2026 PROGRAMME OF ARTIST AND CITIZEN-LED EVENTS
The KinShip EcoLab is a hub for eco-arts and citizen-led education at Tramore Valley Park.
Running from May-October 2026, the events programme is always growing. To keep up to date with the programme, please follow us on Instagram [@]kinshipcork. If you have an idea for a citizen-led event, please contact kinshipassistance[@]gmail.com.
This year’s programme will include:
• 2 artist placements
• 6 citizen-led events
• 7 artist-led events
• 1 artist residency
Artist Residency
In addition to the two KinShip artist placements, this residency is supported through the project’s partnership with lead organisation Nature Network Ireland.
Artist Ann Lambe is collaborating with a Nature Network Ireland initiative to raise awareness of the bird species inhabiting Tramore Valley Park, culminating in a unique, one-of-a-kind zine to be shared with the public on 23 May as part of Biodiversity Week. This placement is further supported by Community Foundation Ireland.
Ann Lambe is a visual artist working in painting, illustration, drawing/mixed media and murals. Her art practice focuses on nature and wildlife to inspire an appreciation of the natural world for the conservation of endangered species, habitats and biodiversity.
2026 PROGRAMME LAUNCH 1PM 18TH APRIL
Saturday, 18 April 1:00pm-2:00pm Den Talamh Film Screening by filmmaker Linda Curtin
A contemplative film by Linda Curtin tracing the making of den talamh, the award-winning EcoLab designed by Fuinneamh Workshop Architects (Seán Antòin Ó Muirí). Observing the gathering of materials, the rhythms of labour, and the unfolding collaboration, it captures a building process grounded in care, interdependence, and a close relationship to the land. Through Curtin’s lens, the concept of kinship is revealed as an active process of exchange between disciplines, people, the built form and the living ground from which it arises.
Screening location is the Cork City Council Chambers. Running time, 11 min.
2026 PROGRAMME IN FULL
Friday 11 July at 10:30am Blue Leaf Connection Book Club with Diana Rivero.
Discussion of the book Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. The session will also include meditation, nature walk and therapuetic art practice.
Sunday 13 July at 1:00pm Cllr. Kieran McCarthy leads Views from a Park – The Black Ash and Tramore Valley Park, a historical walking tour.
Meet at Half Moon Lane gate, free, 2 hours, no booking required.
Friday 18 July at 2:00pm Creative Soundwalk with Sean Taylor.
Marking World Listening Day, the soundwalk will introduce participants to the study of listening, creative soundwalking and the meditative practices of Tai Chi and Qigong.
Friday 15 August at 10:30am Blue Leaf Connection Book Club with Diana Rivero.
Discussion of the book Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. The final session will conclude discussion of Rooted as well as leading participants in contemplative and creative practice related to Tramore Valley Park's ecology.
Saturday 23 August at 12:00pm Heritage Week's Wild Child Day Bug Hunt & Art Workshop with Robbie Carroll and Ashleigh Ellis.
Nature Network Ireland invites families and children to explore the world of insects in Tramore Valley Park with sweep nets and inspection pots. Art workshop will include cyanotype making and drawing with oak gall ink.
Sunday 31 August at 12:00pm Dáimh le Dúlra/Cultivating Kinship workshop with Cork Queer Nature Collective.
Queer folks and allies welcome to this guided walk and talk.
Friday 19 September at 5pm Eco-Poetry Reading featuring poets Leah Sohotra, Sheila Mannix, Otto Goodwin, Brendan Duffin & Jenny Mitchell.
On Culture Night, Tramore Valley Park’s EcoLab will come alive with words that celebrate, challenge, and reimagine our relationship with the natural world.
Sunday 21 SeptembEr at 11:00 am Meitheal for Insects with Nature Network Ireland.
Help us build insect hotels to provide habitat enhancement for Tramore Valley Park's insects.
Saturday 27 September 12pm. Drawing Creatures with Ashleigh Ellis.
Your drawings will become cyanotype-printed cushions for future EcoLab events!
Sunday 28 September 2-3.30pm Cluas 2025:immersive sound art in Tramore Valley Park exploring the subterranean, the ground & the aerial with leading artists.
This event is a celebration of live sound art that considers the subterranean, the ground and the aerial in Tramore Valley Park. Sound artists Danny McCarthy, Mick O'Shea, Irene Murphy, Andy Ingamells, Harry Moore and Sean Taylor will perform an unplugged sound art composition
To find out about all past events follow this link: What's On
Group walking in a line in Tramore Valley Park. Photo courtesy of LennonTaylor
About The KinShip Project
KinShip - we are not separate from nature, but an interdependent part of it.
The KinShip Eco-Lab is an outcome of the KinShip Project, a durational public artwork at Tramore Valley Park by Cork City Council in partnership with artists Lennon Taylor (Marilyn Lennon and Sean Taylor and supported by Creative Ireland. The KinShip EcoLab programme is managed by Nature Network Ireland with the support of a Counsel of Communities that includes Cork Healthy Cities, Cork’s UNESCO Learning City, Green Spaces for Health, MTU Clean Technology Lab and UCC Environmental Research Institute.
The KinShip Project commenced in 2021 as one of 15 initiatives nationally supported by the Creative Climate Action Award.
At this link, you’ll find an archive of the Kinship project since it began in 2021, documenting its evolution through events, collaborations, and community engagement. The site includes information about the art project programme, the wide range of contributors, participating artists, local partners, funders, and the ethos that has shaped the project over the years.
View of Cork city from Tramore Valley Park. Photo courtesy of LennonTaylor
GETTING THERE
By car, Tramore Valley Park is accessed via the South Link Road. There are 3 car parks within the site.
The park is accessible by public transport. Bus routes 206, 219, and 223 stop at South Douglas Road, from which a short walk down Half Moon Lane leads to the park. See map below
The EcoLab is a thatched roof structure located along the main looped path, east of the pump track and west of Carroll’s Bog.
