PNI inter-studio residency
Deirdre McKenna (Cork Printmakers) at Black Church Print Studio
27 May – 21 June 2024
“I was delighted to be chosen to take part in PNI’s inter-studio residency project. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Black Church Print Studio and it’s members during my time there. David was very welcoming and made sure to introduce me to other members. I was made to feel at home in my new surroundings and was able to get to work straight away. My work is mostly etching based and everything I needed was available to me.
I, being a bit of an anomaly, had never spent any time in Dublin before (outside of short trips here and there) so this was a fantastic opportunity for me to explore the city from a working perspective. I took the opportunity to visit galleries and museums. There were also research trips to the National Library and to the National Folklore Collection at UCD, where I was able to to study papers, essays and books relating to subjects within my practice. This has been a great experience and I will be definitely be following up with more research trips to Dublin in the future.
One of the nicest parts of the exchange was meeting fellow printmakers. I got to know some of the members of Black Church Print Studio as we worked side by side. For me this is one of the most important aspects of shared workspace and possibly one of the main reasons that printmaking has become a central aspect of my work. The meeting of like minded artists and the chats while working away on our own pieces. Little tips and hacks given and received, compared and discussed. I really enjoyed my time there. I also was able to pay a visit to Graphic Studio, and although it was a short visit it was great to meet a few members there as well.
I love that PNI is bringing printmakers together around the country and would love to see more meet-ups and maybe day trips between studios/cities in order to get to know each other better.”
National Folklore Collection
Reading Room National Library
Work in Progess
