Sculpture at Kells has taken place every year since 1998 during the Kilkenny Arts Festival (apart from 2001, when it was cancelled because of foot-and-mouth disease). It is an outdoor exhibition set alongside the King's river in the picturesque grounds of the priory . . . one of the largest and most impressive mediaeval ruins in Ireland. Previous shows have featured work by major international sculptors such as Barry Flanagan, Lynn Chadwick, Elizabeth Frink and Peter RandallPage. It has steadily built up a strong reputation for its diverse, ambitious exhibitions and is now considered one of the highlights of the Kilkenny Arts Festival, attracting thousands of visitors during its short run each year.

But the most impressive thing about Sculpture at Kells is the fact that it is a grassroots initiative established by local residents and run on a shoestring budget.

Indeed, its very existence depends on the goodwill, generosity and dedication of the community of Kells, which has a tiny population of about 600.

"It's kind of amazing, people give up their time and have people stay over in their houses. They don't get a penny for it . . . they do fundraisers, write applications, and they all have full time jobs, " says the curator of this year's exhibition, Dublin-based artist Mark Garry. "It's quite refreshingf It's a home-grown, energy-driven aspiration to have something interesting happen in their village."

Project manager Valerie Mullally says that Sculpture at Kells was initiated when Kilkenny artist Ann Mulrooney, frustrated by the lack of exhibition opportunities for local sculptors, decided to organise a group show herself. Art collector Gay McGuinness put her in contact with a number of Kells residents who hoped to establish some kind of annual festival.

In the first year, their total budget came to a mere �500. The budget, while remaining tight, has increased substantially over the years, and they are now funded by the Arts Council and Kilkenny County Council. It receives no funding from the Kilkenny Arts Festival as it is not officially part of the programme, although it benefits hugely from the exposure it receives from it.

The main organisers are Mullally, along with committee chairman Vincent Dempsey and site manager Matt White, who each have day jobs and thus devote massive amounts of their spare time to the show. Each year, as the event draws closer, everyone in Kells is mobilised to get involved, whether by transporting, moving, lifting, or constructing something. "They'll have welders and carpenters on site, " says Garry. "It's all about generosity, none of these people are paid. If you tried to do it in Dublin, it just wouldn't happen."

Another crucial aspect of Sculpture at Kells is living among the community, staying in the local B&Bs and going to the pub in the evening.

"It's very important that the artists go down to Kells, stay there, socialise in the local pubs and talk to people about their work on a social level, " says Garry.

Mullally agrees: "It gives people a chance to say to the artists, look, I saw what you've done down there, what the hell were you thinking of? Why do you call that art? We have, I suppose, learnt a lot over the years, almost unknown to ourselves, about where artists are coming from, especially with installation work, because some of that can be quite difficult for the non-artistic public."

In the first few years, the focus was on one major 20th or 21st century sculptor, along with a selection of other emerging and established artists, but in the past three years there has been a change of direction. Now a curator is invited to choose a number of artists, and the focus has turned to installations that respond to the site rather than more traditional bronze or stone sculptures.

The outdoor context is crucial:

"Our target audience is people who would not normally go into galleries . . . and so having an outdoor exhibition makes it very accessible . . . whole families come out to see it, and people go out to walk the dog and just come across the art. It's just there . . . how you respond to it is up to yourself, " says Mullally.

For this year's exhibition, Garry, as the invited curator, has selected the work of five emerging artists from Ireland, Wales and Austria, who have each responded to the site to create new works or reconfigure pre-existing ones.

Nina McGowan, a promising young Irish artist, has created two striking wooden reconstructions of the tie-fighters that featured in the 1977 Star Wars film. Cardboard versions of the works were originally exhibited at the Hugh Lane gallery in 2005, but there is something particularly intriguing about placing such imaginary, futuristic creations in the ancient ruins of a monastery.

Another interesting intervention is David Beattie's towers of Lego, placed in bold, playful contrast to the rural scenery and crumbling ruins. Karl Burke, also known for his work as the musician Karl Him, has made minimalist wooden frameworks that mark out where existing rooms used to be. Another artist with musical leanings, the former punk rocker David Hastie, has created an installation based on his musings on the monastic lifestyle, while Marie-Dorothee Neugebauer, having never visited the site, has sent over a billboardsized photograph to be installed in the ruins.

"I'm hoping that it will be quite a diverse discourse with the space, " says Garry. "It's a really tricky site.

It's really beautiful, and there's almost a feeling that you don't need to do anything there . . . that it's perfect as it is. All the artists have felt that as well, we're all very respectful of the space, fundamentally. And rightly so."

An alien invasion Sculpture at Kells may be, but it's certainly a welcome one.

Sculpture at Kells runs from today to 22 August. www. kilkennyarts. ie

KILKENNY ARTS FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

NOW in its 34th year, the multidisciplinary Kilkenny Arts Festival is known for its strong visual arts section, and this year is no exception.

The main part of the visual arts section, 'Strand One', is curated by Hugh Mulholland, who also curated the Northern Ireland pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale.

'Strand Two', meanwhile, features a diverse selection of exhibitions presented by organisations based in Kilkenny. Here are some of the highlights:

STRAND ONE: Four Hands by Bill Viola at St John's Priory: An opportunity to see a work by one of the world's most important video artists.

Rise and Fall by Mark Orange at Cillin Hill Centre: A piece on the 'modern Ellis Island' . . . the US Immigration and Naturalization Service in Manhattan, notorious for its "impenetrable bureaucracy and overbearing security."

Cerith Wyn Evans at Butler House: Sculptures by this major Welsh artist can be seen in the grand Georgian surroundings of Butler House.

STRAND TWO: A Life in Colour: John ffrench retrospective at the National Craft Gallery: A celebration of one of Ireland's pioneering ceramic artists.

Barry McGee at the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle: US artist famous for his painted gallery installations, but also for his work in the street as the graffiti artist, Twist.