EXHIBITION | 'Home is Where the Heart Is' by Margaret Anne Suggs

Exhibition | Margaret Anne Suggs

“Home is Where the Heart Is” is series of experimental 'picture books' based on the theme 'HOME' and consists of 5 illustrated birdhouses. Each is an 'in the round' piece, using rooftops, undersides and interiors for the storytelling. The artist wanted to express the narratives of 'home', but she created this work in a 3 dimensional format, where the finished piece provides another element to explore: form. The birdhouses present ideas of migration, duality of belonging, and the ephemeral nature of shelter. Margaret Anne says of her work, “To present my story through words, images and a shape that reinforces the concept has been a challenge. I want the viewer to have a sense of hope.” Though Margaret Anne lives in Ireland, she is an immigrant and still empathises with refugees, immigrants, and transients. This exhibition is presented in a poignant and sensitive way that is suitable for the family.

Biography –

Margaret Anne Suggs  is an illustrator and author. Her most recent book, The Dandelion’s Tale – An Allegory of Migration (Graffeg), was nominated for the prestigious Yoto Carnegie Medal in Illustration.

Other books Margaret Anne has illustrated include The Moth & The Moon (Beehive Books),  the best-selling ‘Pigín of Howth’ series with Kathleen Watkins (Gill Books), and ‘Holy Shocking Saints’ with Síne Quinn (Veritas).

Margaret Anne is a Director for Illustrators Ireland and Administrator of the Silent Book Collections for IBBY Ireland. She is serving on the 2026 International Jury for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. An archive of Margaret Anne’s illustration work is now held in the National Library of Ireland.