Curator's Talk: Sinéad Keogh and Aoife Natsumi Frehan | ATU Galway City

Curator Sinéad Keogh introduces TULCA 2026: Veruca Salt, followed by Aoife Natsumi Frehan with a preview of the TULCA Education Programme. TULCA is pleased to present the Artist Talks Series as part of the 2026 programme, Veruca Salt, curated by Sinéad Keogh. Continuing its ongoing partnership with the ATU School of Design and Creative Arts, TULCA will present four talks throughout October and November 2026. The series invites audiences to engage directly with participating artists and the curator, offering insights into their practices and the ideas shaping this year’s festival. All talks take place at ATU Galway City – Wellpark Road. Admission is free and booking is required. The opening event features presentations by Sinéad Keogh and TULCA Education Coordinator Aoife Natsumi Frehan. Sinéad will introduce the curatorial framework and programme for Veruca Salt, followed by Aoife Natsumi, who will preview the 2026 Education Programme. Marking fifty years since punk emerged as a disruptive cultural force, Veruca Salt considers what it means to know who you are and know what you want. The festival approaches punk not as a fixed historical style, but as a living method rooted in DIY culture, collective action and self-determination. Women-led and countercultural perspectives connect an intergenerational programme of artists, filmmakers, writers, musicians and community organisations. Across five galleries and a wider series of events in Galway, Veruca Salt brings together exhibitions, film, performance, sound, writing, talks and workshops. The programme asks what punk’s insistence on agency, solidarity and reinvention can offer now, positioning art as a space for refusal, care and new forms of belonging. Sinéad Keogh Sinéad Keogh is a multimedia performance installation artist and curator with an MFA from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. Keogh is the founder, director and curator of Soul Noir: Festival of the Dark Arts, a Dublin based festival for the Gothic and alternative arts (2017–2024). Keogh’s curatorial practice aims to engage audiences with countercultural, underground and alternative voices that are often absent from the mainstream arts scene. Work with artists is approached in a direct and considered manner, alongside expanded programming and community engagement that seeks to broaden access and participation. A strong feminist position is present within this practice, alongside advocacy for artists and audiences who are blind or visually impaired. Keogh has worked with artists ranging from emerging artists such as Bassam Al-Sabah and Shota Kotake to cult experimental film artist Vivienne Dick to other esteemed, established visual artists such as Alice Maher. Aoife Natsumi Frehan Aoife Natsumi Frehan is Education Coordinator at TULCA Festival of Visual Arts. Aoife Natsumi develops the festival’s education programme across primary, secondary and third-level education, community settings and the wider public. Aoife Natsumi will preview the 2026 Education Programme and introduce its emphasis on slow looking, critical engagement and conversation around contemporary art. ATU Galway City Wellpark Road Galway, H91 DY9Y Access Wheelchair access Accessible toilet Seating available Accessible parking available Event Time 20 October 2026 2–3.30pm Getting There Bus: Wellpark Road stop Free parking TULCA Festival of Visual Arts Veruca Salt Curated by Sinéad Keogh 6–22 November 2026 Galway, Ireland www.tulca.ie