Niamh Hannaford is an Irish visual artist whose practice encompasses painting, installation, performance and writing. Her practice is colourful, playful and tactile.
Niamh was Royal Museums Greenwich's practitioner in residence during the Season of Play (summer 2023) - a programme of fun-filled activities and workshops.
Niamh's residency at Royal Museums Greenwich
From hosting interactive workshops with visitors to presenting at conferences, Niamh worked to test the boundaries of what play means within a museum.
She was particularly inspired by the Sea Things gallery in the National Maritime Museum, which holds a non-chronological and tactile display.
Discover more about Niamh's time at Royal Museums Greenwich:
"Play is really important to me because I think it is sometimes undervalued in society, particularly as we grow older or it becomes very structured for children," Niamh says.
"It's really good for our brains, which helps us to engage with the world in new ways, it builds new pathways, It's also good for understanding ourselves. We can understand, we process through play, and I think as we grow older, we're often led away from it, which is a real shame."
Residencies at Royal Museums Greenwich
Find out more about the Residency Programme at Royal Museums Greenwich – an exciting, collaborative initiative for practitioners of all mediums to explore, interrogate and to bring to life the collections