantalla, Galway City’s Westside, at the announcement of three art commissions under the new ‘The Air We Share’ artists-in-residence programme are, rear from right, Christopher Steenson, Leon Butler, Paula McCloskey and Sam Vardy with ‘The Air We Share’ project coordinator at Galway City Council, Adam Stoneman, and Dr Liz Coleman, University of Galway. PHOTO: Mark Stedman

Director and Curator of Galway Arts Centre, Megs Morley, commented: “After a highly competitive open call selection process, we are thrilled to announce the artists chosen for ‘The Air We Share’ artist-in-residence programme. In the context of the current climate challenges that we face as a society, programmes such as ‘The Air We Share’ that bring together artists, scientists, communities, public institutions and cultural organisations are critical to our understanding and addressing the issues at hand.

“The selected artists bring an exceptional wealth of artistic experience to ‘The Air We Share’ programme. Over the coming months, they will develop engaging interdisciplinary projects that explore innovative ways of understanding the sources and effects of air pollution, as well as the actions we can take to catalyse positive collective change.”

Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Leonard Cleary added: “The artist-in-residence programme brings creativity into the heart of ‘The Air We Share’, a transformative climate action initiative guided by the theme ‘Making the Invisible Visible’, which highlights air pollution as a critical environmental health risk.

“Working alongside the EU’s Net Zero Cities initiative, ‘The Air We Share’ helps inform Galway City Council’s climate policies and, through community involvement, aims to inspire cultural and behavioural shifts towards climate action grounded in fairness, collaboration, and positive change. As the project’s lead partner, we are delighted to support the artists in developing community-engaging interventions and look forward to their creative responses next summer.”

‘The Air We Share’ is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action Fund, an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The fund supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations.

Eugene McKeown of The Galway Sound Lab and Liz Coleman of the Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies at the University of Galway will lead a walk through the city from Westside to Wolf Tone Bridge as part of the Climate Inspirations Festival.

Through this interactive walk participants will observe the city in a new way, using their senses to experience the atmosphere. We will explore the air, what populates it, and what it carries: Gases, particles, pollutants, stories, highlighting the sounds and man-made and natural sounds of the living city. 

Walking slowly, we will engage our senses as we move through the city, listening to the soundscapes and observing the quality of the atmosphere. At designated stops there will be a specific listening period and an opportunity for participants to discuss their experience of the sounds and atmosphere of the city.

The event is weather dependent and involves some uneven ground so suitable clothing is required.

This event is in association with The Air We Share and NetZeroCities.

Westside to City Centre
Friday Sept 13
6:15pm to 7:30pm 
Meeting Point: Westside Community Centre

To find out more, visit the Galway Climate Inspirations Festival website.