Celebrating Sustainability Through the Arts: EU-CONEXUS Students Join SETU’s 2025 Festival to share art, culture, and research on sustainability
April 7-11, 2025, SETU hosted its third annual Sustainability in the Arts Festival across its Carlow, Waterford, and Wexford campuses. This year’s theme, “Land, People, Culture”, brought together a diverse range of multidisciplinary collaborations, including multimedia installations, musical performances, art exhibitions, academic presentations, and culinary demonstrations.
The work of EU-CONEXUS students featured as programme highlight
A highlight of the programme was the EU-CONEXUS Touring Exhibition, which featured artwork by 16 students from across the alliance. The exhibition explores the theme of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability and will be displayed at SETU’s Cork Road Campus, and later at the Wexford Campus. It is also set to be featured at the national Bealtaine Festival in May.
Two students from La Rochelle Université, Flora Dutordoir and Malory Jaulin, travelled to Ireland to take part in the festival. Their haunting and inspiring photography exhibition, “Fragments de Mémoire” (Fragments of Memory), was displayed at SETU’s College Street Campus. The photographs explore the quiet stories behind abandoned places that often go unnoticed but, on second glance, spark emotion and curiosity. During their visit, Flora and Malory shared their insights with first-year visual arts students and connected with staff and peers across campuses.
Another standout event was the “30-Kilometer Sustainability Dinner” where culinary arts students showcased sustainable food practices by preparing meals using only locally sourced ingredients. A group of PhD students from the University of Zadar are collaborating with Michael Quinn, a culinary arts lecturer at SETU, on a research project related to ancient sustainable food systems. A sustainability-focused dinner was enjoyed by colleagues, students, and staff from SETU and EU-CONEXUS.
Workshops and performances organised during the festival captivated both students and staff, offering engaging explorations of sustainability through a wide range of artistic media.
SETU’s festival continues to embed sustainability into the culture of the university, fostering awareness and community engagement through the arts. This marks the first year of collaboration with EU-CONEXUS students, which, due to an overwhelming success, is on a promising track for growth and more collaborations in years to come.
