Kay McMahon Art

23/07/2026

Some gigs stay with you long after the lights come up!

I’m still thinking about seeing David Byrne live at the Edinburgh Playhouse earlier this week. Thought I’d re-share Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense inspired portrait where I tried to channel some of that David Byrne energy!

21/07/2026

David Byrne this evening at Edinburgh Playhouse

Laughed, danced and sweated!

Pure joy from start to finish. What a privilege to spend an evening in the company of such a creative giant.

10/07/2026

I was in my absolute element immersed in Ai Weiwei’s extraordinary Button Up! exhibition at Aviva Studios, Factory International in Manchester.

I also spent several hours watching Sewing a Button - Ai Weiwei’s powerful 24-hour live performance recreating the conditions of his 81-day secret detention by the Chinese authorities.

I came away with plenty to think about... and, unfortunately, the full-blown lurgy 🤒 🤦‍♀️

Read more in my new blog post, 🔗 in bio or click here:

https://www.kaymcmahonart.com/blog/everything-is-art-everything-is-politics-ai-weiwei-at-factory-international-part-2

01/07/2026

Dear teenage me,

You had excellent taste in music.

Jagged Little Pill was the first CD I ever owned, and every lyric is still lodged firmly in my head. It’s been on regular rotation in my life since 1995.

Seeing Alanis Morissette @ Bellahouston felt like catching up with an old friend.

Throw in Wet Leg, Skunk Anansie, and my pal Carol the Brewster, and you’ve got one very happy Kay ❤️

01/07/2026

Ridiculously excited about this 🙌

24/06/2026

Here’s to the wonderful Ryan and the difference he is making through The Human Collective 🥰

Hello

When I came to Kirkcaldy in January, I made it my mission to help. To quietly go around and just speak to people and the emphasis was on cafes or coffee shops and there's a reason for that. I chose to just show up, and I had to be patient as people are busy and I also have limited time to dedicate to doing this. So when I'm asked to come back, I always do my best to do so.

The reason I chose those places is because my late mum worked in the cafe in the Indoor Market for quite a few years. In that time she got to know so many traders and customers alike and formed friendships with them.

Mum was kind and would always make time for people. Kirkcaldy wasn't her home but she got a lot of joy out of working there where she started in 2008 till she took early retirement almost a decade later. I've also been met with the same kindness that Kirkcaldy is known for and now there's a few more places to visit and a few more stories to tell.

My next stop is a place that was once home, which is Burntisland, which is well into it's summer boom and so after my visit to Holyrood Palace next week, I'll be dropping by in July as well as continuing to visit Dundee.

Thank you to the people of Kirkcaldy who gave me a chance to get to know them, same way my mum did all those years ago.

If I've not seen you yet, let me know, and I'll try and get to you 📷

15/06/2026

Like so many people, I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of David Hockney, just a month shy of his 89th birthday 🎨

British art has lost one of its true giants. Yet as I reflected on the news, I found myself thinking less about his accolades, and more about the way his work made me feel.

Read more in my new blog post, 🔗 in bio or click here:

https://www.kaymcmahonart.com/blog/david-hockney-and-the-art-of-seeing

13/06/2026

🎶 No Scotland, no Party. 🎶

First stop: Haiti.

Come on Scotland! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ⚽

12/06/2026

So very sad to hear of the passing of David Hockney.

British art has lost one of its true giants.

I have such fond memories of visiting his exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris on my birthday two years ago.

His work always has such a unique ability to make me slow down, look more closely, and see the world a little differently. A reminder that there is always beauty to be found if we take the time to notice it.

“Do remember they can’t cancel the spring.” Simple, hopeful words from David that captured his enduring optimism and his gift for finding light, colour and joy, even in the most difficult of times.

🙏