Bolay Visual Artists Café

The project includes:
- a curatorial café run by Visual Artists Ireland on Tues 29 Sept at the Linenhall;
- a one-to-one mentorship programme with Art Critic and Curator, Marianne O'Kane Boal over a five-month period, from Oct 2026 to Feb 2027 (only available to five Mayo-based artists who have attended the café, artists must apply for a place on the programme, details below);
- a visual art group exhibition in the Linenhall in 2027 for artists participating in the mentorship programme.

Visual artists have the opportunity to apply to Visual Artists Ireland to attend the Bolay Visual Artists Café on Tues 29 September in the Linenhall. Places are limited

Please note: The deadline for applications to Visual Artists Ireland is Mon 21 Sept at 5pm.

The Linenhall is inviting visual artists to apply for the Bolay Programme, an ambitious professional development initiative designed to support visual artists through mentoring, networking and exhibition opportunities. Applications are now open for the 2026 programme.

Building on the success of its inaugural project, the Bolay Programme offers artists at different stages of their careers the opportunity to connect with leading curators, develop their practice and exhibit new work.

The programme begins with the Bolay Visual Artists Café, taking place at the Linenhall on Tuesday, 29th September. Managed by Visual Artists Ireland, the Café is a day-long networking event where 24 selected visual artists from across Ireland will take part in one-to-one meetings with professional curators.

Registration to attend the Café are open from July to September 2026, with a closing date of Monday, 21st September.

Following the Café, Mayo-based artists will be invited to apply for an intensive five-month mentorship programme with acclaimed art critic and curator Marianne O'Kane Boal, running from October 2026 to February 2027.

Five artists will be selected to participate in the mentorship, culminating in a significant group exhibition at the Linenhall Gallery in summer 2027.

'The Bolay Programme is about investing in artists at a point where meaningful professional support can make a lasting difference,' says Linenhall co-Director, Bernadette Greenan. 'We want to create opportunities that extend beyond a single exhibition, encouraging artists to build confidence and develop ambitious new work, ultimately strengthening our wider visual arts community in Mayo.'

Mayo artists wishing to be considered for the mentorship programme should register for the café event and submit an expression of interest by Friday, 28th August to director@thelinenhall.com, including:
- an artist statement;
- artist CV;
- short biography;
- six to eight images of recent work;
- a brief statement outlining how participation in the programme would benefit their practice.

The Bolay Programme grew from the Linenhall's Bolay Residency, first established in 2020 in honour of visual artist Veronica Bolay, who served on the Linenhall Board of Trustees for thirteen years. The residency, originally supporting just one artist, developed into a successful pilot programme in 2024, expanding the project to create longer-term professional development opportunities for multiple visual artists in Mayo.

Developed in consultation with Visual Artists Ireland, the programme reflects recommendations to broaden and deepen support for multiple artists through sustained mentoring, curatorial engagement and exhibition opportunities. Running from 2025 to 2028, the programme will be reviewed following its first cycle to ensure it continues to respond to the evolving needs of artists and the wider visual arts sector.

'One of the strengths of the Bolay Programme is that it continues to evolve. We've listened closely to artists, our partners and the wider sector to shape a programme that is responsive and sustainable. We're excited to welcome a new cohort of artists in 2026 and to continue building a platform where creative practice can flourish through mentorship, dialogue and collaboration,' said Greenan

The Bolay Programme is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Mayo Arts Office. The Bolay Visual Artists Café is managed by Visual Artists Ireland.

Curators taking part in the Visual Artists Café include:

Davey Moor
Davey Moor has worked as a curator since 2004, in a mix of independent and institutional roles, and has also written and lectured on art. Alongside the many freelance exhibitions he has produced, he was Head Curator at Monster Truck, 2008–2014; Director at Kevin Kavanagh gallery 2008–2010; Collection Manager & Registrar at the Irish State Art Collection in the OPW, 2010–2024 and Curator at the RHA 2024-2026. daveymoor.com

Dermot Browne
Dermot Browne is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and mentor based in Cork, Ireland. With a practice rooted in visual culture, he brings over two decades of experience in curating, exhibiting, and mentoring artists across Ireland. Dermot is the founder of Crane Visual and One Space Culture CLG, initiatives focused on accessible, regenerative arts engagement. His work bridges creative leadership, sustainability, and wellbeing, informed by training in Design Thinking, Conscious Leadership, and cultural entrepreneurship. Through a range of Embodiment practices, exhibitions, and one-to-one mentorship, he supports artists in navigating both practice and purpose in a changing (and challenging) cultural landscape.

Catherine Hemelryk
Catherine Hemelryk is a curator and Director of CCA Derry~Londonderry, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and member of the British Art Network's steering group. Catherine is a mentor, guest lecturer, editor, consultant and advisor. Under Catherine's leadership, CCA was a Finalist for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021 and during her time working at NN, Northampton, she led the organisation to achieve NPO status from Arts Council England. She was previously Curator at CAC Vilnius as well as working freelance with projects and curatorial residencies spanning Europe including GeoAIR Tbilisi, Sea Foundation Tilburg, Magacin Belgrade, Galerie Antje Wachs Berlin and Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire.

Niamh Darling
Niamh Darling is a Dublin-based early-career curator, currently working as an Assistant Curator at The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art and Ireland at Venice 2026. Niamh’s curatorial practice is concerned with how social norms are shaped and sustained in the precarious conditions of life under late capitalism. In her previous role as the 2024 Provost’s Fellow in Curating at The Douglas Hyde, Niamh curated Living Conditions, an event exploring the precarity embedded in the built environment, featuring new and existing works by Avril Corroon, Evan Kelly and Eva Richardson McCrea. In 2025, Niamh was Production Assistant to Deirdre O’Mahony on her forthcoming major new performance and moving image work. Niamh has also co-produced live performances and events including Miss Powder Vacuum in 2025 at The Douglas Hyde and Fringe was Here for Dublin Fringe Festival 2024. She was editor of Worlding, a publication featuring commissioned work by the 2024 Student Forum, and her writing has been published by The Lab, Visual Artist’s Newspaper and Paper Visual Art. She was recipient of the 2025 Agility Award.

Dr Marianne O’Kane Boal
Dr Marianne O’Kane Boal is a well-known curator and writer on art and architecture. She has written extensively on these subjects over the past 25 years. She writes for the Irish Arts Review, Circa, Perspective, Living Design, Visual Artists Newsletter and Architecture Ireland. She has curated over 50 exhibitions in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Marianne completed her PhD in Social Research at Atlantic Technological University Sligo in 2023. She is President of the Irish Section of AICA (International Association of Art Critics) and Expert Advisor on Art for the Ministerial Advisory Group on Architecture and the Built Environment in Northern Ireland. She has been delivering webinars and professional development workshops for Visual Artists Ireland for over fifteen years since 2009 on curating, creative proposals, presenting work, writing about practice and public art. She is presenting at ‘Brave New Worlds: Brian O’Nolan and Aldous Huxley’ in February 2025 at the Aldous Huxley Centre, Zürich, her paper entitled ‘Symbolism and significance of food and sleep in Brian O'Nolan's At Swim Two Birds and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World'. She has also presented at conferences in Prague, Chile, Belfast and Dublin.

For further information about the Bolay Programme, contact Bernadette Greenan at director@thelinenhall.com.