bio
Aoife Duncan is an Irish visual artist based in Northwest London. She uses a variety of media including ceramics, photography, drawing and found objects to represent ideas relating to belief, faith and coping methods. She leans heavily upon her experience of cultural catholicism growing up in rural Ireland.
She explores the emotional attachments that people forge with objects and places that have healing or transformative qualities such as sites of pilgrimage, religious relics, holy communion, crystals and tarot cards.
Whether or not these items actually possess the attributes we give them credit for is of less interest to her than how we use them as sources of security and comfort in an otherwise unsafe and uncomfortable world.
Aoife graduated from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology in 2017, obtaining a first class honours in Fine Art (Ceramics). In 2016, she won a Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s Future Maker Award. In 2020 Aoife undertook the Cel Del Nord ‘Together/Separately’ residency. She was awarded an Agility Award from the Arts Council of Ireland in 2021.
CV
EDUCATION
2020 Special Purpose Award in Group Training and Development, with Distinction, Athlone Training Centre QQI 6, IRL
2017 B.A. (Hons) Fine Art (Ceramics) with First Class Honours + Award for Academic Excellence, G.M.I.T, IRL
2016 B.A. Art & Design with Distinction, G.M.I.T, IRL
2013 Major Certificate in Art & Design with Distinction, Moate Business College, IRL
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Coming Soon: Home Sweet Home, curated by Elisha Fall, Virtual Exhibition, UK
2021 Curating Futures : Artist Community, ARCADIA, Virtual Exhibition, UK
2021 Open Fragment, Pragmata Collective, Virtual Exhibition, London, UK
2021 RE-VISION Performing Arts Festival, Online Exhibition, Belfast IRL
2021 CATALYST, Stoa Collective, Online Exhibition, Dublin IRL
2021 Photography with Fresh Eyes Project, Westmeath Libraries, Ireland, Online Exhibition
2018 Art and the Vote: the Visual Culture of the Irish Women’s Suffrage Campaign, Luan Gallery, Athlone, IRL
2017 Graduate Degree Show, Centre for Creative Arts and Media,G.M.I.T, IRL
2016 EMBARK Undergraduate Degree Show, Connacht Tribune, Galway, IRL
2016 Work in Progress: An Exhibition of Sketchbooks and Preliminary Drawings, co-curated by A. Duncan with K. Naughton and C.Crowe, Centre for Creative Arts and Media, G.M.I.T, IRL
2014 Beyond the Surface: An Exhibition of Student Work in Collaboration with the
National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough House, Castlebar, Centre for
Creative Arts and Media, G.M.I.T, Galway, IRL
2013 Annual Exhibition, Moate Business College, Westmeath, IRL
AWARDS AND BURSARIES
2022 Individual Artist Bursary, Roscommon County Council, IRL
2021 Agility Award, Arts Council of Ireland, IRL
2021 Individual Artist Bursary, Roscommon County Council, IRL
2016 Future Makers Award, Judges Spotlight category, Design and Crafts Council of Ireland
RESIDENCIES
2020 Virtual Residency ‘Together/Separately’, Cel Del Nord, Barcelona, ESP
2020 Project DUNA : Practice and Poetic Exchange, Barcelona, ESP
RELATED EXPERIENCE
2021-2022 Studio Assistant, Sammy Duder Pottery Studio, Battersea, London, UK
2018 – 2020 Full-time Gallery Assistant, Luan Gallery, Athlone, IRL
2019 Child Safeguarding Training (Tulsa Children First)
2018 Certificate in Art Therapy for Socio-educational Intervention (EADL recognised)
2018 Certificate in Cultural Activities Coordination (EADL recognised)
2016 Invigilation Co-ordinator, EMBARK at Connaught Tribune, Galway
2016 Art Teaching Assistant (work experience) Galway Community College, Galway
2015 Gallery Invigilator, TULCA Festival of Visual Arts, Galway
2015 Gallery Invigilator, Galway Design Week, Galway
2015 Printmaking Workshop Assistant, Galway Design Week, Galway
2013 Art Teaching Assistant (Leonardo European Project Scholarship), St Ignatius College, Barcelona
2013 Mural Painting Assistant (sensory garden for children and people with disabilities), with Fidelity Investments July 4th Team Days, Clonbrusk, Athlone
2012 Art Teaching Assistant for people with disabilities (work experience)RehabCare, Athlone
2012-2014 Art Camp Assistant for children aged 4-12, Athlone Community Services, Athlone
2010-2017 Art Workshop Assistant for under 5’s, Athlone Community Services, Athlone
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