Collectives Social
with ^ collective
6 December 2025
^ is a collective based in Leitrim. Our five members are Tara Baoth Mooney, Shane Finan, James Kelly, Laura McMorrow, and Sonya Swarte. We collectively occupy an artist-led studio and experimental space in Manorhamilton that opened in September 2022. Over the past three years, we have led events in north Leitrim in response to environmental grief, care, and tending to the land.
For this exhibition-environment, we explore meadows, untrodden ground, and forgotten growth in north Leitrim. In these liminal spaces, a succession of plants create worlds upon worlds, each one following the last. These worlds are an amalgam of the soil, the air, the fauna, and other unpredictable actors like humans. The way these places grow offer ways to think about working together.
As part of this exhibition-environment, we have invited other artists and collectives based in north Leitrim and the surrounding area to reflect on how wilder spaces can offer chances to thrive and flourish.
Ritual Procession
During the opening reception on Saturday 22 November, ^ will perform a ritual procession through Carrick-on-Shannon starting from The Dock. This procession marks a turning point for Waking the Land, a movement acknowledging the potential loss of our beloved Benbo Mountain in Manorhamilton and celebrating the vast life it breathes into our land. We marked the waking of our land at Samhain in 2024 — now, through this processional ritual, we gather once more to bear witness to its rebirth and renewal. The waking and reawakening of the living land itself.
Events
On Saturday 6 December 2025 from 1 — 4pm, a Collectives Social will take place for collectives based in the north-west of Ireland. The event will include two collective making events weaving natural materials. Collective members and individuals seeking collectives of their own are welcome. All are welcome, booking is required.
On Saturday 17 January 2026 from 11am — 3pm, the Leitrim Experimental Animation Kollective (LEAK) will run their monthly workshop in the exhibition space, animating some of the natural materials. A donation of €5 is welcome, but not required. All are welcome, booking is required.
Finally, a Waking the Land gathering will be held on Saturday 24 January 2026 from 1 — 7pm. This will include panel talks about plant succession and semi-natural grasslands, workshops, drawing performance, music, film screenings, artist talks, and more. All are welcome, booking is required.
Woven Textile and Loom
Bhí mo chuimhneamh ort. I was thinking of you. — In memory of Manchán Magan.
A loom will be added to the exhibition on Saturday 6 December 2025. The textile on this loom is a collective act of remembrance in progress. Each woven line carries the intention of the person who wove it as an offering made in memory of someone or something.
The loom is an opportunity to enter a space of quiet attention. The materials are undyed wool from the native Galway breed of sheep with plant material from Benbo Mountain and the five tended meadows. People are invited to add their contributions. For bookings, please contact thedockartscentre@gmail.com.