KinShip Grows Roots: Cork’s EcoLab Launches Free Community-Led Programme for 2025
Something powerful is growing in Tramore Valley Park – and it’s not just in the soil. The KinShip art project, a long-term public art initiative rooted in ecology and community, is entering a bold new chapter as it evolves into a fully community-led endeavour.
Lord Mayor of Cork Dan Boyle said, "From its beginnings as an artist-driven project supported by Creative Ireland's Creative Climate Action Fund and Cork City Council, KinShip has now blossomed into a collaborative framework supported by a newly formed Counsel of Communities, and a dynamic lead community partner – Nature Network Ireland (formerly Cork Nature Network). These groups are working creatively together to shape the future of the art project, ensuring that local communities are not just participants, but co-creators."
Arts Officer at Cork City Council and Creative Ireland Coordinator, Michelle Carew described how "At the heart of the project is the KinShip Ecolab in Tramore Valley Park, the multi-award-winning structure with stunning rammed earth walls and a reed thatch roof – a space where art, activism, and environmental awareness come alive."
Nature Network Ireland announced that, ‘This year, the Ecolab becomes a stage for a rich new programme of cultural and environmental events designed to celebrate kinship, biodiversity, circular economy, and community resilience.’
The 2025 EcoLab Creative Programme, led by Nature Network Ireland, brings together artists, ecologists, and community members for an array of inspiring activities. Upcoming activities include a ‘Nature Connection Book Club’ with An Taisce Climate Ambassador Diana Rivero, a ‘Tea Ceremony & Nature Connection Circle’ with Jeni Wu, a historical walk with Cllr Kieran McCarthy, a ‘Cultivating Kinship’ workshop with the Cork Queer Nature Collective, a ‘Creative Soundwalk’ for World Listening Day with Seán Taylor and lots more planned for the year. Also, the programme announces that Ashleigh Ellis will be the artist facilitator for an insect event on Heritage Week’s Wild Child Day along with Ecologist Robbie Carroll. The recipient of this year’s KinShip Artist Placement is artist Phil Ryan who will undertake research to explore the collaborative creation of functional utilitarian seating for the EcoLab structure in Tramore Valley Park.
All events are open to the public, and everyone is welcome – from passionate environmentalists to curious newcomers. Come and be part of a movement where community and creativity grow hand in hand.
On behalf of Cork City Council’s Parks Section, Stephen Scully said, "Since launching in 2022, KinShip has called Tramore Valley Park home – a site transformed from a city landfill (1964-2009) to a public park that opened fully in 2019. This land, once a symbol of waste in the city, is now a habitat for shared futures. Inspired by the concept of “kinship” as framed by feminist scholar Donna Haraway, the project invites people to see themselves as part of a greater ecological family – interconnected, interdependent, and responsible."
To learn more about events and the kinship art project, visit https://www.eventbrite.ie/o/kinship-project-39931083563 or
https://www.lennontaylor.ie/kinship
contact: kinshipassistance@gmail.com