The Wicklow Artist Salon returns in 2023 and this year's programme is curated and facilitated by artists Philip St John, Joanna Kidney and Olivia Fitzsimons. 

The Artist Salon is an artist-led initiative by County Wicklow artists for Wicklow artists and cultural practitioners. It is peer support and takes the form of a series of evening events bringing together artists in person with both a social and professional purpose - to seed learning, support interactions and encourage collaborations. 

Each Salon focuses on a particular topic and features invited artists to explore important themes affecting the arts in Wicklow and beyond.

All Artist Salon events allow time for the contribution of questions and opinions, along with an opportunity to mingle and chat with fellow artists afterwards.

Admission is free but booking is essential. Tea and coffee will be provided but feel free to bring something for the table to accompany it.

For more information about this event and future salons, plus biographies for each of the guests and facilitators, please head to Mermaid Arts Centre website. 

The Wicklow Artist Salon supported by Mermaid Arts Centre and funded by Wicklow County Arts Office.

The Wicklow Artist Salon is devised and managed by:

Philip St John

Philip St John’s plays include the international award winning Maxine; Temptress, the rights of which have been sold for a movie, and The Sylvia, which was the centrepiece of Dublin’s Collaborations Festival and toured Italy in translation. His short fiction has been published in New Irish Writing and journals abroad and shortlisted for major awards. He is currently writing two theatre scripts and a novel, all supported by Arts Council funding.     

Joanna Kidney

Joanna Kidney is an Irish visual artist. Her practice is concerned with the sensory, temporal, interconnected and holistic aspects of being human. Her abstract work is an enquiry of the mark and the line through drawing, painting and physical space.

She has exhibited in Solo and Group Exhibitions in Ireland, France, Germany, UK and USA. She is the recipient of a William J. Cooper Foundation Grant (USA) and Arts Council of Ireland funding. International residencies include Swarthmore College, Philadelphia; Kiðjaberg, Iceland and Brigham Young University, Utah. Her practice includes collaborations with visual artists, dance artists and artists collectives. She is a co- founding member of Outpost Studios, Co. Wicklow. Her work is held in Irish and International Public and Private Collections.

www.joannakidney.com

Olivia Fitzsimons

Olivia Fitzsimons is a writer. Her debut novel, The Quiet Whispers Never Stop, was published by John Murray Press in April 2022. She is a current Dean Arts Studio Resident in Dublin and is the recipient of the Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris/Literature Ireland Residency 2022/23. She has been awarded grants from the Arts Council of Ireland and Northern Ireland for her writing, and her work has appeared in publications such as The Irish Times, The Stinging Fly and The Cormorant. Her short story, Un Hôtel Tranquille, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Short Works in August 2022. She is currently working on her second novel and has several screenplays in development. 

https://oliviafitzsimons.com/