Landscapes of the Soul Multidisciplinary Exhibition with artist Mary Moynihan – Inaugural exhibition for the Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality

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Free admission

Artists

Mary Moynihan, Writer, Poet, Creator of Art and Photography, Artistic Director, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, Arts Curator for the annual International Irish Arts and Human Rights festival

Hina Khan, visual artist

Freda Manweiler, Company Manager and Producer, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality

Ciara Hayes, Producer, Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality

Mary Moynihan and Hina Khan, Co-Curators

Barry Ward, TD, Dúnlaoighre – Fine Gael

Cllr Justin Moylan, Dúnlaoighre – Fianna Fáil

Blathnaid Daly, Singer and Performer

Full Event Details

Landscapes of the Soul is a stunning multi-disciplinary exhibition by artist Mary Moynihan featuring beautiful visual art, photography, poetry and film mapping physical landscapes of nature to landscapes of the soul, reflecting on ways to hold on to the courage to be who we truly are and to let ourselves shine.   In homage to the human spirit, the exhibition brings together visual imagery, poetry and film to reflect on meaning-making and pathways of expression, mapping physical landscapes and seascapes to human emotions from grief and longing to inner peace, spirituality and love.   The exhibition is a journey of exploration inspired by an engagement with landscapes and seascapes and is a gentle provocation to all of us to reimagine the landscapes of our natural environment, the vast lands and oceans we call our home, linked to the landscapes of our internal well-being. 

This unique exhibition premiered in 2024 at Rathfarnham Castle Dublin to great acclaim and is now on show at the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery, 30 Sandycove Road, Dublin A39V9P1. The exhibition runs from Friday 5 September to Sunday 28 September 2025, Wednesday to Sunday 1-6pm daily. Landscapes of the Soul is the inaugural exhibition to launch the new Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality Visual Art Gallery and Arts Centre at 30 Sandycove Road, Dublin, A96V9P1. 

Mary Moynihan (she/her) is an award-winning writer, poet, theatre and filmmaker and  a creator of art and photography. Mary is Artistic Director of Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, and Artistic Curator for the annual Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival supported by The Arts Council. 

Key note Speaker: Barry Ward, Teachta Dála (TD) for Dún Laoghaire. Fine Gael.

Barry was elected as a member of Dáil Éireann in November, 2024. Prior to that, Barry served as a Senator, and was Seanad spokesperson on Justice. A practicing barrister, Barry is originally from Deansgrange. He was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2009, representing the Blackrock Ward, which also includes Booterstown, Deansgrange, Foxrock, Monkstown and Stillorgan. Barry also served as Leader of the Fine Gael group on the Council. In 2020, he was elected to the Industrial and Commercial Panel of the Seanad, having stood in that year’s general election in the Dún Laoghaire constituency.

On the Council, Barry worked tirelessly on various local issues including parks, recycling, public transport and cycling infrastructure, climate action, coastal issues and supporting local businesses. In the Seanad, he has championed criminal justice reform, and has a particular interest in education, foreign affairs, the environment and promoting the Irish language – ár dteanga náisiúnta.

A sailor, Barry has been vocal in his support for the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI, and speaks frequently about water safety and the need for the improvement of water quality in Dublin Bay. He is a member of the Oireachtas committees on Justice, An Ghaeilge, and Members’ Interests, and is also an Irish Co-Chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).

Barry has fought hard for gender and marriage equality and is a strong advocate for change. He is a leading voice in local campaigns, such as the Sutton to Sandycove (S2S) Coastal Promenade and locating a new permanent home for Gaelscoil Laighean in Blackrock as well as providing strong contributions to discussions on ongoing international events in occupied Palestine, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Belarus, even adopting a Belarusian political prisoner.

In his spare time, Barry enjoys walks with his cocker spaniel, Ruby, on Dún Laoghaire Pier, on Killiney Hill and in Cabinteely Park. He speaks Irish and French, and hosts the Irish Legislation Podcast.

