Creativity, climate action and pride of place in Ballymun
What does climate action look like when it starts not with policies or pledges, but with people’s everyday lives, stories and sense of place? In Ballymun, the answer has been colourful, collaborative and deeply rooted in community.
Ballymun Is Brilliant was a creative climate action programme that connected residents, artists and local organisations through workshops, murals, storytelling, exhibitions and shared reflection.
Delivered by GAP in partnership with Axis Ballymun and the Rediscovery Centre, and funded through Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund, the project was a vibrant example of what happens when creativity becomes a pathway to climate justice, hope and agency.
Ballymun Is Brilliant was part of a wider programme of action by GAP supporting community-led environmental change in Ballymun.
In our recently published Understanding Pride of Place briefing paper, GAP explores the strong relationship between active citizenship and local sense of self. The research shows that communities with visible opportunities for involvement and collaboration tend to demonstrate higher levels of care for shared spaces, stronger local engagement, and greater enthusiasm for collective action. In other words, pride of place is not just a feeling, but a foundation for participation and environmental action.
These findings are reflected in GAP’s work on the ground in Ballymun. Supported by Dublin City Council’s Social Regeneration Fund, programmes such as the GLAS community garden have helped create tangible opportunities for residents to shape their neighbourhood, build relationships and develop sustainable habits over time.
These shared experiences strengthen social cohesion, encourage solidarity and support long-term community confidence; the very elements that GAP sees as essential ingredients for inclusive climate action.
Art as a pathway to hope
At its heart, Ballymun Is Brilliant was designed as an innovative creative arts programme connecting people to climate, place and ultimately their own sense of agency.
From the outset, the project recognised something vital: Ballymun is a community that has often been described as “over-consulted and under-resourced.” Rather than repeating extractive engagement processes, the team prioritised trust-building, trauma-informed practice and deep listening.
Key to the project’s success was embedding an artist from the very beginning, appointing local Community Weavers, and creating supportive pathways for participation — especially for those who may not always see themselves reflected in traditional climate spaces.
Creativity in action: Artists and community collaboration
Community engagement shaped the themes, and professional artists worked alongside local groups to create projects.
Artistic outputs included:
- A permanent mural;
- A discovery trail focused on community spaces and food;
- A “Spirit Map” of Ballymun and accompanying zine;
- Printmaking and upcycling workshops;
- A crochet installation;
- Poetry, stories, and illustration co-created with residents.
Project artists included:
- Niamh O’Beirne, creator of the Ballymun Spirit Map, exploring the “more-than-human” ecology of Ballymun through foraging, cyanotypes, mapping, and storytelling;
- The Walls Project, supporting community mural-making and public expression around biodiversity and climate justice;
- Cabbage & Kraut, creating a community-led trail focused on food, place, and connection;
- Adam Mohamed, working with residents through writing and spoken word;
- Sophie Carroll-Hunt, facilitating sustainable making through print and textiles.
The programme also invested in the work of local bursary artists, including Jen Harrington, Brendan Shanahan and Ciara Hession and showcased Ballymun’s own creative talent through exhibitions and commissions.
Over the course of the project:
- 29 local community organisations were engaged;
- 231 events took place across workshops, meetings, and public celebrations;
- More than 2,161 individual engagements were recorded.
The project supported 90 artist-led workshops alone in 2025, reflecting its emphasis on co-created, community-centred climate art.
Evaluation findings showed that participants reported increased confidence in sharing climate stories and a greater willingness to take small-scale climate actions locally.
Pride of place, climate action, and what comes next
The story of Ballymun Is Brilliant is ultimately a story about pride of place in action. It shows that climate engagement becomes more meaningful when it is rooted in:
- local identity;
- community care;
- creativity;
- shared ownership;
- and inclusive participation.
As GAP’s Understanding Pride of Place research highlights, when pride of place is nurtured, it can help people to feel deeply connected to their natural surroundings, encouraging acts of care and protection support environmental stewardship, strengthening social cohesion and building collective agency.
Ballymun Is Brilliant has planted seeds; not just in murals or zines, but in relationships, confidence and community imagination. And it is hoped those seeds will continue to flourish in the rich soil of this vibrant community.
