Puffin Rock Habitats is an educational project between Cartoon Saloon and the Heritage Council to promote greater awareness and understanding of Ireland’s nature and biodiversity amongst families with young children through a touring exhibition, workshops and activity book.

The exhibition is an exploratory journey for young children and families through four Irish habitats found on Puffin Rock, introducing the rich diversity of plants and animals who live there, and the intricate relationships between them.

The touring exhibition, which has had over 12,000 visitors to date, is a recipient of funding through Creative Climate Action, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.The exhibition tour throughout 2024/25 has included venues in Counties Kildare, Kilkenny, Cork, Waterford, Dublin, Antrim and Derry-Londonderry, and will finish its tour in Wicklow in December 2025.

Since Cartoon Saloon’s foundation in 1999 in Kilkenny, its co-founder Tomm Moore has worked as Director, Art Director, Storyboarder, Animator and Illustrator across a range of the studio’s projects. Tomm has directed three universally successful feature films, all nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD® Best Animated Feature – The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and WolfWalkers.

Having completed this informal “Trilogy” of Irish folklore- and history-inspired films, he is now developing a new direction for his next cycle of features focusing on the Irish diaspora and its connections with other cultures. As well as working as creative producer across several of Cartoon Saloon’s new film and series projects, he is also refocusing on his personal artistic practice of figure drawing and oil painting.

Tomm sees life drawing as foundational to animation, allowing the creation of compelling and credible characters that draw audiences into their stories. For a number of years, he has dedicated periods of time to advancing his life-drawing practice and understanding anatomy and body structure more thoroughly, through working with masters such as Karl Gnass and Raymond Huisman. This is his first time to exhibit this work publicly in Ireland, giving a glimpse into the skill, dedication and understanding that is required to make world-class animation.

Kilkenny has a vibrant community of artists and animators, and a couple of years back they formed the Zine Collective, an independent group that publishes a yearly Zine (latest edition just released!) and exhibits at fairs/markets throughout the year.

The Zine Collective are hosting an Art Market at Kyteler’s over the festival weekend, which means you have an opportunity to purchase original work by those who have worked on some of the finest animated content out there – including Rick and Morty, WolfWalkers, The Bob’s Burgers Movie and The Breadwinner.

The Art Market is free entry and is open to all. It takes place on Saturday 4th (12pm – 6pm) and Sunday 5th (12pm – 4pm) in Kyteler’s Inn Courtyard. The entrance is round the side of Kyteler’s – you’ll see the signs.

Check out the 40 artists who will be in attendance over on @zinemachine01 – and give their page a follow while you’re at it!

Poster created by Ella Frehtman