Bafushia is an exhibition of contemporary artists who share Traveller heritage.
Bafushia at Hugh Lane Gallery is curated and organised as part of HLG’s Art Education programme in collaboration with artist Séamus Nolan and Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre.
Bafushia
(a physically bound process of forward movement)
Artists Chloe McDonagh, David McDonagh, Frank McCarthy, Leanne McDonagh, Paddy Collins and William Cauley
29 January-27 April 2025
Bafushia is an exhibition of contemporary artists who share a Traveller heritage. Hugh Lane Gallery is delighted to present this exhibition that gives insight into the lived experience of Irish Travellers through a Traveller lens.
Bafushia will be launched by Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain on Wednesday 29 January at 11am.
The word ‘Bafushia’ was discovered written in a sketchbook belonging to Jack B. Yeats alongside ‘Telling the Cards’ (1898; Collection: NGI). Through collective interpretation with participants from the Traveller community the term was translated as a possible word for divining the future, ‘telling forward’, and for seeking out and imagining what lies ahead.
The Hugh Lane Gallery’s collection was opened to a Traveller perspective where Travellers, through a process of visual inquiry, selected the artworks to include alongside the work of the contemporary artists on display. These workshops were facilitated by Arts educator and cultural worker Adam Stoneman with Michael Collins, Paddy Collins, Ann Maguire and Mags O’Sullivan.
Irish Travellers, a minority ethnic group, have a long-shared history of traditions, language, culture and customs that go back centuries. Traveller culture is based on a nomadic tradition and sets Travellers apart from ‘settled people’. While Travellers experience racism, discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion this exhibition demonstrates the resilience in the community, its strong creative tradition and an ability to look forward in strength and hope.
Bafushia at Hugh Lane Gallery is curated by Séamus Nolan in collaboration with Hugh Lane Gallery and Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre.
A publication with an essay ‘A Traveller Provocation’ by Dr Rosaleen McDonagh and a wide ranging programme of events will accompany this exhibition.
Our thanks to each of the exhibiting artists, to Séamus Nolan, Jessica O’Donnell, Head of Education and Community Outreach, Hugh Lane Gallery, and Caoimhe McCabe, Arts and Culture Coordinator Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre for organising this exhibition; and Adam Stoneman, Michael Collins, Paddy Collins, Ann Maguire and Mags O’Sullivan.
Bafushia is based on an exhibition originally shown in the Model Art Gallery Sligo in summer 2024. It was devised as part of the Hereditas Project, a collaborative arts project led by artist Séamus Nolan in collaboration with Sligo Traveller Support Group, CAIRDE Sligo Arts Festival and funded by The Arts Council of Ireland’s Art: 2023 Centenary programme.
Bafushia on view here and accompanying publication and programme is supported by Hugh Lane Gallery and Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre.
