Atypical Gallery, 109-113 Royal Ave, Belfast BT1 1FF
administration@universityofatypical.org

Brian Connolly – Resident Artist

3 September – 3 October 2024

Brian Connolly is our Resident Artist for the 2024 Bounce Arts Festival. The residency work will involve a range of imagery and materials which will be developed and resolved during September. The work will result in a live performance that reflects Connolly’s current global and political concerns. The remnants of the performance will remain as an exhibition in the gallery up to 25 October.

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.

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