25.7.26
Welcome to Fly Specks!
Today’s event is at the centre of Vaari Claffey’s major public project The Clearing, and takes place as part of Aughrim’s Craic in the Granite Music & Arts Festival, from 2–6pm on Saturday 25 July 2026.
Schedule
2pm: Meet at the Bandstand ❶ at Aughrim Pavilion for an introduction, wherein you will be welcomed, handed your dance card and told what to expect across the day.
2:15pm: Guided walk through sites of work at Holt’s disused petrol station ❷ and Fogarty’s mill ❸ wherein you will see new sculptural work by Lucy Andrews, pinhole photography by Liss Fenwick, and material extrusions by Vaari Claffey with Clare Anne O’Keefe. Approximate distance from ❶ to ❷ is 1.3km / 20 minutes walking.
3:30pm: Live performance at the Foresters Hall ❹ by Sam Keogh. This venue has seats and accessible bathrooms.
4pm: Refreshments provided at the Kunstverein ❺ and a chance to visit the new exhibition by Vaari Claffey and Brian Hand nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. Focaccia is by First Batch (the bakery around the corner) served alongside popcorn, candyfloss and a seawater martini.
5pm: Live performance back at the Bandstand ❶ at Aughrim Pavilion by Joseph Noonan-Ganley and Vaari Claffey, with Marcel Vidal and Vivian Brodie Hayes, and James Godson O’Doherty.
6pm: Viewing of installation at The Meath Arms ❻ by Tina O’Connell.
6:30pm: minibus from Aughrim to Dublin (optional) leaving from outside The Meath Arms and within view of the Kunstverein.
Help
If you get lost today please feel free to call/text/WhatsApp Kate Strain or another member of our team on the following phone numbers:
Kate - 0858525902
Shane - 0862344416
Olamide - 0857810500
If you have questions, feedback or other (non-urgent) requirements please email office@kunstverein.ie and our team will get back to you.
Access
Kunstverein Aughrim is located off Main Street in the village of Aughrim. There is limited on-street parking around the town, with one accessible parking spot outside Day Break. There is free parking at the County Grounds, where drivers will be guided by festival stewards.
Kunstverein is not step free, it has five steps at the entrance, with no handrails. Kunstverein is located in the centre of the village, with busy roads either side. The footpaths are wide and uneven. There is a curb cut 40 meters from the entrance. Kunstverein Aughrim has one inaccessible bathroom. There is an accessible bathroom next door at First Batch bakery. Other indoor venues include the Foresters Hall and Aughrim Pavilion, both of which have accessible bathroom facilities and step free entrances.
List of Artworks
(In order of appearance)
Brian Hand and Vaari Claffey, Involution, 2026.
Lucy Andrews, Wanderers, Gellan Gum, sodium alginate, food colouring, jelly sweets, seaweed, water, 2026.
Liss Fenwick, 60 days at the Aughrim Mill / 13-21 weeks' gestation, pigment print from pinhole negative, 2026.
Clare Anne O’Keefe and Vaari Claffey, Mismatch Repair Extrusion, agar, carrigeen, gelatine, 2026.
Sam Keogh, Doppelsöldner draft Performance, costume: Jonty K Mellmann, song: Avicii ‘Wake me Up’ 2013, 2026.
Joseph Noonan-Ganley, The Opposite of an Octopus, 2026
Julia Dubsky, 4xdrawing26, paper, graphite, 2026.
Tina O’Connell, Resurface, In Dublin (1999), CCTV video footage, 2x box monitors with players and accompanying artist book, 2026.
Image Consent
This event will be documented with photography and video by Louis, Brian, Jenny and Barry. You can find our image consent form here. If you would rather not have your image captured please let a member of our team know and we will do our best to respect your wishes. You can also email office@kunstverein.ie retroactively and let us know if you prefer not to appear in photos/videos.
Thanks
Biggest thanks to the artists and team involved in putting this together. But also, our fondest thanks to the following people without whom it couldn’t happen; Ángel Luis Gonzalez and Julia Gelezova for hosting Liss and amplifying Vaari, Fergal at Kav Art for loaning us moulds, Paul and Niall at The Meath Arms for hosting on many levels, Fiona Holt at the petrol station for moving mountains, Dennis Ward at the mill for welcoming us, Theresa Byrne of Londis for facilitating our use of the Foresters Hall, Shivangi and Amol of Jamuni for delicious team sustenance, Niamh and John from First Batch for all the coffee and treats, Jackson for the drawings, and rapturous praise and gratitude to Barry and Tristan and Steve and John from the Craic in the Granite festival committee for their ongoing hard work and commitment to bringing such joy to the town. Thanks to Kunstverein’s team; Shane, Alex, Tanad, Olamide, Michelle, Adam, Pauline, Orla and Barbara, our documentation artists Jenny, Barry, Louis and Brian, and to Vaari’s brilliant people Brian, Ethan, Alice, Juno, Andy and everyone.
Fly Specks is part of The Clearing, a major new public project by Dublin-based curator and producer Vaari Claffey. It unfolds across an exhibition at Kunstverein Aughrim, a day of performance and sculpture as part of Craic in the Granite Music & Arts Festival, and a screening programme at The Courthouse Arts Centre, Tinahely. The Clearing is supported by a Project Award from the Arts Council of Ireland. Kunstverein Aughrim’s collaboration with Vaari Claffey is supported by the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Vaari Claffey would like to thank CCI Paris, and Der Windtunnel, Zurich for support in the development of this project. Vaari Claffey & Brian Hand were supported by NCAD Research Seed Funding and NIVAL, Dublin. Craic in the Granite Music & Arts Festival is supported by Wicklow County Council Arts Office through the Arts Festival Award Scheme.