Hold This is the 2026 edition of Artworks, the annual open call exhibition realised in conjunction with Carlow Arts Festival.

Hold This is drawn from submissions from Irish and international artists. They were invited to consider ideas of exchange: of skills, ideas and knowledge, and how analogue, interpersonal exchanges overlap, interact and conflict with technology. What has emerged is a series of works that think about these things historically and contemporaneously, speculatively and practically.

The exhibition opens with two works from local artists that hold these ideas in disparate ways:

A small stone bowl, hand-carved by Martin Lyttle brings one of the foundational technologies of human experience into the gallery, essential and unimprovable, instrumental to well-being, nourishment and communion.

Nearby, broadcast readouts are displayed from short-wave radio node, installed on the roof of VISUAL by Colm O’Neill. This node connects this building to a network of amateur broadcasters embracing low-cost democratic methods of communication. This proposes an alternative, self-directed network, in opposition to monopolies dictating how we interact with technology and each other.

The exhibition as a whole, continues to explore the challenges for art-making, personal connection and the social contract in the face of fragmentation and digitisation. Artworks look to the past, address the present and imagine the future, and ask how we can continue to seek alternatives, often using the very same tools.

In the centre of the Link Gallery, VISUAL’s workshop tables are positioned for the duration of the exhibition. These are usable on a drop-in basis by visitors and will host workshops, meetings and exchanges throughout the summer. If you would like to book this space for free to use for your group, please contact Clare Breen at learning@visualcarlow.ie

Featured artists and contributors:

Muine Bheag Arts

Brian Cregan

Rachel Doolin & Anne Marie Deacy

Yannick Ganseman

Saidhbhín Gibson

Caoilfhionn Hanton

James L Hayes

Leah Hillard

Bojana Janković and Nessa Finnegan

Bernadette Kiely

David Lunney

Martin Lyttle

Christine Mackey

Colin Martin

Steven Maybury

Brigid McAleer

Marielle MacLeman

Susan MacWilliam

Martina O’Brien

Colm O’Neill

Emma Roche

RTÉ Archives

Oisín Tozer