Athy man brings recovery-inspired art installation to Electric Picnic
David Delaney and Michelle Robertsown
AN ATHY man whose creative work sparked the creation of a community recovery organisation has been selected to exhibit at Electric Picnic 2026.
David Delaney's creative visual art installation, '12', has been chosen for the festival's arts programme, bringing a powerful message of hope, recovery and human connection to one of Ireland's largest audiences.
Created by David in collaboration with photographer Ciara Buckley, '12' explores addiction and recovery through portrait photography, personal stories and a collection of restored chairs from Cuan Mhuire transformed into works of art. The Electric Picnic installation will feature portraits from the original exhibition alongside new work created through a subsequent collaboration with the Dara Project.
While being selected for Electric Picnic is a significant achievement, the story behind '12' is even more remarkable.
When the exhibition first opened, visitors did more than view the artwork.
They shared their own experiences, spoke openly about addiction and recovery, and found connection through honest conversation.
Those conversations revealed a need for a community where people could continue supporting one another beyond the exhibition.
From those conversations, the ARC Project (addiction. recovery. community.) was created.
One of the participants in the original exhibition was Michelle Robertson. Together with Delaney, she went on to co-found the ARC Project, a volunteer-led organisation that now provides free peer support meetings, family support, recovery coaching, counselling, prison programmes and education across Co Laois.
Today, while entirely volunteer-led, the ARC Project is run by trained and qualified professionals. David and Michelle volunteer as facilitators, while Ruth Miller provides strategic oversight, supports governance and mentors the organisation as it grows.
Working alongside existing services rather than replacing them, the ARC Project partners with Connect Laois and Healthy Ireland and is preparing to launch onTrack, a new recovery and wellbeing programme combining recovery support, family support, physical activity and health education.
This year, the organisation also joined the delivery team for the Boxing Clever programme in the Midlands Prison and delivered a QQI Level 5 Community Addiction Studies programme attended by more than 40 participants.
Reflecting on the selection, David said: "As someone from Athy, it's incredibly special to bring '12' to Electric Picnic. This exhibition has always been about people and the power of connection. None of us imagined it would lead to the creation of the ARC Project, but that's exactly what happened. It shows what can happen when people are given the opportunity to share their stories without judgement."
The selection of 12 for Electric Picnic represents another chapter in a journey that began with twelve portraits and has since grown into a community movement, demonstrating how creativity can inspire conversation, reduce stigma and change lives.
For more information, check out www.thearcproject.ie.
