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Roam Cork Exhibition

Get Up, Get Out, Roam! Let your curiosity lead you.

In May 2025, Roam Cork brought a new spark of creativity to the city’s cultural landscape with a three‑day exhibition connecting the communities of Mayfield and Knocknaheeny. From mid‑February onwards, older people’s groups and local schools worked side‑by‑side with six Cork artists to map, re‑imagine, and celebrate the places they call home.

The resulting exhibitions - hosted at Mayfield Library and The Canteen in Knocknaheeny - were filled with poems, paintings, clay works, embroidery, and cardboard creations. These delicate, imaginative pieces revealed where memory meets possibility: old songs recalled by older participants sat comfortably alongside the unbounded daydreams of younger makers, all reflecting thoughtfully on the present moment.

Across the Launch, Exchange, and Family Encounters days (May 29th–31st), visitors travelled between both neighbourhoods, taking part in workshops, performances, games, music sessions, and shared conversations about place. Posters and handmade bunting linked the venues, making the journey itself part of the artwork.

What emerged was more than an exhibition - it was a collective portrait of community imagination, showing how different generations can explore their surroundings together and discover new meaning in the familiar. Roam Cork began here, with people roaming not just across the city, but across each other’s experiences, creativity, and stories.

Roam Exhibition at Mayfield Library - two primary school girls with printed t-shirts hanging from a line Roam exhibition in Knocknaheeny Youth Project - two primary school girls holding painted cardboard houses

Dominic Campbell, Councillor Tony Fitzgerald, Councillor Oliver Moran and Louise Tangney examining art work at the Roam exhibition in Knocknaheeny Youth Project

Three 5th class boys from St. Mary's on the Hill NS look at artwork with Councillor Oliver Moran at the Roam exhibition in Knocknaheeny Youth Project Two girls looking at a large swirling painting at the Roam exhibition in Mayfield Library

A group of older participants with two of the artists, standing in front of a large painting at the Roam exhibition in Mayfield Library Blue, pink and purple paper tags hang from a rail in Mayfield Library, each inscribed with a handwritten message. Children are in the background.