Sáile Artists - Trasna na dTonnta
🌊 Our Artists for Trasna na dTonnta - Across the Waves Art Gallery
Enda Burke is a photographer based in Galway. His practice involves constructing elaborate vintage sets and crafting narratives featuring family and friends, with a particular emphasis on nostalgia, color, humor, and all things kitsch. Recently, Enda was shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Award at the National Gallery and the Sony World Photography Awards. His work has been featured in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, TED Talks, The Observer UK, and numerous international publications.
Lara Luxardi is an Italian artist who has called Galway home since 2010. She sees art as a language that bridges the gap between the mind and the soul. Drawn primarily to illustration and collage, Lara creates layered visual worlds filled with symbolism, memory, texture and emotion. Her involvement in community work led her to broaden her career into psychotherapy, inspired by her passion for art and its power to heal, regulate and connect. Her work explores themes of belonging, the environment, the spirit of a place, and the soul of its people.
Lara will also be doing a workshop for children on the Saturday so make sure to check out the event as spots are limited! Register for it here
Deirdre Stephens is a textile artist living and working in Connemara. She makes work inspired by her surroundings - the seashore and bogland. Her artwork is unique in its textural and layered aspects – a combination of paint, mixed media and free-motion embroidery. She is interested in disintegration and transformation as they occur in the environment and brings these same processes into her work. She uses techniques such as distressing and melting materials to reflect changes in the natural world. Each new piece goes through many transformations with layers of paint, pieces of fabric and paper, stitched and heated through a process of improvisation and experimentation. Her recent work has been supported by funding from Ealaín na Gaeltachta.
Jacquelyn Whitman (JD) is an installation artist, educator, and ocean advocate whose work bridges marine science, policy, and creative practice. Through immersive installations and eco-social art, JD transforms complex research on plastic pollution, ocean literacy, and marine conservation into engaging experiences that inspire curiosity, conversation, and collective action. As a PhD candidate at the University of Galway and Burren College of Art, her work demonstrates the power of art to make environmental science accessible and meaningful.
Aoife Natsumi is a Japanese-Irish visual artist and art educator based in Galway. Working with porcelain ceramics adorned with gold lustre, Aoife creates fantastical sea creatures that embody the shifting phases of emotion. Her delicate sculptures speak to anyone who has ever felt caught between places or identities, offering comfort, connection, and a reminder that we are not alone in the in-between.
Lelia Ní Chathmhaoil is a multidisciplinary environmental artist based in Cois Fharraige, west of Galway. Inspired by the Atlantic coastline that surrounds her, Lelia creates work using materials gathered along the shore, both natural and human-made. By incorporating marine debris and plastics washed ashore into her practice, her work encourages us to reflect on our impact on the ocean and the stories carried by the tides.
Lelia will also be doing a workshop called Voice of the Shore - Register for it here
Jordan Waltz is an American naturalist illustrator and graphic designer living in Galway. Working across watercolour, acrylic, pencil, wax pastel, and linoblock printmaking, her artwork celebrates biodiversity, native wildlife, and marine life while highlighting the importance of conservation. Jordan has created educational materials for organisations including Nature Network Ireland and Seal Rescue Ireland, combining science, storytelling, and art to inspire a deeper appreciation of the natural world.
We are especially grateful for Jordan's work on a lino-print for ouor T-shirts! All purchase money will be going to our next festival funds!
Róisín Clothier is an Irish animator, muralist & illustrator currently based in Bristol. She is a freelance artist focused on engaging with the topics of ecology, environment & climate in a way that makes them more engaging and accessible to the wider public. Past clients and collaborators include RE-PEAT, The Marine Institute of Ireland & Wild Card, among others. Previously Róisín worked in animation studios across Ireland and the UK as a background artist & designer on several productions, ranging from 2D commercials and TV shows to 2D & 3D feature films. She holds a Professional Certificate in Art & Ecology and a BA(Hons) Degree in animation.
Tanushree Mundra is a marine biologist, ecologist and emerging artist whose work is shaped by a lifelong love for the ocean. Working across various mediums and embroidery, she turns marine behaviours, sounds and ecological stories into curiosity-led artworks. She uses embroidery to create tactile details that invite people to come closer, interact and ask questions. Her work hopes to make marine life feel personal, playful and accessible, from strange animal behaviours to hidden conservation stories. Tanushree is the resident artist for an NGO Conservation indica in India, and has exhibited in Luxembourg, and Germany.
Manuela García is an Argentinian artist based in Spiddal, Galway. Working across digital and analogue media, she creates whimsical, nature-inspired imagery through illustration, photography, video and animation. Her practice combines digital and handmade processes, creating on a range of techniques to bring ideas and stories to life.
We’re especially grateful to have Manu as part of the Sáile team, as she is the creative mind behind our festival logo and visual identity. The beautiful artwork in our festival posts is her creation, and we couldn’t be happier to have her on board.
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