Bio

Mark is a visual artist from Co. Carlow. His practice incorporates performance, installation, painting, and sound with a focus on community, collective experience and music history. The resulting works are open-ended and communal, inviting the viewer to become active participants in the production of meaning. He holds an MFA from the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam and a BFA from Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork. He is the co-founder of the new contemporary arts organisation Muine Bheag Arts which will host exhibitions, performances and site-specific projects in southeast Ireland. Past exhibitions + projects include performances at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, (2019); solo shows at Scaffold Projects, Belfast, (2020); Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, (2019); Rietveld Pavilion, Amsterdam, (2019); Pallas Projects, Dublin, (2016); and group shows at Outpost, Norwich, (2019); Rongwrong, Amsterdam, (2019); Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin, (2017); Catalyst Arts, Belfast, (2016); and the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, (2016) Previous awards include: 2021, Freelands Foundation, London, 2020, Arts Council Visual Artist Bursary, 2020, Creative Carlow Project Award, 2020 - 2021, RHA Grant, 2020, Individual Artist Bursary, Carlow County Council, 2019 and Art links Emerging Artist Bursary, 2017.

Project

I was selected with my colleagues in CREATION 21/22, a truly unique programme which was created for performing artists at all stages of their careers and across a range of disciplines (dance, theatre, circus, spectacle, performance art, street arts), to develop their practice, network, learn and showcase work. It will include in-person collaboration opportunities in Ireland, as well an international residency in 2022 The project offers artistic development opportunities through mentoring, coaching, residencies and ‘in-progress’ presentation opportunities as part of Carlow Arts Festival, Dublin Dance Festival, National Circus Festival and Danseur Festival. This project is an opportunity to deeply collaborate with artists from various performing art forms and areas of experience. This residency is specifically focussed on performing artists in the East and Southeast region of Ireland, as well as European partners. It will be designed hand in hand with makers from the Theatre, Dance, and Circus/Street Art/Spectacle worlds to ensure it is delivering to the participating artists what they need at this time. The project is flexible and will focuses on creating space to support artists in the ways they currently need.