The Air We Share is a project that transforms how communities understand, feel, and act on air quality and climate challenges in their everyday lives.

What began with a shared desire to ‘make the invisible visible has grown into a creative, scientific, and community-rooted exploration of the air we breathe. By blending citizen science, artistic interpretation, and local knowledge, The Air We Share has become a unique model of climate engagement, one that is imaginative, collaborative, and grounded in lived experience.

A Community Learning to Read the Air

The project placed powerful tools directly into the hands of the community. Air monitoring sensors were installed across Westside, sending live data to an accessible public map. Researchers from the University of Galway’s Insight SFI Centre for Data Analytics built an online dashboard to translate that data into clear, relatable information. Meanwhile, Dr. Liz Coleman led citizen science workshops, helping residents understand what air quality means for their health, their neighbourhood, and their future.

Alongside this scientific information, ‘Build Your Own Air Sensor’ workshops empowered schools and community groups to create their own low-cost monitors. From classrooms to kitchen tables, the tools of climate science became something communities could touch, test, and trust.

These small technical acts, such as installing a sensor, reading a graph, and noticing the air on a morning walk, began sparking bigger conversations. As Westside Resource Centre’s CEO, James Coyne observed,

“The coming together of community, art and science provides a fertile space for the sharing of ideas, and collaboration on the challenges posed by air pollution and climate change.”

Creativity as a Pathway to Awareness

At the heart of the project were three ambitious Artist-in-Residence programmes managed by Galway Arts Centre. Between October 2024 and July 2025, selected artists collaborated with local communities, climate scientists, and policymakers to foster dialogue and creative engagement.

These residencies didn’t just translate data into visuals; they turned air into experience.

Residents joined artists for sensory walks and creative sessions where breath, atmosphere, stillness, and sound were interwoven with live air readings. One participant described how they “’really enjoyed the art,’ while another paused to appreciate the ‘lovely air’, saying it made them “’feel happy’.  These moments, quiet, reflective, and grounding, invited people to reconnect with their surroundings and with each other.

But there was also emotional weight. As one participant noted,

“Some of the artwork really brought home the drastic change for the worse.”

Through this blend of beauty and truth, art opened a door to deeper understanding.

Co-Creating a Shared Ethos: The Charter of the Nine Freedoms of the Air

One of the most powerful outcomes emerged from textile workshops where residents explored collective rights and responsibilities around clean air. Together, they developed The Charter of the Nine Freedoms of the Air, a co-designed artwork expressing community values through fabric, stitching, colour, and collaborative imagination.

A textile participant described the experience as

“A widening circle of likewise feeling and acting people, helping visually to show the urgency without language.”

Another reflected on its ripple effect:

“Each of those people are threads that go out into families and networks, influencing many others.”

Artistic Excellence and Community Pride

The residencies concluded with public showcases at the Westside Arts Festival in July and a major exhibition at the Galway Arts Centre in summer 2025. These events not only celebrated artistic innovation but also honoured the pride of the residents, whose stories and insights shaped the work.

As Megs Morley, Director and Curator at the Galway Arts Centre, stated: ‘Each of these works demonstrates the power of creative practice in addressing complex issues and inspiring local responses to global challenges’.

The exhibitions attracted large crowds, reflecting the community’s curiosity, commitment, and care. The artworks now serve as symbols of local creativity and environmental consciousness, capturing the voices and visions of Westside.

Growing Partnerships, Growing Possibility

Beyond Westside, The Air We Share demonstrated how partnerships between artists, scientists, and civic organisations can inspire new ways of thinking about air, climate, and health.This cross-sector approach showed how climate action thrives when expertise is shared. As Galway City Council Chief Executive Leonard Cleary put it:

“These commissions show how creativity can open up new ways of thinking about environmental health.”

And from the scientific perspective, Dr. Liz Coleman emphasised:

“This collaboration with artists and the public has helped transform abstract data into something people can feel and respond to.”

When data becomes felt experience, behaviour begins to shift. And when communities are invited to co-create solutions, action becomes collective.

Impact: A Community That Now Sees the Air Differently

The impact of the project is already becoming clear, with meaningful outcomes visible across the community. Attendance at exhibitions and workshops continues to grow, reflecting a deepening public interest in air quality and environmental wellbeing. Galway City Council and the university partners have reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing air quality monitoring, as well as to expanding education around low‑cost sensor technology, ensuring that knowledge continues to spread long after the project’s initial phase.

A public‑facing charter has also emerged as a key resource, enabling thousands of people to explore and engage with the ideas of air rights and shared responsibilities. This, in turn, has helped cultivate a community that feels more informed, connected, and equipped to advocate for cleaner, healthier air.

Perhaps most significantly, the project has reinforced the understanding that protecting the air is both a collective responsibility and a collective opportunity—one that grows stronger when communities, institutions, and individuals work together.

A Breath of Hope for the Future

The Air We Share demonstrates what becomes possible when science, creativity, and community work side by side.  It shows  that air, so often taken for granted,  can become a catalyst for reflection, connection, and meaningful collective action.

Through textile circles, sensor workshops,  art walks, and public exhibitions, the project has transformed  invisible data into shared experience, turning passive awareness into active citizenship. These initiatives have shown that understanding our air is not just about monitoring particles, it’s about strengthening relationships, building knowledge and imagining a healthier future together.

As we navigate the realities of the climate crisis, the project offers a message that is both simple and deeply hopeful:

When we understand the air we share, we can begin to protect it together.

Visit https://www.theairweshare.ie/ for more information