Christopher Steenson

The Long Grass (2022–2024) 🌱 An artwork that uses issues surrounding the corncrake to explore ideas of contested land use, (post-)colonial identity and belonging. 35mm slides, slide projector, vintage portable projection screen and projection table, timing system, amplifier, horn speaker, carved field stone, cabling. Dimensions variable. Duration: 5 minutes 49 seconds. There is just 3 weeks left to see this work at @themacbelfast as part of 'mother tongue', curated by @chickeybelfast and @alissasuze . Video by @photosbysi , sound and editing by yrs truly.

'Soft Rains Will Come' is now open at @visual_carlow until the 22 May. Thanks to: @emmalucyobrien for the chance to show this newly commissioned work in such an amazing space; @benj_staff_ for all his help with the show as VISUAL's new curator, and to the fantastic tech team who made this install come together. They are world class at what they do. Shout out in particular to Tadhg McSweeney who turned my ropey drawings into beautifully crafted stands and benches for the installation; Sanja Todorovic for doing her best text-to-speech impersonation; and @samuel_laurence_cunnane for making beautiful c-type prints of my photographs. I would be remiss not to mention the invaluable advice of @stephenvitiello , who really helped push this new work forward by making me ask the important questions, such as: What Would Cage Do (WWCD)? And as always thank you to @laura_fitzgerald__ , who let me take her car away from her, and for putting up with my bad moods when the damn radios just weren't working. 📸: @roskavanagh #visualcarlow #soundart #soundinstallation #johncage #weather #radio #shortwaveradio

Now open at @lismorecastlearts – 'Print Out', curated by @paulmcaree , featuring 8 new posters selected by @smallnightprojects . This iteration of SNP sees a continuation of artists using text in their work with a set of 8 A2 screen-printed artist posters featuring work by Maria Balfe (@marian_balfe ), Fiona Banner (@fionabannerakathevanitypress ), Husk Bennett (@pilotinspektorlee ), Noel Hensey (@nhensey ), Mark Leckey (@mark.leckey ), Asha Murray (@murray_asha ), David Sherry (@davidhughsherry ) and Philipp Timischl (@philippphilipp ). The limited edition posters (40 print run) are for sale at €15 each. All proceeds from sales go back to artists. Only some are pictured here because the opening was v busy!! SNP are: @fire_art_sale (the master printer), @phelanlikealan (the one who's too cool now because they're in Venice), @laura_fitzgerald__ (the babe!), and moi. Show runs until 14 June. I'm not sure what happens when we sell out of posters, which we definitely will at this rate. Special thanks to Paul, the legend, and all at Lismore

★★★★ — The Telegraph ★★★★ — Time Out London "Pretty bad but that Christopher Steenson guy is okay" — Sunday Times (paraphrasing slightly). ★ — some gobshite with a blog It's the last weekend to see @new_contemporaries at @southlondongallery . Thanks to everyone who has come to see the show. It's been such a rewarding experience having my work in London. Thanks so much to Sophie, Séamus, Kiera and the rest of the NC team. They've all done such a great job with the show (and I also was so grateful of the pizza). After this week, the show will travel to @mimauseful with an opening event on Thursday 14 May. This Saturday 11 April I'll be performing abridged version of the peformance-lecture 'Each one started' that is designed to accompany The Long Grass artwork. @caiminwalsh is now too expensive to bring over to London so he will make a cameo for this version as a disembodied voice. The event starts at 2pm and includes performances by fellow New Contemporaries @alia_studio_ , @makikoharris , @willpham_ and The VLC Band, ranging from spoken word, live music, choreography and performance. I think it's sold out but there's a link in my bio if you would like to book. Install 📸: Adriana Kytkova @adky_photo

‘The Long Grass’ is artist @christopher_steenson Christopher Steenson’s multi‑layered artwork exploring sound, memory, land and more‑than‑human relations. SLG’s Head of Programme, Lily Tonge @lilytonge introduces the work, as part of @new_contemporaries . Working with sound, text, images and digital tools, Steenson helps us to think about the future by showing how time, nature and human impact are all connected. He seeks to make work through which we can ‘listen across tenses’. ‘The Long Grass’ (2022–24) centres on the near‑extinct corncrake, a bird once common across Ireland whose call now survives only in remote western regions due to intensive farming practices. Through 35mm slide projection, synchronised sound, archival texts and field recordings, the work opens up conversations about conservation, contested land use, (post-)colonial identity and belonging. Christopher Steenson will perform live at the SLG as part of @new_contemporaries Live on Sat 11 Apr. Book now through the link in our bio. ❤️

Did you live in Limerick city between 1987-1991? We are seeking your memories of the then newly constructed Shannon Bridge. Do you remember the sound it used to make, that gave it the name of the ‘whistling bridge’? We are trying to uncover this lost sound and need your help. If you, or someone you know, remembers the ‘whistle’ please contact curator @caiminwalsh or artist @christopher_steenson or email [email protected]. Your memories will contribute to the development of a series of new public art projects taking place in Limerick City. Supported by @artscouncilireland and @limerickarts . 📸: Ray O’Brien, with help from @limericks_life .

