Exhibition and Workshops
Thursday 17–Sunday 20 September 2026
10 am–5 pm daily
The Booley
Fernwood
Killymongaun
Clifden H71 XY80
EXHIBITION
This September we are creating a temporary gathering place inspired by the Irish booley — the seasonal summer settlement where families moved with their cattle to the upland pastures. Part exhibition, part workshop programme and part meeting place, The Summer Keep explores the many ways we try to preserve summer: through art and craft, through the things we make by hand, and through memories, skills and shared experiences.
Over 4 days, we invite you to explore new artworks, design objects and works in progress, sample seasonal preserves and cordials, and spend time making, talking and gathering together. Bringing together fine art, traditional craft and contemporary design, the exhibition continues our ongoing exploration of our relationship with nature, place and the changing seasons.
Exhibition admission is free.
WORKSHOPS
Alongside The Summer Keep exhibition, we are hosting a small programme of workshops exploring print, pattern and casting. Inspired by the landscape and the things we gather and keep, each workshop is an opportunity to make together and leave with something of your own.
Places are limited, and booking is required for some workshops (see below). All workshops take place at The Booley, Fernwood.
WALLPAPER - Co-designing a Superfolk Wallpaper
Saturday 19 September | 10 am–12 pm
Adults | 6 places | 2 hours | €50
Join a small working group and help us develop a new Superfolk wallpaper.
Wallpaper is something we have been exploring behind the scenes in our studio for the past few years. As we move towards a production design, we would like to bring you into our process. Together we’ll explore historic patterns, colour and repeat before using pre-cut lino blocks to print, test and develop ideas. Your experiments and observations will feed into our design process, and you’ll create your own hand-printed wallpaper sample to take home.
Best suited to people with an interest in design, printmaking, wallpaper or interiors and a basic level of comfort with drawing and sketching. No printmaking experience is necessary.
Herbal tea and biscuits, materials and equipment are included.
SAND CASTING - Seaside Souvenirs
Saturday 19th September | 2-3 pm
Children 9+ accompanied by adult | 6 places | 1 hours | €50
Make a small pewter keepsake of a favourite Clifden beach.
Bring a small shell you have gathered locally, or choose one from our collection. Using the traditional process of sand casting, we’ll take an impression of the shell and cast it in pewter, then finish it by hand.
You’ll leave with your own small seaside souvenir to keep as an object, wear as a charm or turn into a keyring — a little piece of the seaside to carry with you.
No previous casting experience is necessary.
Cordial and biscuits, all materials and equipment, are included.
Children in this workshop must be accompanied by an adult.
SAND CASTING - Seaside Souvenirs
Sunday 20 September | 10–11 am
Adults | 6 places | 1 hours | €50
Make a small pewter keepsake of a favourite Clifden beach.
Bring a small shell you have gathered locally, or choose one from our collection. Using the traditional process of sand casting, we’ll take an impression of the shell and cast it in pewter before finishing it by hand. You’ll leave with your own small seaside souvenir to keep as an object, wear as a charm or turn into a keyring — a little piece of the seaside to carry with you.
No previous casting experience is necessary. Herbal tea and biscuits, materials and equipment are included.
FABRIC BLOCK PRINTING - 'A Bed of Leaves' Pillowcase
Sunday 20 September | 2 pm – 3 pm
Children 5+ with an adult | 6 pairs | 1 hours | €50 per pair
An afternoon of block printing inspired by native woodland and the illustrated worlds of Elsa Beskow.
Together, children and their grown-ups will use pre-cut lino blocks of native leaves to build a pattern onto a cotton pillowcase — creating a bed of leaves to lay your head on. Each pair will design and hand-print a pillowcase together to take home. No drawing or printmaking experience is needed.
Cordial and biscuits, materials and equipment are included.
Drop-in Printmaking Demonstration with Superfolk
Friday 18 September | 2–4 pm
Free | No booking required
Drop in and watch Jo Anne from Superfolk block printing..
Jo Anne will be printing from hand-carved lino blocks, sharing the process from block to finished print and answering questions about printmaking, materials and how we develop our work at Superfolk.
Come by for a few minutes or pull up a chair and stay a while.
Bord Dúlra - Nature Make & Do Table
Thursday–Sunday | 10 am–5 pm
Children & families | Free | Drop in
Throughout The Summer Keep, our Bord Dúlra( Nature Make & Do table) will be open for children and families to stop, sit and make together. Inspired by the season and the landscape around us, there will be simple nature-based activities and materials to explore at your own pace. No booking required. Drop in at any time during the exhibition.
Programme At a Glance
Thursday 17 September
10 am–5 pm — The Summer Keep exhibition and Bord Dúlra - free, drop in
Friday 18 September
10 am–5 pm — The Summer Keep exhibition and Bord Dúlra - free, drop in
2–4 pm — Printmaking Demonstration with Superfolk — free, drop in
Saturday 19 September
10 am–5 pm — The Summer Keep exhibition and Bord Dúlra - free, drop in
10 am–12 pm — Co-design Workshop: Developing a Superfolk Wallpaper — €50, adults, booking required
2-3 pm - SAND CASTING Seaside Souvenirs — €50, child and adult, booking required
Sunday 20 September
10 am–5 pm — The Summer Keep exhibition and Bord Dúlra - free, drop-in
10–11.30 am — Seaside Souvenirs: Sand Casting — €50, adult, booking required
2–3 pm — A Bed of Leaves: Block printing on pillowcase - Adult and Child Block Printing — €50 per pair, booking required
How to get there
The Booley, Fernwood, Killymongaun, Clifden H71 XY80
Free parking on site.