Fingal Arts Office announces recipient of Loughshinny Boathouse Studio Award 2025

Fingal Arts Office has announced visual artist Maria McSweeney as the recipient of this year’s Loughshinny Boathouse Studio Award, a residency that will see her develop new work inspired by the Fingal coastline.

The award provides a fully funded studio space in the old boathouse at Loughshinny, where McSweeney will spend nine months exploring the area’s biodiversity, habitats, and the impacts of climate change.

Running from September 2025 to May 2026, the residency encourages artists to engage with the natural environment while working closely with local communities and environmental specialists.

McSweeney’s art practice is rooted in lens-based media and focuses on the concept of “deep mapping” landscapes. Recently, her attention has turned to underwater and coastal ecologies.

She uses snorkeling and scuba diving to observe these environments, then documents them through analogue photography, film, and experimental darkroom techniques.

In a sustainable twist, she has been developing 35mm and Super 8 underwater films using natural materials like seaweed and seawater instead of traditional chemical processes.

“I’m delighted to receive the Loughshinny Boathouse Studio Award which offers me the time and resources to fully explore the potential of my lens-based art practice, and to experiment with new ecological processes and materials,” McSweeney said.

“I plan to create a site-specific body of work focused on the seaweed species present in Loughshinny and the wider Fingal coastline.”

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O’Leary, welcomed the announcement, saying: “I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Maria McSweeney on being chosen for this significant award and I am excited to see the innovative work she will produce during her residency at the boathouse.”

Fingal County Council’s Arts Officer, Sarah O’Neill, added: “This award reflects Fingal County Council’s ongoing commitment to supporting artists, enabling them to develop original work while fostering meaningful collaboration with communities and biodiversity experts.”

McSweeney’s career has been marked by a string of awards and residencies in recent years.

She completed a BA in Sculpture and Combined Media at Limerick School of Art and Design in 2020, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Art and Ecology at NCAD in 2025.

She has been awarded the Arts Council Agility Award multiple times, received Create’s Artist in the Community Scheme mentoring award, and held residencies at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre and Dublin’s Darkroom.

Her installation Submerged Mythos featured at IMMA’s Earth Rising festival in 2024.

With the Loughshinny residency, McSweeney says her focus will be on seaweed and its role in both the natural and social histories of the coastline.

By working directly on site, she hopes to highlight the ecological and cultural significance of these coastal environments while pushing the boundaries of sustainable art practice.