After some debate, I have decided that I am very excited to have my work in @new_contemporaries , which opens this day next week (Thursday 29 Jan) at @southlondongallery . Public opening from 7-9pm. There is an after party at TOLA in Peckham. Traonach abú.

i feel neither new nor contemporary, but you should try and tell that to @new_contemporaries a thousand thank yous to this year's selectors @pioabad , @louise___giovanelli and @theofficialgracendiritu , and to @seamusmccormack and @kiera_blakey and the rest of the nc team. there are 25 other amazing artists who have been selected. too many to name here. see you at @southlondongallery in 29 jan 2026. the show travels to @mimauseful in may 2026. up the corncrake. it's echo mocks all of us

⭐️⭐️ BASIC SPACE is delighted to present Christopher Steenson for our December BASIC TALK - 1.15pm on Friday the 5th of December 2025 in TU Dublin ⭐️⭐️ 
With a practice that spans sound, lens-based media, text and digital systems, Christopher Steenson’s (b.1992, North of Ireland) work bridges historical and speculative narratives to interrogate the politics of time, environment and more-than-human-relations. In navigating these concerns, Steenson seeks to create works through which we “listen across tenses”. Steenson’s solo exhibitions include ‘They haven’t gone away you know’, mother’s tankstation, Dublin, Ireland; ‘Breath Variations’, Flat Time House, London, United Kingdom (2023) and ‘Soft Rains Will Come’, VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow, Ireland (2022). Previous group exhibitions include: ‘The Air We Share’, Galway Arts Centre (2025); ‘The Sky is Falling!’, Ormston House, Limerick (2024); ‘mother tongue’, The MAC, Belfast (2024); ‘inching towards’, Freelands Foundation, London (2024); Penumbra, LAVA, Mexico City (2024). Upcoming solo presentations include: Stone Age Economics, CCA Derry~Londonderry (2026). Steenson’s work is held in the Arts Council of Ireland Collection.
 / BASIC TALKS is a series of informal talks with leading contemporary practitioners. Curated by Basic Space in partnership with the Hugh Lane Gallery, BASIC TALKS is an open platform for lectures, workshops, presentations and performances. Speakers include artists, curators, writers and critics who generate discourse on producing, framing and exhibiting art. Talks are free please book your ticket here For the months of November, December 2025 and January 2026, Hugh Lane Gallery & Basic Talks are delighted to have the Basic Talks programme hosted by the TU Dublin School of Art & Design, Grangegorman, Dublin 7. Full details on how to get to this location will be posted on this page. This talk is presented as part of the HLG Explore & Learn offsite programmes during the Gallery’s period of temporary closure.  Link in bio to book your FREE TICKET @thehughlane @christopher_steenson @siobhan.p.mooney @ellalitton_va @lorzhg @ciaramagee93

'They haven't gone away you know' @motherstankstation Until 22 November. Thursday– Saturday 12–6pm or by appointment

'They haven't gone away you know' opens tomorrow at @motherstankstation The exhibition is my first solo show in Dublin, presenting a series of new and existing works relating to the corncrake. The conservation issues surrounding this elusive and enigmatic bird are used as a gateway to explore wider themes of power struggles, identity, and symbolism. The exhibition will run until 22 November. With thanks to Finola and David. And with extra special thanks to @corncrakelife , who have worked tirelessly for the past 5 years to bring the corncrake back to Ireland. May their brilliant legacy continue, now that the project has come to an end.

‘Where Does the Body End?’ is a new installation I am currently showing at Galway Arts Centre as part of the group exhibition ‘The Air We Share’. The exhibition has been extended and will run until 28 September. The work is the result of a research residency focusing on air pollution research in Galway. Drawing on meditation practices, the history of air science research, and philosophical ideas ranging from Maurice Merleau-Ponty to the writer Daisy Hildyard, the work takes the form of a spatial sound installation that responds in real-time to changes in air quality in and around the gallery. Singing bowls placed in the space are struck in response to PM2.5 (particulate matter 2.5), whilst a pedestal fan – whose fan blades swivel and spin as they speak and breath – delivers a series of meditations, monologues and anecdotes. In asking us to think about where the boundaries of our bodies might exist, and by situating the air within the same political space as issues surrounding bodily autonomy, the work forces us to question our understanding about how we exist with, and within, the atmosphere around us. Artwork Credits Voice Performance: Lisa Brown Fabrication and Component Design: Spaceforms @spaceforms_ltd Stone Carving: Richard Egan (Egan Engraving) Ceramics: Members of the Westside Community Screen-Printing: Robert Carter and Lucy Carter @grilsegallery 3D Modelling and Printing: Ultan McAvinue SketchUp Modelling: Luke Matone With special thanks to: James Coyne and Westside Resource Centre team, Liz Coleman, Alena Postnikova, Frank Prendergast, Harun Morrison and Conditions Tom Flanagan, Tom McClean, Megs Morely, Michael O'Halloran, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Daisy Hildyard, Laura Fitzgerald, and the members of the Westside community in Galway. Photography: @tomflanaganstudio 'The Air We Share' is part of the Creative Climate Action initiative, funded by the Creative Ireland Programme and supported by Galway Arts Centre and project partners. @galwayartscentr @creativeireland @galwaycitycouncil @artsofficegalwaycity @universityofgalway #westsideresourcecentre @galwaycultureco @conditionsstudioprogramme