World renowned painters and writers to present at MTU symposium in the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City, 27th March.

‘Histories and Painting: Contemporary Negotiations, A Painting Symposium’ will take place on Friday 27th March 2026, 9.30-3.30pm at the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City, Ireland.

This one day symposium will feature presentations from 12 artists and writers exploring the artistic, historical, theoretical and societal contexts and debates that underlie painting’s ‘histories’ in all its various guises.

For the third year running, this collaboration between MTU Crawford College of Art and Design and the Triskel Arts Centre features a host of world renowned painters and writers including Prof Leon Wainwright, Dr Ginny Elston, Sam Cornish, Gordon Dalton, Associate Professor Helen Westgeest, Prof Alistair Payne, Kevin Mooney, Ed Kettleborough, Dr Kimathi Donkor, Katie Tomlinson, Chester Tenneson and Kefan Bai.

Painting has always been a field where histories—personal, collective, and material—are written, erased, and rewritten. From decolonial and feminist practices to queer and mystical lineages, from reimagined myths to the politics of patronage and the church, painting continues to negotiate its own position within, and against, historical frameworks. How do contemporary painters address the legacies of exclusion and domination that, arguably, shape art history? How does painting respond to or rewrite the conditions of its own making; its institutions, patrons, and systems of value? How might the medium open new ways of seeing time, memory, and belonging?

For queries regarding the symposium, please contact donal.moloney@mtu.ie

Link to tickets and more info below. https://triskelartscentre.ie/events/histories-and-painting-contemporary-negotiations/

Here is a video of last years ‘Crisis/death/resurrection; a painting symposium’ at the Triskel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l--NZbAmHk