Paula T. Nolan has been announced by The National Library of Ireland (NLI), working in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as the recipient of their inaugural Photographer-In-Residence commission.

Nolan was selected on the basis of a planned project, titled ‘ReViewing Ireland: A Photo Study of Ireland’s Environment’, which will involve travelling throughout the 26 counties over the period of one year, using public transport systems, and engaging with local communities – examining both their lived environment and Ireland’s changing landscapes.

Across the country, over four seasons, Nolan will aim to capture images of compelling environmental interest.

The photographer will be aided by access to EPA experts and the NLI’s photographic collection. With access to historic images, she will be able to compare them to the freshly taken photos of the same landscapes or scenes.

Marking the announcement, Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the NLI, said of Paula's project: “Her work will embody the NLI’s mission, which is to collect, protect and make accessible the recorded memory of Ireland.

“This residency also embodies two key pillars of the NLI’s Strategic Plan - reveal and engage - as it will encompass the land and seascapes of Ireland by way of impact and inspiration.”

The National Library of Ireland partnered Hot Press for the acclaimed Hot Press Covers Exhibition, which was run in the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar, in 2017.

Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA, explained her organisation's involvement.

“EPA’s role has been to protect, improve and restore Ireland’s environment, through regulation, scientific knowledge and working with others,” she said. “The partnership between the EPA and the NLI, and Paula’s resulting residency, will create an invaluable archive for the next thirty years and beyond, showcasing the state of our environment in a new and inspiring way.

“I am excited," she added, "that this project will bring cultural and scientific knowledge closer together, and cultivate a richer understanding of our environment at such a critical time – asking where we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going.”

Paula T. Nolan responded to the announcement saying that this is the greatest achievement of her life as an artist-photographer, and expressed her gratitude, and how honoured she is, on X.

Two years ago I stopped working in a full time job. The future was full of uncertainty. Today I am grateful & honoured to announce my selection as the NLI/EPA Photographer-in-Residence 2024. I invite anyone and everyone to follow along! More info via linkhttps://t.co/9Qn4hmsBKd pic.twitter.com/9gf6YDhWE3

— Paula T Nolan (@IrishPTNolan) May 27, 2024

“There is no subject closer to my heart, more important to us all, than the survival of humankind and nature, in light of the threat posed by the climate crisis," she said. "I am grateful for an opportunity to work visually with the subject, with people who know more than I do, to create a body of work that captures a year of Ireland’s environment."

Paula T. Nolan attended the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in the late 1970s to early 1980s and went on to work as a graphic designer, specialising in all areas of design for print, with a speciality in magazines and books. Paula worked as Art Director with Hot Press during the 1980s and into the 1990s, witn many of the covers she designed appearing in the Hot Press exhibition.

She has designed many large-format ‘coffee-table’ books, most famously using photographs from the renowned Father Browne SJ Collection. Working on that book provided the inspiration for Paula to take up photography seriously herself in 2013.

Her photograph 'Napkins: The Jesuit Community, Leeson Street’ was included amongst 82 artworks from the State Art Collection for the ‘Portraits of a Nation’ exhibition in the Farmleigh Gallery, and was later selected for the 2019/20 Office of Public Works and Northern Ireland Civil Service Collection annual touring exhibition.

Paula's photographs have been chosen for the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) Annual Exhibition in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

The EPA was founded in 1993 and is sponsoring the NLI programme as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations.

Dr Sinéad McCoole, Head of Exhibitions, Learning and Programming at the National Library of Ireland, said: “Tasked with engaging people with our collections at the NLI brings exciting opportunities to meet with the creators of content – from contemporary writers, to book illustrators to photographers like Paula T. Nolan. The winner of the inaugural NLI/EPA Photographer-in-Residence comes to us with vast experience, which she will now use for citizen engagement to capture Ireland with her lens in 2024.”

The final series of digital photographs created for the project will become part of the permanent national collections at the National Library of Ireland.