The Model, Sligo.

The Healing Arts: A Creative Companion

Maja Moser — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 16:00:24 +0000

The Model initiated a unique Arts & Health project at Sligo University Hospital’s new offsite ward at St John’s in 2026, creating opportunities for patients and staff to engage with an artist during their hospital stay.

The project began when The Model reached out to the hospital to explore how the significant arts and health work already undertaken across nursing homes in Sligo could be extended into a busy clinical environment.

For patients spending long periods in hospital, time can be repetitive and isolating. Through simple, accessible creative activities, the project offered an opportunity to step outside the routine of care and treatment, engage the imagination, and make space for curiosity and creativity.

Artist Andy Parsons led the project, drawing on his extensive experience working in Arts and Health contexts. Responding to the practical realities of an acute hospital environment, including limited space and infection-control requirements, the artist developed flexible activities using watercolour, collage, pencil and clay. There was no expectation of a finished artwork or outcome; the emphasis was on participation, curiosity and individual expression.

Shauna Horan, Clinical Nurse Manager at the Medical Offsite Ward, said:

“Despite some obstacles, including outbreaks and reduced staffing, we feel the project was very successful and thoroughly enjoyed by both patients and staff. It was lovely to see some of the artwork displayed on the ward, and some of our patients who are here for an extended period participated multiple times in the classes. It was so lovely to have an activity for them to do in the evenings, as it can be a long day in here for some of our patients.”

Reflecting on the project, artist Andy Parsons said:

“Small pockets of time spent away from the ward undertaking art-based activities can change the tone of a patient’s day, and improve their whole experience of staying in hospital. The potential of this transformative work is enormous, and demands as much energy and focus as artists and institutions can give to it.”

Even a small artistic intervention can meaningfully shift the experience of a hospital environment, creating moments of creativity, connection and agency through simple acts of making. The St John’s project demonstrated the value of bringing artists into places where art has to negotiate its space, offering meaningful encounters and creative possibilities for both patients and staff in the midst of a long hospital day.

In relation to his own practice, Andy found that the project further confirmed the relational potential of practical art activities and slow looking, while also reaffirming the wider value and potential of arts in health within hospital settings.

This project was generously funded by Sligo County Council and the Creative Ireland Programme 2023–2027. It was developed in partnership with staff at Sligo University Hospital, with support from the hospital’s Research & Education Foundation.

Andy Parsons’ practice combines working in community contexts with making drawing, sculpture and painting. Projects have focused on people and places, and on activities where people work together and help each other. He has worked in a Community Care setting for older people, Mental Health Inpatients, and a community boatbuilding project in the Sligo docks.

Andy Parsons has received several significant awards, including the Pollock Krasner Foundation Award. He has exhibited in exhibitions internationally, with solo shows in London and Tokyo.

Call-out to join our Young Model programme!

Maja Moser — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:00:14 +0000

Exhibition Opening | Desire Lines; curated by aemi

Maja Moser — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:28 +0000

The Model warmly invites you to view the exhibition ‘Desire Lines’ curated by aemi from Fri. 18 September.

‘Desire Lines’ is aemi's 2026 touring programme, an annual selection of artist and experimental film that brings together a range of voices from Irish and international contemporary practice.

Featuring films by Chloe Brenan, Collectif Faire Part, Eóin Heaney, Olivia Normile and Basma al-Sharif, ‘Desire Lines’ premiered at the Irish Film Institute in January and has since screened in Belfast and Galway with further dates also confirmed to take place later in 2026 in Wicklow, Louth and Offaly.

Visit Exhibition

Closed to Public on Thu. 24th & Fri. 25th September

Maja Moser — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 08:00:18 +0000

Exhibition Opening | Cathy Wilkes

Maja Moser — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:15 +0000

Creative Youth Nurture Fund to fund new Young Model programme

Maja Moser — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 08:00:19 +0000

The Model has been granted €100,000 through the Creative Youth Nurture Fund to expand its Young Model programme through a landmark collaboration with internationally acclaimed artist Bob & Roberta Smith.

The award is one of just nine grants announced nationwide and the only successful project from County Sligo, recognising The Model's leadership in creating ambitious, artist-led opportunities for young people.

Emer McGarry, Director of The Model, said:

"This investment is a powerful endorsement of what young people can achieve when they are given the opportunity to create, question and be heard. At The Model, we believe contemporary art has the power to open up conversations, build confidence and help young people see themselves as active participants in shaping society. Collaborating with Bob & Roberta Smith will be an extraordinary experience for everyone involved, bringing together creativity, democracy and collective action in ways that are imaginative, ambitious and deeply relevant. We can't wait to see the ideas, energy and perspectives that emerge from this project."

This ambitious new project offers participants a rare opportunity to work directly with internationally acclaimed artist Bob & Roberta Smith, whose practice explores the relationship between art, democracy and public life.

Together with the artist, young people will investigate the issues that matter most to them and transform those ideas into bold slogans, placards and public artworks, turning personal concerns, frustrations and aspirations into creative statements that invite conversation and debate. Inspired by Bob & Roberta Smith's distinctive approach, the project will encourage young people to see art not only as a form of self-expression, but as a way of questioning, communicating and participating in the world around them.

Bob and Roberta Smith said:

Art develops children's voices, if we don’t encourage kids to dance, sing, act and draw we won’t hear their voices as adults. Art ask us to join in and take part.

I am so excited and honoured to work with young people at The Model in Sligo because I know that in partnership with them we will be able to develop joyful and important work focused on their hopes for the future.

Children know about justice, fairness is key for them, I believe we have much to learn from children through their art.

The project will extend far beyond the studio. Young people will have opportunities to bring this work into public spaces and civic settings, sharing their perspectives with wider audiences and engaging directly with those involved in shaping public life. In doing so, they will experience first-hand how creativity can create dialogue, challenge assumptions and contribute to public life.

The project will culminate in a co-created exhibition at The Model, presenting the ideas, artworks and conversations generated throughout the programme. Along the way, participants will develop artistic skills, build confidence in expressing their views and discover the power of collective creativity to shape public discussion.

Young people interested in taking part in Young Model, as well as parents and guardians who would like to learn more about the programme, are encouraged to get in touch with The Model. Young Model welcomes young people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels, with a focus on curiosity, creativity and collaboration. For more information about upcoming opportunities and how to get involved, visit The Model's website or contact the Learning & Public Engagement team at education@themodel.ie.