Burren College of Art Winter Newsletter

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Burren College of Art Winter Newsletter

As our thirtieth year draws to a close, we reflect and give thanks for the friends we have made, the lives we have touched and for all of you who have been part of the BCA journey so far.

A new era dawns and invites us to consider how we can optimise our unique place and process to best serve students and society in a volatile world. To this end, a strategic planning process is currently underway, innovative new academic programmes are being developed, as our college community collectively envisions our best possible future…watch this space!

As the future unfolds, one constant prevails. . . BCA will always remain solidly rooted in the power of the Burren and true to our founding principles of providing:

Time, Space and Inspiration.

Wishing you all the gifts of time, peace and happiness this holiday season and for the coming year.

Sincerely,

Mary Hawkes-Greene, President

Below image: Julia Long

Winter Student Exhibition

We had a fantastic opening to our Winter student exhibition on December 7. Below are some of the highlights from the evening. Our second year MFA student exhibition 'Close Enough' will continue to be shown in the Gallery and Newtown Castle from January 6-10 in the new year. More info on the exhibition can be found HERE

Top image: image by Mel Stiefel, MA in Art & Ecology
Left, first row: Elana Morchower studio, MFA in Art & Ecology
Right, first row, sculpture by Dave Manno, MFA in Studio Art
Left, bottom row: image by Lee Reddington, Study Abroad undergraduate
Right, bottom row: sculpture by Aaron Asher, MFA in Studio Art

PhD Graduate Ling Liu

We are delighted to congratulate our most recent PhD in Studio Art graduate, Ling Liu, who successfully completed her viva in November. Ling's research explored how traditional 'rules of rhythm' can be applied across contemporary practices in acoustic-visual spaces. More information on Ling and her work can be found on her website HERE

BCA Erasmus+ Performing Identity

BCA Erasmus+ Performing Identity project 2022-2024 celebrated it's final event, the launch of a dedicated website https://perform-id.eu/ at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre in Brussels on 27 November.

The website represents the wide scope of the project, the events, festivals and workshops, all the artists and students involved and the public contexts in which the performances were all made. The website also includes critical writings, videos, photographs and sound recordings.

BCA Students who took part in the project were:
Phoebe Tohl, Erin Besch, Joe Hendel and Fadwa Bouziane.
Róisín Byrne and Kat Cope also participated in some of the sessions.

Dr Áine Phillips and Julia Long were the staff involved in organising, facilitating and teaching on the programme.

Fully funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the travel and training project brought the group to Belgium, Poland, Finland, Portugal and a trip to the Burren for the Belgian and Polish students and staff.

Images from the website launch that happened on Wednesday, November 27 in Brussels at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de La Cambre. The link to the website for Performing Identity can be found HERE

Summer workshops

Our summer workshops programme for 2025 invites you to “make the time to drive out West…” - as Seamus Heaney so evocatively suggested - and gift the artist in you a week of artmaking in the unique Burren landscape.

Choose from oil painting for beginners, abstract or landscape painting, bookmaking, mixing media, botanical or experimental drawing or simply walking, painting and taking inspiration from the Burren. The time frame is ideal: two weeks in August, so choose whichever suits you best and come prepared to learn and explore your creative side.

We will be delighted to welcome you on campus as well as in our self-catering college housing, just be mindful that accommodation is very limited here, as well as in the nearby village of Ballyvaughan. We look forward to welcoming you and if you have any questions in the meantime, please send an email to [email protected].

Oh, and since Christmas is just a few days away, a voucher might make the perfect gift for the artist(s) in your family or your best friend.

Postgraduate Studies at Burren College of Art

We are now accepting applications for all of our postgraduate degree programmes through the deadline of February 1, 2025. These include: MFA, MA, or Post Baccalaureate in Studio Art or Art & Ecology, and our practice-based MPhil and PhD in Studio Art programmes. Any questions can be sent to Lisa Newman at [email protected]. For more information please visit our website HERE

Global Ecologies Studio Summer School 2025

The Global Ecologies Studio Summer School is a combined studio and science course offered to students who are looking for an opportunity to explore their studio art practice while examining various concepts found in ecology and earth systems. Undergraduates can earn 6 transferrable 200/300 level credits (3 science, 3 studio art), or the course may be audited.

Building on the popularity and success of the past several years, we are delighted to be able to offer two sessions for the 2025 Summer School, with Session 1 running from June 14-July 12, and Session 2 from July 12 - August 9, 2025.

Applications are due by January 31, 2025. More information on the course and how to apply can be found HERE