1/01/26
In the vibrant neighbourhood of Westside, Galway City, a quiet but important movement has been unfolding, one that invites residents to look up, breathe in, and ask a simple but important question: What’s really in the air around us? 'The Air We Share' is a project that is transforming 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.
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, the Insight Centre’s “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.”
At the heart of the project were three ambitious Artist-in-Residence (A.I.R.) programmes managed by Galway Arts Centre. From October 2024 to July 2025, artists were selected to engage with communities, climate scientists and policymakers.
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.
Above: Artist Christopher Steenson pictured with his installation ‘Where Does the Body End?’ ahead of the public opening of ‘The Air We Share’ exhibition at Galway Arts Centre PHOTO: Mark Stedman
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.”
The residencies concluded with public showcases at the Westside Arts Festival in July and a major exhibition at the Galway Arts Centre from August to September 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, clearly 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.
Above: Anastasia Vershinina of Galway Arts Centre pictured with ‘Phosphene’, an installation by artist Leon Butler, at the public opening of The Air We Share exhibition at Galway Arts Centre PHOTO: Mark Stedman
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 demonstrated 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.
The impact of the project is already visible:
Perhaps most importantly, the project strengthened the sense that protecting the air is a shared commitment and a shared opportunity.
The Air We Share highlights what becomes possible when science, creativity, and community come together. It reveals that air so often unnoticed can become a powerful starting point for reflection, connection, and collective action.
From textile circles to sensor workshops, from art walks to public exhibitions, the project has turned invisible data into shared experience and passive awareness into active citizenship.
As we face the climate crisis, its message is simple and hopeful:
When we understand the air we share, we can begin to protect it together.
Visit https://www.theairweshare.ie/ for more information
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