This year’s summer exhibition at Áras Éanna Arts Centre on Inis Oírr is a celebration of  the bodhrán and it marks the 21st anniversary of the annual bodhrán summer school, held on the smallest of the Aran Islands.

Craiceann is the name of the summer school that puts this humble but powerful instrument centre stage, and Craiceann is the name of this show too, as Dara McGee of Áras Éanna explains.

Twenty musicians who are also talented visual artists received unique specially-commissioned canvases, created by skilled bodhrán-maker Bill Wright. These handmade bodhráns each had an 18-inch diameter and the canvas was for decoration purposes only. All 20 artists were allowed to create what they wanted on their canvas and the result is an eclectic exhibition with many wonderful pieces.

They include an image of the famous Inis Oírr shipwreck, the Plassey, in oil by Kinvara-based musician and painter Ryan Lavin. There’s a vividly coloured hummingbird made with mosaic tiles, from singer-songwriter Ruth Dillon of the Raines, who has recently taken up mosaic work.

Ringo, a portrait in oil and chalk of renowned bodhrán player Johnny ‘Ringo’ McDonagh, is the work of artist and singer-songwriter Jim McKee of Tyrone who lived for a time in Kinvara.

Artist, musician and music teacher Meadhbh Ní Eidhin from An Spidéal has also focused on musicians, with a semi-abstract acrylic painting that features three trad performers.

In Snail’s Eye View, Clifden artist, musician, filmmaker, and eco-builder Lol Hardiman has used a range of green acrylic paints to offer an unusual perspective of the world.

There’s a bodhrán painted by Mary Coughlan and one on which Christy Moore has created a piece of writing, titled The Two Conneelys.

Local artists also feature, among them Hannah Ní Chonghaile, who has been playing concertina for eight years and whose preferred drawing medium is graphite or pencil. Her artwork features a smoker’s hand gripped tightly around the bowl of a pipe. This striking black and white work is done in pencil and the canvas has been sealed.

All these bodhráns can be seen in Áras Éanna and are also online. They are currently for sale via a live silent auction which continues until Friday, August 30, at 5pm.

Bidding has already begun and, as with any auction, the highest bid will secure the item. On this occasion, 50% of proceeds from all sales will go to the artists and 50% will go towards establishing a library of musical instruments at Áras Éanna for the benefit of the community.

People can go to https://app.galabid.com/bodhran to see the artworks and to make their bid.

Pictured: Jim McKee’s painting on a bodhrán of one of the instrument’s finest exponents, Johnny’ ‘Ringo’ McDonagh.