Looking Again: What Dunlavin Holds

What happens when you look again at a place you think you know?

We're inviting you on a digital tour through Dunlavin, peeling back the surface of its buildings, landscape, ecology and stories through three contemporary artworks made in the town. Through photographs and footage gathered along the way, we'll take you inside the spaces we created and share some of the strange, unexpected and remarkable things we discovered.

You'll encounter the Market House, the hanged men and 1798 Rebellion; St Nicholas' Church and unexpected connections uncovered; hand-cleaved pit props drawing on Wicklow's copper mining heritage; and threatened habitats, native planting and older traditions of cultivation and healing.

Led by contemporary artist Noel Brennan, the project brought together an unusual group of contributors: local artisan and carpenter James Grace, internationally renowned botanist Peter Wyse Jackson, Siobhan Madden eco artist, and international museum and arts professional Aebhric Coleman, alongside people from our community. Together, we explored new ways of looking at and interacting with our built, natural and social heritage and opening up the stories of our town.

There were 3 interventions, collectively The Don't Trilogy, were developed with Dunlavin Arts Festival. The final work, Don't Look @ Me That Way, was supported by Wicklow County Council Arts Office and Creative Ireland Programme.

The works have become a provisional archive, holding onto habitats, stories, skills and local knowledge that might otherwise disappear. Come and look again at Dunlavin. You might be surprised by what's been there all along.