Artist Talk with Sheng-Wen Lo and Maria Delaney

1pm (Irish time) Wed 28 July
via Zoom

Join investigative journalist Maria Delaney who interviews artist Sheng-Wen Lo on his socially engaged practice, his scientific approach through his projects TUNA and F/EEL, while also addressing the urgent issue of overfishing and transparencies in the sector.

The talk is presented in the context of Lo's project TUNA, exhibited as part of the PhotoIreland Festival 2021 main group show Bite the Hand That Feeds You at Rathfarnham Castle.

Launch: OVER Journal issue 2

6pm (Irish time) Thu 29 July
via Zoom
Pre-order issue 2 at a discounted price before it launches!

A project by PhotoIreland, OVER Journal launched its first issue in July 2020, and it has enjoyed a growing interest reaching rapidly all corners of the global market, from Zurich to Los Angeles. The publication, billed as ‘The Critical Journal of Photography and Visual Culture for the 21st century‘, is co-edited by Aidan Kelly Murphy, Julia Gelezova, and Ángel Luis González, and is currently the only photography publication in Ireland, produced with the generous support of the Arts Council of Ireland.

For its second issue, the editors have worked with writers and thinkers Julie Chun, Anna Ehrenstein, Orla Fitzpatrick, Yvette Hamilton, Camille Lévêque, Sue Rainsford, Rashi Rajguru, Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh, Duncan Wooldridge. In addition, a succulent and eclectic selection of practices manifests through the works of Hoda Afshar, Lewis Bush, Jean Curran, Irene Antonia Diane Reece, Audrey Gillespie, Kelvin Haizel, Iris Hassid, Federica Landi, Roberto Tondopó, and Bindi Vora. Join us and find out more about this issue and the plans for the coming editions.

LIVE Critical Recipes:
Cooking Potato Stories

6pm (Irish time) Sat 31 July
via Zoom

What can a potato tell us about ourselves? What does it say about the construction of national identity? What role can new narratives about the potato play in creating expanded social imaginaries? How can trans-local stories and food cultures be connected as an inroad to address forgotten colonial legacies and the wider context of political, social, and emotional relationships?

Artist Ana Núñez Rodríguez will expand on the current collection of stories to include those from Ireland. She has worked with a number of participants in an exchange of stories, as well as gathering archival images, articles, and written stories from Irish history. These will be told in this live event, with special guest, food historian, food writer, broadcaster and cook, Regina Sexton. 

Bite the Hand That Feeds You
at Rathfarnham Castle

Running 5 July-2 August
At Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin
Opening Hours Mon-Sun 9:30am-5:30pm
Admissions Free

There is power in how we feed ourselves, with food being the cornerstone of cultures, ideologies, and principles. Eating or not eating can be an act of protest, feeding or not feeding — an act of control; food brings people together and pushes them apart. Through the presentation of current work and commissions, this year PhotoIreland Festival brings to audiences selected artists exploring this contentious, yet every day, topic.

With topics ranging from sustainability to colonisation, from hunger to overconsumption, trauma to technology, ethics to ideologies, and even surveillance capitalism, this exhibition brings together contemporary lens-based works, serving a cornucopia of engaging and relevant material. Featuring work from artists: Alan Phelan, Dániel Szalai, Gê Viana, Hans van der Meer, Hertta Kiiski, Ksenia Yurkova, and Sheng-Wen Lo. Image: Aisling McCoy

Young Milky Way Explorers Exhibition Guide

Have you picked up one of these guides? Do you have a young culture vulture at home? In response to Hertta Kiiski’s Milky Way installation, Dublin based visual artist Róisín White created an exhibition guide aimed at our younger visitors to investigate and navigate the artwork. The guide will encourage young people (and their families) to take a closer look at the exhibition, to consider the materials used (yes! you can touch this exhibit!), the themes and questions the work poses, and suggest ways that you can make your own artistic response when you get home. The guide is created especially as a response to Milky Way, an installation currently exhibited as part of the group show Bite the Hand That Feeds You, at Rathfarnham Castle until 2nd August.

The guides are available in the gallery space and as a PDF online. Please share your response artworks with info@photoireland.org or you can tag the artist @how_fascinating and festival @photoirelandfst on social media ! All entries will be put into a raffle and three lucky explorers will be picked out of a hat to receive their own copy of Eyes Open by Susan Meiselas, thanks to The Library Project. Image: Mark McGuinness.

Monsanto: A Photographic Investigation at The Library Project

Running 1-31 July
At The Library Project, Dublin
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 11am-6pm | Sat-Sun 12-6pm
Presented with the kind support of Alliance Française Dublin.

The photographer Mathieu Asselin explores the controversial and infamous agricultural company, Monsanto, through investigative photography in this acclaimed project. Looking at the company’s past and present, this investigation aims to picture what Monsanto’s® near future will look like. The exhibition for the festival focuses on the process of the photobook. Beyond the distinguished editorial object, this publication enshrines an exceptional documentary process conducted for five years through Vietnam and the United States, which portrays an overwhelming portrait of the ancient and current practices of this giant chemical industry. A rare opportunity to see the artist's notes and materials, including the 3 dummy photobooks that preceded the final publication.

Upcoming Deadline: Vacancy for Arts Administrator for PhotoIreland

PhotoIreland is looking for the right individual to become integral part of the core team; a highly motivated, ambitious, and focused person with experience in the Arts, eager to progress as the company expands its operations in support of Photography in Ireland. Image: Emilia Krysztofiak

Aesthetica Art Prize

Aesthetica invites artists to enter the annual Art Prize. Open to all practitioners working at any level, including students. Prizes include a group exhibition in York, editorial coverage in Aesthetica magazine and website, up to £5000 prize money, publication in Future Now: 100 Contemporary Artists, and much more!
Apply before the Summer Deadline of 31 August.