If you’ve ever traveled to the western edge of Ireland, you can probably recall the emerald-green fields, the stone walls that line the roads, and the massive sky. But do you remember the wind? And what it felt like on your skin?
That sensation—of strong gusts rolling off the Atlantic Ocean—is a memory captured in a piece of art created by CU Denver student Megan Hatak ’26. The sculpture is currently part of a student-focused exhibition in the CU Denver Experience Gallery titled “Ireland Abroad.” Hatak’s piece features a blue umbrella-inspired design, mounted near the ceiling, that viewers can interact with in the gallery’s space. As they move around the piece, she hopes they are inspired—as she was—by the wind’s impact on the Irish landscape. “It’s interesting to interact with it [here] and remember how I felt when I was making it,” said Hatak.
It is one of several pieces, including paintings, sculptures, and more, that feature art produced by CU Denver students who went on a month-long study abroad trip to Ireland this summer. The students worked at the Burren College of Art, which is located on the grounds of a 16th-century castle, and explored their new environment through art and performance mediums. The results were showcased in an exhibition in Ireland. And, now, much of that art is on display here in Denver.
Hatak—an art practices major who also has four paintings in the exhibition—learned about the program through her professors, who were organizing the trip. She’d been interested in studying abroad but was worried about missing out on classroom opportunities. This month-long experience was the perfect fit. She explored the landscape with friends, took a weekend trip to Galway, and created art.
Edward Oliver ’26, was also on the trip. A transfer student from a community college, Oliver knew he wanted to do at least one study abroad trip during his time at CU Denver. He quickly found this Ireland experience, which fit with his digital design major and timeline. The program gave him a chance to work on studio art, which he thinks complements his digital design work. “It made me want to combine the two as much as possible,” Oliver said. “I have so much fun creating physical art, just as much as I do on the computer.”
In Ireland, he focused on photography and physical ways of displaying that work (he has three pieces in the exhibition. One, which is set in the corner of the room, allows you to see images from Ireland with Denver as the backdrop through the windows. It creates a mashup of global connections and experiences that Oliver hopes viewers will pause to take in. The emotions he experienced in Ireland, he said, are still impacting him today. “As soon as we got there, it felt like there was a lot of inspiration from the land,” Oliver said. “The whole experience was really cool.”
