We are pleased to announce Kasia Kaminska as the recipient of the Soil Project residency for 2026.

For The Soil Project Kasia will spend time researching native trees and woodland habitats in Kilkenny and develop a participatory art project that celebrates our native trees, Irish language, and local folklore. During the residency Kasia will invite members of the public to participate through talks, walks, storytelling circles and hands-on workshops that explore the ecological and cultural value of our native trees. Participants will map historic and existing woodlands, record oral histories, and co‑create site-responsive artworks using natural materials. This project will foster environmental awareness, cultural revitalisation, and stewardship of Kilkenny's forests.

About the Artist

Kasia Kaminska is an artist living in Co. Kilkenny. Her practice encompasses photography, print, publications and public engagement. She works with plant based analogue photography processes and sustainable darkroom methods as well as foraging, gardening and growing. Her practice is led by issues of eco-social concern and she often works in collaboration with others and in socially engaged contexts. Her wider practice includes public art and education projects, workshops, exhibitions, residencies, book design, bookmaking, collaborations and community festival organising.

Her photographic projects and publications have been included in exhibitions (Axis Ballymun, TULCA) and book fairs (Limerick International Publishers Salon, Dublin Art Book Fair) since 2013. She has been awarded artist residencies at Roscommon Arts Center, Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, Cow House Studios in Co. Wexford and Grizedale Arts in the UK. She has facilitated workshops with arts organisations and educational institutions throughout Ireland including Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Gallery of Photography, RHA, Visual Artists Ireland, NCAD, TUDublin and Ulster University, amongst others. With Read That Image book collective she has co-led book design projects which have been shortlisted for the Unseen Dummy Award, Kassel Dummy Award and awarded the FEP European Photobook Award. She holds a BA in Photography from TUDublin and an MA in Social Practice from the Limerick School of Art & Design, TUS with First Class Hons.

Recent projects include Know Your Hedgerow with The Acorn Project / Kilkenny Leader Partnership (2025-2026), Forage + Light with Samuel Arnold Keane and Mermaid Arts Centre (2024-2026), Wilderland, a Creative Ireland Climate Action project with Elaine Harrington and Materials Matter in Co. Mayo (2024-2025), and Leave The Long Grass Grow / Lig don Chuise Fada Fás with Maura Brennan / The Acorn Project (2023-2024).

www.kasiakaminska.ie

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Public Events:

We Are a Forest People: Native Tree Walk with Maura Brennan - Saturday 11th July 

We Are a Forest People: Native Tree Walk with Maura Brennan
Saturday 11th July
Kilkenny Castle Park

A two-hour guided native tree walk led by Maura Brennan, uncovering a living story of culture, ecology, and belonging. The deep-rooted connection between people and trees can still be found in our language, folklore, place names, and traditions. The Irish language preserves this relationship in the names we give to trees. Many Irish place names reveal the trees that once thrived there, offering clues to the ecological history of the land and the values of the communities who lived among them. By learning their names as Gaeilge agus Béarla, understanding their roles, and rekindling our relationship with them, we remember something important: we are not separate from nature. We are a forest people, and the roots of that relationship run deep.

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Send us a photo and story of your favourite tree as part of Kasia Kaminska's Coill Chainnigh Open Call!

Coill Chainnigh is a participatory project, as part of The Soil Project with artist Kasia Kaminska at Butler Gallery. The project aims to celebrate our native trees, local folklore and the Irish language while fostering environmental awareness, cultural revitalisation and stewardship of Kilkenny trees and woodlands. Submitted images and stories will form part of a new series of artworks by Kasia Kaminska over the coming months.

Please send your tree photo and story via email to [email protected]

See Coill Chainnigh pdf at the bottom of your screen for further details.