DABF25 Book Launch | State, in Relation

The event will include readings from some of the contributors; Nathan O’Donnell, Susan Tomaselli, Oein DeBhairduin, Clare Bell and Sonya Gildea. With a panel discussion chaired by Susan Tomaselli on the subject of working with living text, the collaborative purpose and process involved and, coming from a variety of disciplinary and literary backgrounds as well as a range of subject positions, the ways in which the contributors devised strategies to think through, register, and express how lived experiences are shaped by legal realities.

Between March 2024 and May 2025, writers and artists Clare Bell, Oein DeBhairduin, Sonya Gildea, Nithy Kasa, Nathan O’Donnell, Annemarie Ní Churreáin, and Susan Tomaselli, participated in a set of workshops together so as to jointly create the printed publication, State, in Relation, with its accompanying installation, Omitted Provisions which will be situated in the TBG+S Atrium during Dublin Art Book Fair 2025.

Clare Bell is a practicing designer and researcher, and teaches at TU Dublin. A graduate of Central Saint Martins, she worked for several years as an editorial designer on The Guardian newspaper. Oein DeBhairduin is the author of Weave, Why the Moon Travels (Skein Press), The Slug and the Snail (Skein Press & Little Island), and Twiggy Woman (Skein Press), his writing celebrates memory, imagination, and the enduring power of our shared cultural heritage. Sonya Gildea is an award-winning writer who has published in Winter Papers, the Stinging Fly, Tolka, Poetry Ireland Review, Banshee, Howl, the Common and Crannóg, with work forthcoming with Gorse. Nathan O’Donnell is a writer, curator, and co-editor of PVA (Journal + Books). His work is grounded in the fields of contemporary art and experimental publishing. Susan Tomaselli is founder and editor of gorse journal. She has written for numerous publications, art catalogues, and anthologies. She is currently working on Perspectives, an experimental aural portrait of Irish women artists. Nithy Kasa is a Congolese-Irish poet. Her debut collection, Palm Wine Tapper and The Boy at Jericho (Doire Press) was named among the top poetry books of 2022 (Irish Times), and shortlisted for the Pigott Poetry Prize 2023. Annemarie Ní Churreaín is a poet and librettist from the Donegal Gaeltacht. Her third collection, Hymn to All the Restless Girls, is forthcoming from The Gallery Press (November 2025). She is the 2025 UCD/Arts Council Writer In Residence.

Event location Information: This event will take place on the first floor accessible via lift and stairs. Seating will be theatre style. For further accessibility information please contact Learning + Public Engagement Curator Órla Goodwin at orla@templebargallery.com or phone: 016710073.

Dublin Art Book Fair (4–14 December 2025) is a centre for contemporary artist books offering a wide selection of artist publications and titles from creative, small and independent publishers, both Irish or international, to browse or buy. In conjunction with the Fair, DABF presents an programme of book launches, publishers talks, and workshops, offering ways to engage and gain insight into contemporary independent and arts publishing.

State, in Relation was developed with creative support from Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, and made possible by a Literature Project Award from the Arts Council of Ireland. DABF25 is proudly sponsored by Henry J Lyons and supported by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and RTÉ Supporting The Arts.