Artists and farmers to come together for unique Tipperary festival

A new festival, bringing farmers, artists, food producers, agri experts and the wider community together at an event, was launched today, at Brookfield Farm, Co Tipperary.

The Field Exchange festival will be held on the Brookfield shores of Lough Derg in Co Tipperary on Saturday, August 31, and Sunday, September 1, from 12pm to 5pm each day.

Field Exchange 2024 showcases transformative art intertwining with agriculture with a new opening by renowned artists Ackroyd & Harvey on the Saturday at 6pm.

The exhibition will feature portraits of Tipperary farmers and a tree made from a living grass canvas and will be followed by a celebratory dinner.

Field Exchange festival brings diverse communities including farmers, foresters, artists, craft workers, food producers and local people together to learn and share knowledge on organic and sustainable agriculture practices, convened by RTÉ’s Ella McSweeney.

The festival is on at Brookfield Farm, Coolbawn, Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

Brookfield Farm is an award-winning organic farm and a conservation area for the Native Irish Honey Bee, and the festival is the brainchild of the farmer, beekeeper and teacher who runs Brookfield Farm – Ailbhe Gerrard.

Ailbhe presented a pilot version of the Field Exchange Festival in 2022, with more than 500 participants, including Sabina Higgins, wife of President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin.

On the back of the success of the 2022 festival, Ailbhe secured funding for a two-year project – also called Field Exchange – on creative agriculture and climate.

The wider project is structured around the two annual festivals and includes a series of one-day workshops, discussions and hands-on activities building a community of farmers to integrate the vision and creativity of artists into sustainable farming practices and habitat enhancement.

The festival will include agroforestry demonstrations, craft workshops, panel discussions, farm walks, guest speakers, visual arts, music performances, crafts, local food, and site-specific art works.

The Field Exchange is partnering with the Irish Agroforestry Ireland Forum and the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland as well as internationally renowned artists Ackroyd & Harvey along with designers Elements of Action.

The festival will also feature a debut performance from The Company of Trees - a new music and spoken word performance by Michael James Ford and Philip Dodd and performed by Susannah De Wrixon, Michael James Ford, Kyle Hixon and the Delamaine String Quartet.

Project promoter Ailbhe Gerrard, an An Taisce Climate Ambassador and a Farming for Nature Ambassador, says: "Field Exchange is bringing creativity back into agriculture. We engage vision, knowledge and practical action in our communities to come together to solve our urgent challenges in agriculture, biodiversity and climate. It’s a rethinking of the agriculture system. The festivals in 2024 and 2025 are designed to provide a transformative learning experience for farmers, food producers, artists, specialists, and the wider community. We hope to stimulate the imagination and attendees with practical tools to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss while exploring intersections of agriculture and creativity."

"These gatherings go beyond traditional agricultural events, offering a space where creativity sparks innovative solutions, meaningful connections are nurtured, and a shared vision for a sustainable future takes root. It’s about looking to the future," she said.

Field Exchange is one of 43 Creative Climate Action Fund projects taking place across the country. The projects work with communities using creativity to envision a better future and empower people to make real changes about how they interact with the environment.

The full programme of events can be found here.

Tickets for The Field Exchange Festival can be booked here.