Brian Connolly was an Associate Lecturer in Fine Art, Sculpture, in the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University, Belfast, between 1995 and August 2022. He is a multi-media artist who has created artworks that often relate to place or context and which reflect key socio-political issues of the day. He employs a wide range of artistic processes, including performance art, public sculpture, installation art, art workshops and a range of collaborative projects.
Connolly has created solo performances, collaborative and group performances, interactive public performances, durational works as part of his performance art practice. He has performed & exhibited in diverse contexts throughout Europe, in North America and Asia.
In the early 1990’s Connolly developed a genre of performance art called ‘Install-action’, This uses performance action within complex spatial arrangements in order to generate installational spaces.
Since the mid 1990’s, he has created a series of international ‘Market Stall Performances. In these performances he directly interacts with the public by trying to sell a series of surreal, satirical, political and funny objects and engages them in a range interactive processes.
He has initiated and curated national and international events and projects, and has been involved with artist-run organisations throughout Ireland, including: Bbeyond, The Sculptors Society of Ireland, Visual Artists Ireland, Circa and Flaxart. He was a co-founder of Bbeyond and held the chair position on a number of occasions since 2001. He established and ran the annual Belfast International Festival of Performance Art from 2013 – 2022, with events held in Ulster University and inside and outside Belfast.
Connolly’s work is now part of the National Irish Visual Arts Library. It can be found at https://www.nival.ie/digital/collection/p21086coll20
Residency dates: 3 September – 3 October 2024
Exhibition Dates: 4 –25 October 2024
Late Night Art: Thursday 3 October from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
(Live Performance starting 6.30 pm)
Visitors are welcome to come and go in the gallery at any time during the live performance
Artist talk:
Friday 4 October at 2.00 pm.
British Sign Language interpretation.
All welcome.
