It’s been a hectic year for Cork artist Ava Hayes. From the Révélations Biennial in Paris to the Cork Crafts Month Festival, Ava has been cultivating, creating, and curating her way to being a renowned figure in the Cork art scene. As we approach her final days in the TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space, Elysia from our Box Office & Marketing Team sat down to find out how Ava feels about the year gone by, and the year ahead.

Describe your art in three words.

Intuitive, visceral, gooey.

You are returning to the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion for a solo exhibition, Black Gives Way to Blue, this December and have been using the TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space to work on the exhibition; what has been the greatest challenge for you in this project?

Although it’s something I really enjoy as it’s quite methodical, the greatest challenge has definitely been prepping my canvases for the show. My work is primarily large scale so stretching and priming a collection of canvases can be quite an undertaking. By the time I finish I am always itching to start painting though, so happy days!

You primarily produce paintings as your art medium. What drew you to painting and what other types of creative art do you enjoy?

I’m a bit of a creative junky if I’m honest. I love performance art, theatre, live music, the list goes on and on, but Ireland has so many brilliant creatives why shouldn’t it!

Funnily enough, I only picked up a paintbrush once during my degree for colour study and I’m pretty sure I threw said paintbrush in the bin afterwards, so painting was never a medium I felt drawn to. It wasn’t until a few months after finishing my Fine Art degree, right in the middle of COVID, that I realised I really needed a fresh creative outlet. I didn’t know what it would be, only that it had to feel different and new to me and most importantly pressure-free. So, I signed up for an eight-week oil painting course at St. John’s and by that January, I was starting my Masters with paintbrushes in hand.

In short, I took what I’d call a serious notion but looking back now, painting and a love of colour was always there. I have such happy memories of pulling up to my grandparents’ house and my Granda would be outside topping up the walls of the house in his overalls, or tending the garden, which was always bursting with these giant coloured roses and wildflowers. Neither of my grandparents were artists but they had such a natural eye and love for colour. Both of them passed away while I was in my final year of college and I feel like they brought me to painting to bring that happiness back to me. I think of them every time I get into my overalls.

Your first major exhibition, Subject To Change, was in 2021. What has changed for artists in Cork, or Ireland as a whole, in that time?

I think a lot has changed in Ireland and Cork for artists since then, but I’m not sure it’s been overly positive. We’re naturally victims of Ireland’s precarious economy – (whether it’s collapsing or otherwise) which brings its own problems, but Ireland’s housing crisis and the intense rise in the cost of living is having such a negative effect on artists at the moment. Not only because artists are regular people struggling with the lack of housing and day-to-day costs of living, but it also creates a lack of creative spaces and most importantly an excuse for a lack of creative spaces. It is infuriating to see so many vacant buildings in Cork that could be artist studios and spaces for communities to come together and put money back into our economy. I won’t even get started for year I’ll never stop talking but I think at this point, Ireland needs to focus on core concerns like healthcare and housing before artists will be able to just focus on the work at hand.

Over the years it’s been so wonderful to see the likes of Sample Studios join forces with other organisations and venues like the Triskel to create exciting opportunities for artists. Places like Sample Studios, Backwater Artists, National Sculpture Factory, The Lavitt, The Sirius, and Triskel have all dug their heels into the ground to stand as strong supportive pillars for artists in Cork through thick and thin. We’re very fortunate in Cork to have so many strong voices standing up for increased artist supports.

In previous interviews you touched on how performative painting allows you to express difficult emotions you may struggle with verbally or physically addressing; is there a particular piece of yours that you felt helped you with that journey of expression more than others? What piece, and why?

My 2022 piece, They Came Like Moths, is definitely what springs to mind here. The piece was one of my first large scale paintings and when I look at it, I can feel exactly how I felt making it. It was made over two days and I remember when I stepped away from it, it felt like finally breathing out. It was the first of my MA show pieces and was one of the main pieces in the show. It now hangs outside my studio at Sample Studios.

They Came Like Moths, 2022

You were given the Herculean task of selecting a series of pieces by Irish artisans for the Irish Banquet Booth at the Révélations Biennial in Paris this year. What was this experience like for you and what was it like to do curatorial work on such a large scale?

Let’s start with the fact that it was absolutely amazing. Curating in the Grand Palais in Paris was not necessarily on my bingo card as it just seems wild to even think about, but I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity by the DCCI. I think because I am an artist myself I am every artist/maker-focused and love working with artists to find out the little amazing details about their practice and the pieces I have selected. I love when an artist calls me to chat about the piece we’re showing and it’s an hour later and we’re still talking and I’ve had to make new coffee. That’s when I know I’m bringing a special piece and a special artist to this show.

In May, we were lucky enough to bring the work of seven phenomenal artists/makers to Paris, and it was such a proud moment to see their work representing Ireland so strongly in the Banquet. I kept saying, it was the closest thing I’ll ever get to Eurovision as I can’t sing!

Although the scale of the Grand Palais is simply gigantic in comparison to some smaller galleries I have worked with, everything remains rather similar. No matter if it’s the Grand Palais or a warehouse show I will load in and unpack the work the same – I may have far better lighting and far more beautiful surroundings, but the way I work remains the same. The Banquet runs down the middle of the Révélations Biennial so we were surrounded by booths full of install teams and fellow curators, and they were doing exactly as we were: getting the job done (and trying not to get distracted by all the beautiful work being unpacked). For me, I think the moment you start to focus on where you are and the importance of the show as opposed to installing and curating the work in the space is when you take your eye off the ball (and I imagine when people may start to freak out). On the night of the vernissage while we waited for the doors to open I finally let the scale of the Biennial hit. I was in Paris, supporting the show for the week and getting to see how visitors interact with the work I’ve selected and curated, and watching them seek out the Irish Banquet was very special. I feel very lucky to both work as an artist, and for artists.

Any advice for aspiring artists in Cork?

Surround yourself with people who support you and your practice and want to see you succeed, and vice versa. If you’re having a bad studio day, gotten the ninth rejection of the week or you’re stressed from work, they’re the people you’ll call over to or head for a pint with and those people are the best! Show up for people – on the good and bad days. Go to other people’s shows, comment on their Instagram when you think their new work is class and don’t be afraid to start a conversation with someone at an opening. If they’re no craic you can excuse yourself to go get a drink. I think you get back what you give out and being an artist is hard so it’s really important to be kind to one another.

What’s next for you following your Triskel residency?

Next up is another solid month in my own studio finalising pieces for my solo show opening on the fourth of December in the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion. Surely I’m allowed one shameless plug! This residency in the TRISKEL SAMPLE Project Space has been so fruitful and I’m really looking forward to bringing pieces back to my studio and sitting with them for a while before the show. 2025 has been so chaotic that I haven’t even had the change to think of 2026, so if anyone is reading this I AM AVAILABLE FOR ALL GOOD THINGS.

Cats or dogs?

Not to divide an audience or anything – but dogs. I love all sweet, squishy animals before any cat lovers try to cancel me! I try to keep my Instagram feed art-related but the FYP gets me with people’s cute pets. I don’t have any pets as I’d feel too bad leaving them when I go to work, so it’s plants for me all day long for now.

Ava Hayes will have a solo exhibition, Black Gives Way to Blue, from Dec 4 2025 – Jan 14 2026 in the Lord Mayor’s Pavilion, Fitzgerald’s Park.