Following on from the very successful Writer in Residence with poet and author Dermot Bolger in 2016, the National Museum of Ireland collaborated with internationally renowned artist and educator, Róisín de Buitléar, the Artist in Residence for 2018. Róisín explored the Museum’s collections with her artist’s eye and passion for Irish culture, craft, artistry and heritage. Róisín’s residency involved her delivering a range of workshops, talks and events for families, adults, local community groups, artists and students. Róisín recent work focuses on creating sound objects from glass, working with contemporary musicians who play percussive, stringed and wind instruments. Th exhibition, Caution Fragile! Irish Glass – Tradition in Transition connects with Irish culture, focusing on the themes of history, landscape and sound. The exhibition remained on show in the Museum alongside the Residency.

The residency offers a period of time to Róisín, as a professional artist to research and develop her practice at all four sites of the National Museum of Ireland. It was an exciting and exploratory time to delve deep into the collection and access caretakers and researchers of the collection and work on site at the dedicated studio space. It was also a time for Róisín to open the museum to other artists, students and professionals, in a series of collaborative projects and interactions. Using ''The Museum As a Tool'' was be the broad theme of the long residency at NMI.

The studio location onsite offered opportunities to meet with the public, art professionals, the local community and colleagues to expand practices and discourses. Accessing the museum personnel and resources is a privileged position and one Róisín was honored to be offered. Róisín approached this residency with an open agenda and allowing opportunities to present themselves through the many networks she accessed and through the existing collaborative exploratory nature of her practice.