Dr. Brigid McLeer
Born: Drogheda, Ireland. 1970
Brigid McLeer is an Irish artist based in London. She is interested in ideas around contingent subjectivity and the capacity of images to ‘act’ in the context of politicised art practices. She works in various media/modes including video, durational performance (live and to camera) photography, drawing and writing. Her work has been shown in galleries, public sites, as online projects and on the page. Recently, she has begun to produce more collective and participatory performance events and projects, sometimes underpinned by a written script. Brigid also produces and publishes critical and art writing.
Current Academic Affiliation : Senior Lecturer, Manchester School of Art, MMU, Manchester
EXHIBITIONS
– SOLO SHOWS / EVENTS
Forthcoming
| 2021 | Collateral Commission for British Textile Biennial 2021, (Super Slow Way, Burnley) |
Previous
| 2016/17 | Winner of the Leslie Scalapino Award for Innovative Women Performance Writers. Rehearsed reading, New York Dec 2016, full production with theatre company ‘the relationship’ directed by Fiona Templeton, Downtown Art Company, New York Dec 2017 |
| 2017 | ‘N scale’ commemorative performance, Conway Hall, London |
| 2012 | ‘One + One’ Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda and Wexford Arts Centre, Ireland |
| ‘Horizontal Ontologies’ Art Currents Institute Gallery, New York | |
| 2010 | ‘One + One (The Reading)’ Rea Garden residency, Birmingham |
| 2009 | ‘Isoli [cont.]’ Lanchester Gallery, Coventry University, Coventry |
| ‘The Face of Another’, part of ‘Curating Knowledge’ Alsager Arts Centre, MMU, Cheshire | |
| 2007/08 | ‘Vexations’ part of Site Platform, Site Gallery, Sheffield |
| ‘In Place of the Page’ (collaborative project) at | |
| 2003/04 | Standpoint Gallery, Coronet St. Hoxton, London |
| Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland | |
| London Open House Weekend, Sugarhouse, ACME live-work space | |
| Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham | |
| 2000-02 | ‘A Sense of Place’ conference, The Old Library, Cardiff |
| ‘Mobile Porch’ Under the Westway, London ‘ | |
| Incubation, Writing and the Internet’ conference, Nottingham | |
| ‘Dartington Gallery’ Dartington, Devon | |
| 2003 | ‘Habitat’ (work in progress) at Unit 2 Gallery, Whitechapel, London |
– GROUP SHOWS / EVENTS
| 2019 | Future Lab, West Bund Art Centre, Shanghai, China |
| RCA Show, Royal College of Art, London | |
| 2017 | ‘Daybreak’, AMP, Asylum and Safehouses, Peckham, London |
| 2015 | ‘Diagrams’, curated by Niamh McDonnell. Pallas Projects, Dublin and QSS gallery, Belfast |
| ‘Why Would I Lie?’ research exhibition, Dyson Gallery, Royal College of Art, London | |
| 2013 | ‘Beyond The Frontier’ (video in public sites) New Ross, Wexford, Ireland |
| ‘Platform, In the Making’, Site Gallery, Sheffield | |
| 2012 | ‘Live Notation’, AHRC research group day of performance/presentations, Arnolfini, Bristol |
| 2011 | ‘A Game of Two Halves’, two person show, Lewis Gallery, Rugby |
| ‘L’ultima cena’, Refettorio di San Michele, Pescia, Italy | |
| 2010 | ‘Beyond Fontana’ Studio 1.1, London, curated by Stephanie Moran |
| ‘A Site of No Special Interest’, Solihull Gallery, Birmingham | |
| ‘Switch’ contemporary Video Art in a public context, curated by Triona Ryan and Harald Turek, Ireland | |
| 2009 | Creekside Open 09, selected by Mark Wallinger. APT gallery, Deptford, London |
