The 21st edition of the TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, entitled honey, milk and salt in a seashell before sunrise, takes place in venues across Galway 3-19 November. This year’s festival is curated by Iarlaith Ní Fheorais and features a programme of multi-venue exhibitions and events including artist and curator talks, gallery tours, a performance, a film screening and radio performance on Flirt FM.

Contributors to honey, milk and salt in a seashell before sunrise include Áine O’Hara, Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha, Anna Roberts-Gevalt, Bog Cottage, Bridget O’Gorman, Edward Lawrenson & Pia Borg, Holly Márie Parnell, Jamila Prowse, Jenny Brady, Leila Hekmat, Nat Raha, P. Staff, Paul Roy, Philipp Gufler, Rouzbeh Shadpey, Sarah Browne and Sean Burns.

Throughout the festival there are an array of talks, workshops, tours, screenings and performances to consider how landscapes and communities are shaped by these legacies, and how they influence how we see ourselves and where we call home. TULCA has published a companion publication with essays on drawings of J.J. Beegan, the Spiddal born disability activist Martin Naughton, unionising patients, the abolitionist disability politics of the Black Panther Party, the personal archives of those committed to St. Brendan’s, Grangegorman and poetry reflecting on abolition, disability justice and home.

Writers include Alan Counihan, Carol R. Kallend, Joanna Marsden, Nat Raha, Roisin Agnew, Sami Schalk and Tone F Pone + Inky Lee. 

Honey, milk and salt in a seashell before sunrise is dedicated to Ballinasloe born artist J.J. Beegan. Beegan drew on tissue paper using burnt matchsticks while living at Netherne Mental Hospital in Surrey, England. Beegan often named himself, his profession and where he’s from, alongside images of flowers and birds, writing: “J.J. BEEGAN SCULPTERER DUNLO HILL BALLINASLOE.” Acknowledging his recalling of home, Beegan’s work will be celebrated at an event in Ballinasloe Library. 

Accessibility is a core tenet of this year’s festival. TULCA are honoured to be working in collaboration with Arts & Disability Ireland to create access provision for the festival, including captioning of selected video works and training for our education team to deliver audio described tours during the festival. In addition to this support, many films have audio described versions, with transcripts provided for soundpieces. There will be masked social events and our booklets feature access statements to support guests on their visit. TULCA encourages guests to take their time at the festival, offering plenty of seats and spaces to rest. 

Full programme details can be found at www.tulca.ie. The TULCA Festival is supported by Arts Council of Ireland, Galway City Council, Galway County Council and Arts & Disability Ireland.