About

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

2021Collateral Commission for British Textile Biennial 2021, (Super Slow Way, Burnley)
 

Previous

2016/17Winner 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
2003/04Standpoint 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