Murals bringing colour and creativity to schools across Leitrim
Award-winning visual artist MyfanwyNia brings colour to Leitrim schools
Award-winning visual artist Harriet “MyfanwyNia” Tahany, based in rural County Leitrim, has been working with schools across the county this year, creating large-scale murals in collaboration with students through the BLAST programme and ESD-funded projects.
She has built a diverse mural practice across Ireland, with work commissioned by Dublin City Council for Temple Bar’s Love Lane and by Kildare Village, where her mural is situated opposite the children’s playground. She is also a founding member of Minaw Collective, one of Ireland’s leading street art collectives and currently has an illustration on display in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin as part of the It All Flows From Here exhibition.
In recent months, Harriet has been developing mural designs alongside young people, facilitating structured workshops that guide students through brainstorming, creative development and the process of translating their ideas into vibrant large-scale artworks. Two new school murals are nearing completion, with further projects underway.
The murals draw on themes of local wildlife, landscape, imagination and a sense of place, transforming school environments into colourful, welcoming spaces that reflect the creativity of the students involved.
Alongside her public and community work, MyfanwyNia also develops illustration-based products and prints, available through her website and at the Leitrim Design House.
Last September, she hosted a Culture Night event that marked the beginning of a new phase in her practice, opening her rural studio as an alternative creative space. Developed over many years with her husband, the studio has hosted small-scale events and gatherings with a boutique, festival-like atmosphere.
Building on this work, this summer she is offering mural painting studio days for ages 16+, creating a space where participants can step away from traditional studio and classroom settings and experience mural painting for themselves in a relaxed and supportive environment.
These workshops form part of a wider vision to develop the studio into a space for longer-form creative experiences and artist retreats in the future.
In the latter half of the year, Harriet’s focus shifts more fully to her studio practice, where she develops her art products, fine art and illustration work. These quieter studio processes feed back into her mural practice in subtle ways, shaping the visual language and storytelling within her larger-scale work.
Her work continues to bridge community engagement and professional mural practice, bringing art into everyday spaces while encouraging creativity, whimsy and imagination across all age groups.
To learn more about upcoming workshops and events at MyfanwyNia’s Studio, visit: www.myfanwynia.com/events