2018
lived in Ireland for one year, and for six of those months, I was awarded an art residency supported by Avolon and the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA). The residency gave me the chance to explore Dublin more deeply—not just as a visitor but as a storyteller moving through the city’s layers.
As someone who has read and admired James Joyce, walking the streets of Dublin was especially captivating and full of familiar places. As an Iranian, I felt a particular connection to Dublin’s atmosphere: not overly diverse, but full of rebellious energy and the spirit of free people.
After a few months of walking and exploring, I started to sketch. Using a nibbed pen and ink, I drew people I encountered—people whose stories I could only imagine. Many of them, like me, were “Non-Dubliners.” I also began writing very short stories -like a sequence of a movie- inspired by those faces and moments, pairing image with narrative.
At the end of the residency, Avolon and RHA published a book titled Non-Dubliners; a small humorous nod to Joyce’s Dubliners. It was presented as an “adult coloring book,” combining my drawings and stories in a playful but thoughtful format.
Jinoos Taghizadeh 