About the Smashing Times Visual Art Gallery and Arts and Human Rights Centre

Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality is an award-winning international organisation and arts space dedicated to the promotion, study and practice of the arts for equality, human rights and diversity. The mission of the centre is to lead the development of the arts to promote and advance equality and human rights and to connect citizens to the arts, human rights, climate justice, gender equality and peace, working with artists and local communities and communities of interest to create collaborative art practice in local, national, European and international settings.

 

Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality are delighted to open a new, intimate multifunctional arts space at 30 Sandycove Road, Dublin, A96V9P1.  The centre operates as a world class arts space and digital hub for artists, citizens, communities and the general public across Ireland, Northern Ireland and internationally. The centre is the first of its kind in Ireland and serves as a unique venue in Dublin, delivering high-impact cultural programming rooted in social justice, inclusivity, and creative expression.

 

The centre is a dual-purpose art space (approximately 100 to 120 square metres) serving as both a visual art gallery and a space for live events. This new arts and human rights centre is dedicated to professional arts practice, community engagement and inspired by the arts for equality human rights, diversity, democracy and peace. The centre’s inaugural show is a powerful exhibition Landscapes of the Soul, featuring artworks by artist Mary Moynihan.  The exhibition runs from Friday 5 September to Sunday 28 September 2025, Wednesday to Sunday 1-6pm daily.

The centre fosters a connected atmosphere, encouraging engagement between artists and audiences.  The centre’s hybrid nature – visual art gallery and space for live events – makes it ideal for artists working across disciplines and for organisations seeking to integrate different art forms under one roof. This adaptable setup supports a wide range of practices: from visual and installation art to live performance and events, to spoken word, to professional art workshops, a Youth Arts programme and a range of training and public engagement workshops.

During gallery hours, the space operates as a contemporary exhibition area, with white walls that provide a clean backdrop for visual artworks. Works are hung or installed with care to preserve openness in the space for exhibitions and installations comprising visual art, photography, sculpture and film installations.

At scheduled times, the gallery transforms into a venue for performances, music, readings, panel discussions or talks as well as community events and workshops of all kinds.

The space features a flat floor with no raised seating, allowing for flexible arrangement of chairs or floor seating depending on the event. Lighting is minimal and incudes fixed overhead fixtures and portable lights designed for medium scale performances, events, readings or rehearsals. Black curtains throughout transform the space from a gallery into a live performance venue. The flooring is a durable laminate, light grey surface. Acoustics rely on natural sound of the space with a PA system for amplification.

Located in Dublin, Ireland, the Smashing Times space offers a flexible, low-tech environment that accommodates up to 70 people. This versatile space fosters a close-knit, immersive atmosphere, ideal for professional arts programming, multidisciplinary work and community engagement.

Nice to Know – Connections to Nature: The Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality at 30 Sandycove Road is situated in Sandycove, County Dublin, Ireland. It lies approximately 300 to 400 metres from the beautiful Sandycove Pier and the adjacent iconic Forty Foot swimming area. This equates to a brief 3 to 5-minute walk to the sea, depending on your pace. The route is straightforward and pedestrian-friendly, making it convenient for regular visits to the seafront. With the sea only minutes away, the space is both physically and creatively inspired by our surrounding environment.

 

Up the road, approximately a 10 to 15 minute walk from 30 Sandycove Road is the People’s Park in Dún Laoghaire, a landscaped Victorian park that features formal gardens, a bandstand, a playground, and a popular Sunday market offering local produce and crafts.

 

There are several wooded areas within a short drive including Killiney Hill Park. This park is located about 3 km south of Sandycove and offers wooded trails and panoramic views of Dublin Bay. Cabinteely Park is approximately 5 km west of Sandycove, and this expansive park features woodlands, a large pond, and open spaces.

 

From 30 Sandycove Road, the scenic Carrickgollogan Wood is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles)  located to the southwest in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The drive typically takes around 20 to 25 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. Carrickgollogan Wood features a variety of walking trails, including the Lead Mines Way, a 2.3 km loop offering impressive views over Dublin Bay, the city, and the coast. The viewing rock at Carrickgollogan Hill is approximately 276 meters high, offering panoramic views of south Dublin and north Wicklow. The area is also home to the historic Ballycorus lead mines chimney, a remnant of 19th-century lead mining operations.

