Four Sligo-based artists — Lorna Watkins, Karen Webster, Brenda Kearney, and Anna Spearman — have been selected to take part in a new Arts in Early Years residency programme as part of Sligo Arts Service’s Arts in Education programme, delivered in collaboration with Kids’ Own.

The residency forms part of the Wonder Programme, a new pilot initiative funded by Sligo Arts Service in partnership with The Arts Council of Ireland. The programme explores how artists and early years educators can work together with very young children through creative, process-led practice that values curiosity, experimentation and shared discovery.

The Wonder Programme builds on Kids’ Own’s current Early Years project, which is taking place in two Sligo-based Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) settings with support from the Arts Council’s Arts in Early Years Scheme. This new residency expands that work while also supporting Sligo artists who are interested in developing their practice within early childhood contexts.

The selected artists will work in pairs across two ECCE settings in Sligo. Over a six-week period they will collaborate closely with young children and ECCE practitioners, exploring creative processes that foreground play, material exploration, and relationship-building. The residency will also provide opportunities for the artists to exchange ideas and insights as part of a small cohort focused on this specialised and evolving area of practice.

Lorna Watkins
Lorna Watkins is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Sligo. She holds a degree in Printed Textiles from National College of Art and Design and is a Ballinglen Fellow. Her awards include an Arts Council Agility Award, the John Richardson French Residency Award, and the Thomas Dammann Travel Bursary, and she has extensive experience working with schools through TAP+ and BLAST.

Karen Webster
Karen Webster is a Sligo-based visual artist and educator working at the intersection of art and ecology. With a background in ceramics, her site-specific practice incorporates oils, print, and alternative photography, informed by research and time spent in nature. She has many years’ experience delivering arts-based ecology projects with children and adults.

Brenda Kearney
Brenda Kearney is a multidisciplinary artist based and a studio artist at The Model. Working across ceramics, drawing, and textiles, her practice is often community-based and shaped by shared activities and collective making. With a background in anthropology, her work explores tradition, knowledge, and care for people and the environment.

Anna Spearman
Anna Spearman is a visual artist based in Sligo whose practice explores materiality and playful approaches to object-making and painting. She holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin, IT Sligo, and Falmouth University, and maintains a strong socially engaged and collaborative practice. Recent residencies include The Dock, Leitrim Sculpture Centre, and Wilton Place/RHA Studios.