Photo Museum Ireland

Artist In Residence

Steve Pyke

Contemporary Irish Writers
 – A Visual Census of Irish Writers

Photo Museum Ireland is delighted to announce the launch of its inaugural Archive Residency program, designed to support artists who seek to explore, reinterpret, and innovate through the medium of the photographic archive.

The second recipient of this residency, Steve Pyke, is renowned for [briefly highlight their artistic focus or achievements]. Over the course of the 1-year residency, Pyke will work together with Photo Museum Ireland to digitise his extensive photographic archive, encompassing decades of Irish development. Their residency will culminate in [outline final outcome, e.g., an exhibition, publication, or public talk].

The first iteration of this residency was with renowned Irish photographer Tony O’Shea whose extensive archive was meticulously digitised and restored as a pilot project for the new National Photography Collection initiative at Photo Museum Ireland. Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura’s little known Irish work, was the second recipient of the residency, saving severely damaged and vitally important visual representation of the Troubles in Ireland with the help of Photo Museum Ireland.

“This residency is a natural extension of our commitment to fostering artistic innovation and engaging with the history of photography,” said Trish Lambe, CEO, Photo Museum Ireland. “We’re excited to see how Steve ‘s work will inspire and educate generations to come”

This Archive Residency residency program underscores Photo Museum Ireland’s mission to support creative experimentation while deepening public engagement with photographic history.

Black and white portrait of Tim O'Grady taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of John Banville taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Dermot Healy taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Glenn Patterson taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Seamus Heaney taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Edna O'Brien taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Anne Haverty taken by photograher Steve Pyke
Black and white portrait of Roddy Doyle taken by photograher Steve Pyke
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Steve Pyke is a renowned photographer known for his intimate and intense black-and-white portraits of extraordinary thinkers, creators, and artists of our time. Pyke created his first photographs in Ireland in 1980 and has maintained a deep, ongoing association with a place central to the development of his artistic practice. Widely hailed as a classic landmark ‘photographic novel’  I Could Read the Sky, created with the writer Timothy O’Grady was first published in 1997.  In 2023 it was reissued in a new, expanded edition by Unbound. Pyke has spent the last 40 years seeing the world through a creative lens. Born in Leicester, UK, Pyke resided in London and NYC for many years. Steve now lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana and continues to work in Ireland and internationally. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Photo Museum Ireland 2024-2025.

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