Cúige Coterie back and new twist is promised for 2026

Cúige studios have announced the return of their popular Coterie following a year-long hiatus. Andrea Cullen started it in 2023 aiming to create a space for locals to discuss culture, art, creativity and the world around them in Mullingar.

Monthly meetings drew people together to have discussions about anything and everything from new and old perspectives.

“It came from the idea of what Cúige was to be – a space where people could be creative, be individual, and showcase what they have to offer,” Andrea said.

“I could see that there was such a variety of people longing for something like this, a place to go where they could have those kinds of conversations but also to expand on our creative culture in Mullingar.”

The Coterie ran from 2023 to 2024, and in 2025 Andrea brought a similar idea to the secondary schools of Westmeath instead, following a funding grant.

“It ran for two years and a lot of collaborations happened. I felt like it was a lovely space to have but I wanted people to dig deeper into their creative imaginations and question how they look at the world,” said Andrea, “and not in a negative way, but just in general.”

This year’s Coterie is called ‘Coterie Creative ways of Seeing, Thinking and Engaging’.

“It’s not necessarily about being an artist, not necessarily about being creative but about that idea of expanding how you view the world around you.”

This year brings a return to the monthly meetings, with a little bit of a twist. “When people arrive, they will get a disposable camera and a sketchbook , and the idea is that, while, yes they have their phones, it’s about looking at the world at a slower pace.”

This year’s Coterie will take place over nine months and will feature three creative workshops, three amenity visits, three engagements and one final reflective gathering. Everything is completely free.

“Our first outing is to the Hill of Uisneach and I’m going to bring Tess McKevitt, a poet. The idea of bringing a poet with us on a historical walk is to get them to look at the landscape through a different lens, through a poetic lens, like how a tree is moving.

“Whatever they come up with, they’ll be able to sketch, and take photographs with their disposable cameras.

“The next outing is with Celine Sheridan, a visual artist from Westmeath, to go out into Mullingar and look at the urban landscape.

“The last outing is with Lorraine Murphy, a writer from Mullingar, and we’re going to the library and look at it through the idea of research and how books help you to look at the world around you.”

Andrea recently received €10,000 in funding through Strand two of Creative Westmeath’s Creative Ireland Creative Communities Grant. That funding allows Coterie to enter this new era.

“I was so delighted,” said Andrea regarding the grant. “I had worked hard to get it and the applications are quite voluminous.”

The Coterie had an introductory meeting last Thursday as a way to introduce its new era to the public.

Coterie will run until October 2026; follow Cúige Studios on Instagram and Facebook to get involved.