How long the shadows cast by colonial maps, a workshop with Crystal Bennes

Join artist Crystal Bennes for a participatory workshop and informal discussion as we collectively explore the interconnections between surveying and surveillance across Ireland, from the 16th century to today. Together, we will get up close with facsimile copies of significant historic maps of Ireland made by English mapmakers such as John Speed’s 1610 map, alongside large-scale facsimile copies of Ordnance Survey maps and hand-traced copies of significant historic maps of Ireland made by Ordnance Survey mapmakers in the 19th-century.

The workshop takes place on Wednesday 23 July, from 5-7pm at Void Art Centre.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own maps! Through informal discussion we will reflect on how mapping, surveying, language and power have ongoing power in today’s society, particularly in relation to borders, private property, land exclusion and access. We will open with a short writing prompt. The workshop discussion will inform a new video artwork currently in development.

This workshop is free and open to all. With places limited at 20 participants, please make sure to book.

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Artist Biography

Crystal Bennes, an artist based in Edinburgh and currently in residence at the Irish Museum of Modern Art for 2025. Her work critically examines histories of colonial knowledge production, environmental extraction, gender and language.

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