Traveller Community Arts Day

Brú Bhríde, Tuam

Bru Bhride Arts Hub has emerged as a vibrant centre for artistic expression, fostering a diverse range of projects spanning visual arts, drama, woodwork and music. Particularly noteworthy are the endeavours undertaken by youth members of St Christophers Youth Club , whose perspectives and voices have found resonance through various public exhibitions and performances.

In the realm of visual arts, Bru Bhride Arts Hub has been a canvas for innovative creations and explorations of identity. One standout exhibition, titled ‘About Me’, delved into the intricate art of portraiture, offering a glimpse into the lives and personalities of its subjects. Youth artists poured their experiences, dreams, and aspirations onto the portraits, creating a rich tapestry of narratives that transcended cultural boundaries.

This work was exhibited in Tuam Town hall and Galway City Library and documented in the National Traveller Archive in the National Museum of Ireland.

Bru Bhride Arts Hub stands as a testament to the transformative power of art in fostering dialogue, understanding, and social change. Through its diverse array of projects spanning visual arts, drama, music and woodwork, this creative enclave has provided a platform for youth members of the Traveller Community to share their stories, challenge stereotypes, and forge connections across divides.

Tullamore Traveller’s Women’s Shed – Offaly Traveller Movement

Threading Needles, Telling Stories, an exhibition of 14 three-dimensional hand-sewn dolls made by the women of the Chatters and Matters, Tullamore Traveller’s Women’s Shed. Threading Needles, Telling Stories is a storytelling through doll-making project led by artist and doll-maker Teresa Doyle. The purpose of this project is to explore Traveller heritage and culture in a new way, with each doll serving as a vessel for participants to demonstrate and tell the stories of their Traveller experiences.

Through this project, each participant had the opportunity to explore and share their heritage and culture in a new way, through the creation of a three-dimensional fabric doll-like figure. The dolls serve as a vessel to help demonstrate and tell the stories of the participant’s Traveller experiences, while reawakening skills that may be inherent for some group members. Skills including planning, designing, pattern-making, pattern-cutting, pressing, stitching, knitting and garment assembly were learned and practiced throughout the project, and the artists look forward to future learning and creative engagement.

Unpacking Traveller Mental Health – Traveller Primary Health Care Projects in the Eastern Region

‘Unpacking Traveller Mental Health’ is an immersive and multi-sensory approach to highlight the various dimensions that impact on Travellers’ mental health.

Drawing on the work from Syrian-born artist and architect Mohamad Hafez in his exhibition ‘Unpacked: Refugee Baggage’, this event uses traditional Traveller ‘grub-boxes’ to explore the individual, social and structural dimensions that impact on Travellers’ mental health.

U.S. based artist, Heather Harris, supported the development of each box by working with workers from Traveller Primary Health Care Projects in the Eastern Region. While people spoke about their work and their experiences recordings were made and the group worked together to transform ideas into a 3D format.

The exhibition consists of 10 grub boxes packed with expressions of the stresses impacting on Traveller mental health. The ten boxes reflect the experiences of different perspectives.

The Wheel of Time, Southside Traveller Action Group

This project was inspired by the International Contest for Minority Artists supported by the United Nations, which for 2025 has a focus on the theme of Belonging, Place and Loss.

Charlote Connors and Michael O Brien are youth workers with Southside Traveller Action Group and decided to develop work for the competition.  They decided they wanted a wagonwheel with a road along the side showing all types of Traveller accommodation from the traditional barrel-top wagon to the updated chalets.

They began by looking for the wood they wanted for the project.  “This really  shows who we are as artists as we wouldn’t usually tend to go to a shop to find materials –  we would rather seek them in our day to day lives,” explained Charlotte.

Some of the positive outcomes of the project came from spending time with the older members of their family, sharing discussion on ideas for the project and sharing stories about how when their grandparents were younger they would sleep under the barrel top wagons using hay and the heat of siblings to stay warm.

They also heard about the hardship the older Travellers lived through compared to Traveller lives today – this was emotional for the makers.  “By the end we were left with a feeling of accomplishment and we are proud of our project that we took on,” said Michael.