 

Speaker Biographies:

Reflections on an Artistic Home

By Mary Moynihan

Many of today’s artists live ‘nomadic’ lives and work in ‘nomadic’ practices.  Nomadic means to roam or travel from place to place.  Artists survive on adaptable practices travelling from one grant to another, one contract to another, one venue to another, from a residency to a gallery, to a theatre, to a community centre, and from the local to the global. Artists move from space to space creating excellent work available to the public. Many artists however do not have access to a permanent building to call their artistic home. The artist is ‘homeless’, moving from building to building they have no  ownership or say in.

This may be a choice but often it is not. We continue to see an unequal distribution of funding and unequal access to power making structures within the arts. It is a world of visible and invisible exclusions, where freedom is supposedly encouraged yet continuously contained and increasingly ‘managed’ by everyone except the artists themselves.  

Power can be expressed through architectural design. Large building complexes can convey wealth and authority through scale. Wealth often demonstrates its own excesses by putting up even bigger buildings, immense ‘towers of babel’. In the past massive cathedrals were built to showcase power. Research today demonstrates a link between building super-tall skyscrapers and wealth inequality especially when the buildings house super-wealthy owners or large corporations.

What building work is taking place in Ireland today to create small to medium scale people-friendly accessible art and community buildings? Where are the spaces that artists and arts organisations can run themselves and even own, buildings for people of all ages to come together to make and view art, to hang out and connect. Where we do have large buildings that currently house art centres, it is always a pleasure when that space becomes a ‘home’ to the artists and communities who animate and use the space. I believe cultural spaces feel more meaningful when they’re genuinely owned and shaped by the artists and communities themselves, rather than just being “for” them in name only.

What is an artistic home? How can artists and art collectives afford beautiful buildings in the centres of cities and towns where they can work and connect with audiences? Can we remain nomadic, travelling out to various sites, with the option to return to a permanent base?  Without affordable spaces to make art in, and proper funding to work with, arts communities disappear. It is important to have full transparency around the allocation of public buildings to artists and communities. Unfortunately in Ireland today artists continue to experience difficulties in trying to find space to work in that is accessible and affordable. 

Art was initially done in traditional buildings with a purpose built theatre or gallery but now art can happen anywhere.  Art galleries often had a permanent physical location within a specific building and the design of the gallery itself is consider an important aesthetic consideration. We now have a more fluid approach to art with online gallery spaces and pop-up galleries.  Smashing Times, with funding from the Arts Council, have created an online gallery designed by digital artist Paul Marshall to showcase high quality artworks that reflect on equality, rights and diversity.

Having a permanent home does not mean that successful existing partnerships between arts organisations and art spaces stop.   Smashing Times work with a range of venues such as The Barracks in Cahersiveen. We have used a top floor of this building as a temporary art gallery and are working towards the creation of a permanent mixed-use room for showcasing artworks, workshops and talks. This building is situated on an  elevated site close to the bridge over the River Fertha in Cahersiveen and was constructed between 1870 and 1875 as a police station for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Following the Fenian Rising of 1867, the authorities wanted to protect the transatlantic telegraph cable, a valuable piece of infrastructure, which terminated at Valentia Island nearby. This resulted in the design of a large, military-style building and its construction on a site that commanded views over the bay and Valentia Island.

We work in beautiful buildings such as Rathfarnham Castle, the Pearse Museum and St Enda’s Park, presenting multidisciplinary exhibitions and walk-about shows.  This type of artistic collaboration benefits the building, artists and surrounding communities.

Our dream is a building for the Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Human Rights, a space where artists, citizens and communities come together to make and share art to promote equality, human rights and diversity.  This is an arts, community, youth and ‘all-ages’ space, with a gallery-performance venue,  workshop and rehearsal space.   It is a place for innovation, excitement and experimentation, where digital technologies exist side by side with the ancient art of bringing people together, a space animated by artists, communities, citizens, human rights defenders, and by you and I. A space where we celebrate our shared humanity and create new visions for a peaceful and equal future for all.   

 

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