Board Members
Mary Doyle Burke - Founding Director
Mary Doyle Burke founded our organisation last August, following Kilkenny Arts Week. A Kilkenny Artist and Curator, Mary originally studied Fine Art at Ormonde College in 2019. Having returned to Kilkenny in 2022 after graduating as a mature student from Waterford Institute of Technology (SETU) with a BA Hons in Visual Art, she took up a studio in the city.
After engaging with many local artists and creatives during the Arts Festival, she recognised the need for a dedicated space in Kilkenny where artists could create and exhibit their work. With this in mind, she established the organisation and set up a workspace incorporating studios for local artists.
In September 2022, Mary approached Katie Quinn, manager of Dunnes Stores on Kieran Street, to enquire about leasing the old restaurant space upstairs as a new gallery for the organisation. Following a positive response, a meeting was arranged with Dunnes Stores Head Office. After months of negotiations, the lease is now signed, marking the beginning of an exciting new venture—a gallery that will bring the best of Kilkenny art to the wider community.
In December 2022, the organisation was awarded a grant under the Workspace Scheme from the Arts Council of Ireland to support the running costs of the studios, now based at 10, The Parade, Kilkenny.
Beyond her passion for the arts, Mary has extensive experience in administration, having worked in Insurance and Banking. Alongside her Degree in Visual Art, she also holds a Diploma in Cultural Studies with Telesales & French and a Higher Certificate in Insurance (IBA). She has dedicated over 20 years to the GAA, serving in roles such as Chairperson, Secretary, and Project Manager for development work, while also successfully managing various fundraisers for her club and community.
During Kilkenny Arts Week 2022, Mary was invited by the OPW to exhibit her graduation works (originally shown at Garter Lane, Waterford) on Kilkenny Castle grounds. She was also featured in the online Irish Arts Review "New Generation Gallery" in the August edition and received support from @kilkennyartsoffice for a project in 2023. Additionally, she exhibited with Dún Laoghaire Institute of Visual Arts in October 2023.
Graham Carew - Co Director
Graham is from Kilkenny and a painter and mixed media artist. He works in acrylics and watercolour but also uses permanent markers, household paint, and aerosols to cover his surfaces with imagery and text, which run from rant to mythology to poetry to personal stories.
He likes to paint birds, flowers and superheroes and sometimes altogether
He spent many years in Charlotte, NC, USA where He co founded Goodyear Arts, an innovative, nonprofit, artist-led project that has artist residencies and events in underused buildings in Charlotte, NC, USA.
He also co founded Wallpoems A poetry-based nonprofit mural project, with more than 20 permanent painted walls and installations in Charlotte, NC, USA.
He used to run The Artist in the Shop Window Project at Fogartys in Castlecomer an artist run empty space project
He is currently working on a series of murals in the kilkenny area.
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Marian Young - Treasurer
Originally from the heart of west Cork, Marian now lives in rural Kilkenny. With vast administrative experience from her many years working in a dynamic role with an agricultural Co-Op, Marian also has a BA in Irish Music & Dance from the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance, UL and a MA in Arts Policy & Practice from NUI Galway. Marian has lent a helping hand to many arts events and festivals over the years in west Cork, including the West Cork Literary Festival, Skibbereen Arts Festival, and the Drimoleague Singing Festival. Her preferred location is her veggie and flower garden with the radio on.