Aistearoir Residency

Aistearoir is the Irish word for journey. This is a curator-artist mentorship. Six curators are invited to participate in a developmental residency from April 8th to April 12th. During this time, these curators will decide which artist they would like to work with and they will mentor these artists throughout the year in whatever means of communication and timeframe they choose. An artist residency will take place in August in Live Art Ireland from 30th August to 24th September which the chosen artists will attend. These artists will then showcase the work they have developed in the VOID Gallery in Derry from 9th to 15th December. The six curators are: Deej Fabyc, Diana Bamimeke, Viviana Checchia, Valeria Ceregini, Karla Sanchez, and Marysia Wieckiewicz.

Karla Sánchez Zepeda is an art historian, curator, and cultural producer based in Ireland. Founder of Blackbird Cultúr-Lab, her work brings together agriculture, the arts, and interdisciplinary practice. 

Valeria Ceregini is an Italian, Ireland-based curator championing Irish artists nationally and internationally. Her curatorial interests span ecology, post-humanism, and trans-cultural dialogue, with recent projects at Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin and Palazzo Birago Turin.

Viviana Checchia is a curator and researcher, currently Director of Void Art Centre, Derry, and Co-Director of international curatorial platform Vessel, Puglia. Previously Residency Curator at Delfina Foundation, London.

Diana Bamimeke (they/them) is an independent curator, art writer, and transdisciplinary artist based in Dublin, whose practice is guided by Black feminist and queer thought, anti-colonialism, and anti-imperialism. Their writing has been published by frieze and Douglas Hyde Gallery. 

Marysia Więckiewicz (she/her) is a curator and art writer, recently appointed Curator of Visual Arts at Project Arts Centre, Dublin. She has organised exhibitions at IMMA, Hugh Lane Gallery, and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios. 

Deej Fabyc is a performance artist and Executive Director of Live Art Ireland, Tipperary, with four decades of international practice. Their work explores trauma, embodiment, and neurodiversity, and they curate residencies and festivals — including the biennial Convergence — supporting over 80 artists annually. 

We are thrilled to announce the six artists selected for this year’s Aistearoir programme!

Through an open call process, each of our six curators chose the artist they wished to work with — bringing together six distinctive curatorial and artistic voices.

The artists are:

Rebecca Strain (curator Deej Fabyc) is a multidisciplinary visual artist, writer, and curator based in Co. Donegal, working across grief, creativity, and place. She has collaborated with Bbeyond and BBDB in Derry, published Circles & Paradox in 2025, and exhibited at Durham Cathedral, The Glebe Gallery, and CCA Derry~Londonderry.

Elaine McGinn (curator Diana Bamimeke) is a Belfast-born artist based on the North East coast of Ireland, working across performance, community art, and art education since 2004, and a recent MFA graduate from Ulster University with a graduate award from Bbeyond.

Laura Flood (curator Vivianna Checchia) is an Irish artist exploring the human relationship with land through drawing, photography, natural dyes, and writing, holding an MA in Art & Research Collaboration from IADT with a focus on Art & Permaculture.

Domnick Sorace (curator Valeria Ceregini) is a Maltese/Italian multidisciplinary artist based in Dublin, whose recent achievements include a solo show at RUA RED, the Solstice Diversity Award, and a Culture Moves Europe Mobility Award supporting a writing residency in Assisi, Italy.

Sheenagh Geoghegan (curator Marysia Wieckiewicz) is a Tipperary-based interdisciplinary artist working across painting, sculpture, & live performance, holding an MFA from The Slade School of Art, including a 2024 collaboration with La Pocha Nostra curated by Live Art Ireland.

Tuqa Al Sarraj (curator Karla Sanchez) is a Dublin/Kildare-based Palestinian visual artist and filmmaker working across photography, video, performance, and installation to explore memory, loss, and exile, with exhibitions across Oslo, London, Ramallah, and Dublin. 

Thank you to the Arts Grant and the workspaces grant from the Arts Council for making this residency possible.

Image: Aistearoir sketch by Rachel MacManus