Name: Maeve Mulrennan
Occupation: Chairperson, Tulca Season of Visual Art
Location: Merchant’s Road
Worst thing about Galway: I honestly can’t think of anything bad about the place, other than the rain!
Favourite thing about Galway: That there are so many fantastic, artistic people concentrated in such a beautiful place.

Maeve Mulrennan came to Galway in 2003, planning to stay for a year to complete a college course.  Five years later, she is still here and making her mark on Galway’s cultural scene.

Originally from Kildare, Maeve has always been a fan of art but only started to take it seriously after an injury meant she could not pursue a career working with horses.

She decided to head to Limerick School of Art and Design to study painting and her career has grown from there. After her sister began working at an Arts Centre, she developed a strong interest in curating and arts management and decided to study for the MA in Arts Policy and Practice at NUI, Galway.

Although planning to leave once she finished the course, Maeve was bitten by the Galway bug and began working at Galway Arts Centre in 2005. Although she started out at the front desk, she quickly worked her way up to the position of Visual Arts Officer with the organisation and says that although the job is very hectic, she finds it very rewarding.

“The best thing is programming the gallery. My only limit is my imagination, and the people you get to work with. I’m lucky I’m doing a job I’ve always wanted to do, so I don’t think there is anything bad about it, which is a great complaint to have!”

One of the major projects of the year, Tulca, is set to begin on 7 November, which has meant that the centre has been a hive of activity over the last number of months. The festival was created in 2002 and showcases visual art originating from Galway alongside international works.

According to Maeve, the highlights of this year’s festival will include a bus tour to Athenry and Tuam with a talk on the work and the context of the buildings in the area. She says she is also looking forward to seeing the reaction to a video piece by Vietman-based artist Jun Nguyen-Hatshushiba, which is shot under water and “absolutely amazing”.

“At the moment, Tulca is at the stage where it will happen with or without us – technicians have started working, artwork is being delivered, and the programme is out.  It’s exciting to see months of planning suddenly coming alive. No matter how early we start, this year it was February, it always creeps up on us. It’s always exciting getting work in, it’s like Christmas opening everything up! George, the curator, is the only person who has seen everything in advance so it’s always great to see the work in the flesh. Today we are building walls in Merchant’s Road, double checking transport, doing last minute insurance and getting the keys to my favourite venue, the thatched cottage on Henry Street that is sponsored by Massimo’s. We’re also working on the invites for the opening next Friday. There is also a lot of cleaning, measuring and staring at art for ages without saying anything!” she laughs.