Lunchtime Artist Talk with Martina O’Brien

Join us Monday, April 29th, at 1PM for a lunchtime artist talk with Martina O’Brien. Martina will discuss her current exhibition ‘draft fissure’ and how the work has evolved over the last two years. The exhibition explores the deep-sea ocean and mining rights, drawing on extensive research in marine and science archives as well as residencies with the Marine Institute Galway and the Celtic Explorer. Martina will address the impacts of climate change on marine ecologies as well as some of the legislative and political contexts of her work.

Martina O’Brien is a visual artist who has participated in a number of significant exhibitions and artist residencies in Ireland, abroad and at sea. Over several years, she has collaborated with various experts in climate change and marine ecosystems. She is the recipient of several awards from arts organisations and research bodies including the Arts Council of Ireland, Creative Ireland, Create, the European Commission, the European Union and Goethe-Institut, Kildare Arts Service and DLR. Recent artist residencies include University of Oslo’s Marine Expedition, Oslofjord, aboard the RV Trygve Braarud (2024); ATU’s Marine Expedition, North East Atlantic Ocean, abroad the RV Celtic Explorer (2023); Artist Laboratory, Devenish Lands at Dowth, Solstice Arts Centre (2023); Landscape, Ecology & Environment Research Residency, Leitrim Sculpture Centre (2022); UCD Parity Studios inaugural Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences Artist in Residence (2020- 2022); Science Gallery Dublin Rapid Residency (2020); and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios (2019/20). Upcoming and recent solo exhibitions include Galway Arts Centre (2024); Lexicon Municipal Gallery (2025); Highlanes Municipal Gallery (2023), Illuminations Gallery, Maynooth University (2020) and Butler Gallery (2018). Recent groups exhibitions include Holdings, Solstice Arts Centre (2023); LEER, Leitrim Sculpture Centre (2022); SHUL, STAC (2021); New Era, Solstice Arts Centre (2020); Datami, BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels; Datami, European Commission, Milan, (2019/20) and Tactical Magic, TULCA (2019). Recent publications include of ephemeral measure (2022) and Every Single Morning (2020). Recent awards include the Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursaries (2023/2022/2021/2019) and Visual Arts Project Awards (2024/ 2021/ 2017).