Soft Fascination - Group Exhibition at the Linenhall

What to Expect

Soft Fascination brings together five Mayo-based artists - Genevieve King, Christine Prescott, Caroline Reapy, Bridget Ryan and Ian Wieczorek - in the Visual Arts Gallery at the Linenhall. All five completed a five-month mentorship with curator and art critic Marianne O’Kane Boal under the Linenhall’s Bolay Programme, and this show is the result of that year of work. O’Kane Boal curates the exhibition.

The work spans drawing, painting, sculpture, print, photography, film, audio and collage, so the rooms shift in register as you move through them. The title borrows from Attention Restoration Theory, the idea that quiet natural surroundings restore concentration worn down by constant technological distraction, and each artist responds to a landscape they know well. Genevieve King shows watercolours made in the grounds of Westport House. Christine Prescott works with natural materials in meditative installation pieces. An exhibition catalogue is available online through the Linenhall website. The run closes on Saturday 22 August 2026, so there is a short window left to see it.

Good to Know

• Runs Friday 10 July to Saturday 22 August 2026
• Visual Arts Gallery, The Linenhall Arts Centre, Linenhall Street, Castlebar
• Gallery hours: Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 4pm, closed Sunday and Monday
• Artists: Genevieve King, Christine Prescott, Caroline Reapy, Bridget Ryan, Ian Wieczorek
• Curator: Marianne O’Kane Boal, delivered through the Linenhall Bolay Programme
• Admission is not listed on the gallery page - call the box office on 094 902 3733 to check
• The Linenhall cafe and box office are in the same building

Getting There

The Linenhall sits on Linenhall Street in the middle of Castlebar, a couple of minutes’ walk from The Mall and the main square. Drivers come in on the N5 from Dublin and Longford, the N84 north from Galway, or the N60 from Roscommon and Claremorris. Irish Rail runs services from Dublin Heuston to Castlebar via Manulla Junction, and the station is a short walk or a very cheap taxi from the town centre. Bus Eireann serves Castlebar from Dublin, Galway, Sligo and the surrounding Mayo towns. There is pay-and-display street parking on the surrounding streets and larger car parks a short walk away.