Warp & Weft

Warp & Weft explores inclusive neighbourhood-making across three Irish towns; Castlepollard (Water Street Association), Callan (Workhouse Union), and Athenry (Amicitia), funded by the Arts Council. This project emerged from participation in the Making Neighbourhoods residency led by Workhouse Union in partnership with Cloughjordan CoHousing and Self Organised Architecture (SOA).

For the Athenry context, we co-developed 'Resonant Landscapes', an immersive soundscape project that captured the interplay between natural environments, lived experiences, and socio-ecological issues across the town. Field recordings, oral histories and local narratives were recorded, documenting their unique sense of place. The piece was experienced in Athenry as an audio walking tour delivered via a custom mobile app.

The tour guides participants through seemingly mundane places and spaces that quietly nurture community connections, transforming them into potential sites for creative placemaking interventions. As residents from all three towns moved through Athenry, shifting between individual listening with headphones and conversing in pairs, the experience prompted them to recognise similar spaces and community groups within their own neighbourhoods, sparking conversations about possibilities that might otherwise remain invisible.

The project continues to evolve, upon being awarded a Circular Economy Innovation Grant with Amicitia to further develop the audio walk and connect in local growers and food initiatives through an experiential learning programme on circular food systems.