Lauren Conway will use The Book of Kells as a jumping-off point to encourage personal expression and making something “new from the old”.

The Book of Kells is one of the most famous examples of an illuminated manuscript and a firm favorite of the Leaving Cert Art Curriculum, and, it is stored and displayed mere steps away from The Douglas Hyde across the green at the Old Library in Trinity College Dublin.

This online workshop will look at The Book of Kells through a new and exciting lens; where can we see the influences of the Book of Kells drawing style today? How can we breathe life into and share our own stories using similar techniques? How can we measure and explain the importance of our own handmade work in today’s modern age?

Led by artist Lauren Conway who specializes in drawing, this workshop will utilize arcane and modern drawing materials to explore how we can shine light on our own stories using ancient techniques.

Lauren Conway is a Dublin-based artist who utilizes archival materials, documentation from site visits, and found images from her teenage years, in her drawing and installation processes to explore experiences of education in Ireland. Conway is the recipient of The DLR/IADT Emerging Artist Bursary 2021, The Dock/IADT Graduate Award 2021 and RHA Graduate Studio Award 2021 for her graduate exhibition A Great Public Meeting, IADT on Show, 2021.

Recent exhibitions include A Great Public Meeting, the Dock (2022), Pallas Projects Periodical Review, PP+S (2021), The RDS Visual Awards, RHA (2021) and Karen, Ormond Art Studios (2021). Her writings have been published in Bloomers Art Magazine (2021) and in the online programme for cruxproject.net (2020). She is currently a member of Ormond Art Studios, Dublin and previously the Douglas Hyde Student Forum III.

Image: Lauren Conway, The Dock, 2021, installation view. Courtesy of the artist.