| ‘Unspeaking Engagements’, Chulalongkorn University Gallery, Bangkok. Group show curated by Steve Dutton and Brian Curtin | |
| ‘The Other Side of Waiting’ Homerton Hospital, London – group project of integrated artworks | |
| 2008 | Drawing Breath’ group show, Lugar Do Desenho, Foundation of Julio Resende. Porto, Portugal |
| ‘Re-Cognition’ Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry, UK | |
| ‘Art/Home Movies, High Rise Cinema’ Park Gallery, Falkirk, Curated by Alex Hetherington | |
| 2007 | ‘L’Isola Di’, San Servolo Servici, Venice, Italy |
| 2006 | ‘Spatial Imagination’ Domo Baal Gallery, London |
| 2005 | ‘Starwatch’ Poster work for ‘51N / 00W’ at bookartbookshop, London. Curated by Richard Makin |
| 2004 | ‘Place/Displace’ Group show and symposium at Unit 2 Gallery, Mile End Park Ecology Centre and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London |
| ‘Para Sites’ Bridport Arts Centre, Bridport, Dorset (curation commission and residency) | |
| ’SPELT!’ at, The Horse Hospital, London | |
| ‘Watch This Space’ Phoenix Gallery, Brighton | |
| ‘tEXt 04’ Phoenix Gallery, Exeter | |
| Film screening at ‘Snap’ exhibition and screening, Diorama Gallery, London | |
| 2003 | ‘Writing Instructions, Reading Walls’, The Poetry Society Cafe, London |
| 2002 | ‘Tristero’ Online artist in residence. Hosted by Film and Video Umbrella, London |
| ‘The Studio and After’ symposium, Victoria & Albert Museum, London | |
| ‘Creative Re-Use: The Body of Knowledge’, Arnolfini & University of Bristol | |
| ‘Taking Place 3’ Sheffield University, School of Architecture | |
| 2002-04 | Curator of ‘LLAW’ (Public textworks) for ‘bookartbookshop’, Hoxton, London |
RESIDENCIES
| 2019 | Selected participant at BAK Summer School on Art as Politics, Utrecht, Netherlands |
| 2010 | Rea Garden residency, (hosted by Behind Closed Doors) Birmingham, UK |
| 2007/08 | In-gallery residency and commission, Site Platform, Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK |
| 2007 | San Servolo Island residency, Venice, Italy |
| 2006 | British School at Rome residency funded by Irish Arts Council, Travel & Mobility Grant |
| 2002 | ‘Labculture’ artist’s residency PVA, Bridport, Dorset |
PUBLICATIONS: CATALOGUES, ESSAYS AND REVIEWS
| 2019 | The Triumph of Crowds script, Published by Litmus Press, New York |
| 2018 | Commissioned essay for ‘The Creative Critic: Writing for/as Practice’ Edited by Dr. Emily Orley and Katja Hilevaara, Routledge, London and New York |
| 2016 | Commissioned essay for ‘Repertorio, Teatro e Danca’ edited by Jane Linden and Patrick Campbell, Brazil |
| 2012 | One + One catalogue with commissioned essays by Cherry Smyth, Dr. Mia Lerm-Hayes and Steve Dutton. Published by Highlanes gallery, Ireland |
| 2009 | I have drawn away, I have not left my place, Essay for Building Material journal (Issue on interdisciplinarity, Autumn 09) Published by Architects Association of Ireland |
| Creekside Open 09 catalgoue, APT gallery, London | |
| Isoli [cont.] review by Cherry Smyth, CIRCA magazine, Issue 128, Summer 09 | |
| Isoli [cont.] catalogue, Lanchester Gallery Projects, Coventry, UK | |
| Essay for Graham Chorlton exhibition ‘Bristol Road’ catalogue, Rotunda Gallery, Birmingham | |
| 2008 | ‘Drawing Breath/Respirar Arte’ catalogue, Lugar Do Desenho, Porto, Portugal |
| Commissioned essay on ‘Vexations’ by Alex Hetherington, Published on Site Gallery website | |
| 2007 | ‘L’Isola Di’ catalogue, published by San Servolo Servici, Venice, Italy |
| Catalogue Essay, The Blossoming of Perspective, a study by Penelope Haralambidou, Domo Baal Gallery, London | |
| ‘Stray Sods, 8 Dispositions on the feminine, space and writing, illustrated essay in ‘Altering Practices’ edited by Doina Petrescu, Routledge, London | |
| 2006 | Catalogue Essay, ‘Urban Lighthouse’, Coventry |
| ‘Spatial Imagination’ Exhibition catalogue, Published by UCL | |
| 2005 | ‘Transmission:Speaking & Listening’ Sheffield Hallam University / Site Gallery UK |
| 2004 | ‘Bartlett Works’ Published by The Bartlett, UCL in association with August Projects |
| ‘Here Are My Instructions’ from exhibition curated by Olsen & Johanknecht, Gefn Press, UK | |
| ‘Para Sites’ Exhibition catalogue. Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset UK | |
| ‘Film and Video Umbrella Projects 2002 – 2004’ London | |
| 2002 | ‘Scroope 14’ Architecture Journal, Cambridge, UK |
| 1999 | ‘Visible Language 33.1’ Rhode Island School of Design, USA |
| ‘Contemporary Visual Arts’ UK |
ARTIST’S TALKS & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
| 2021 | Selected to present a paper at Textile and Place conference, MMU, Oct 2021 |
| 2019 | Artist’s presentation as part of Research Pavilion, Venice Biennial 2019 (June 16-18) |
| 2018 | Artist’s talks: ‘Tentacles’ Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand and ‘Salon Saigon’, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Oct ’18) Funded by AIDF grant from the Arts Council and British Council, England |
| 2015 | ‘Why Would I Lie?’ Research conference and exhibition, Dyson building, RCA, London |
| 2013 | ELIA Teacher’s Academy, Utrecht & Amsterdam (with Jane Ball) |
| 2010 | ‘-writing’ Bartlett School of Architecture symposium, UCL, London |
| ‘International Association of Word & Image Studies’ conference, UU, Belfast | |
| Eastside Projects (ESP) in connection with Rea Garden residency | |
| 2008 | ‘Translated Acts’, ICFAR, Central St. Martins College of Art, UOA, London |
| ‘Writing Digital Media’ presentation and network launch. Tate Modern, London | |
| 2006 | ‘E and Eye; electronic poetry, visual art and writing’. Tate Modern, London |
| 2005 | ‘Dear Alaric..’ with ‘taking place’ at Technologies of Place conference, Academic Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2004 | ‘Habitat’ at ‘Subvoicive Colloquium 2004’ Camden People’s Theatre, London |
| ‘In Place of the Page’ at ‘Partly Writing’, Southampton University | |
| ‘taking place’ presentation at ‘Becoming Space’, The Living Art Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland | |
| 2003 | ‘In Place of the Page’ at Birkbeck Poetry Forum, UCL, London |
| ‘Habitat’ at ‘Bodies of Evidence’ symposium, Royal Holloway University, London | |
| 2002 | ‘In Place of the Page’ at ‘The Annex Gallery’, New York |
| 2000 | ‘Liminalities’ Performance conference, Brunel University, London |
| 1999 | ‘Perspectives: Irish Identity in the 20th C’ Aberdeen University |
| ‘Alterities: feminism and architecture’ Ecole De Beaux Arts, Paris | |
| ‘Ephemeralities of Writing’ University of Utrecht, The Netherlands | |
| ‘Visual Cultures’ IAWIS Scripps College, Claremont, California, USA | |
| 1997 | ‘Mixed Messages; Image, Text, Technology’ University of North Carolina, USA |
QUALIFICATIONS
PhD Fine Art, Royal College of Art, London 2020
Higher Diploma, Fine Art (Media) University College London (Slade School) 1993
BA (Hons) Fine Art (2.1), University of Ulster, 1991
Foundation Certificate, National College of Art and Design, Dublin 1988