Backwater Artists Group

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Backwater Artists Group Artist-led organisation supporting visual artists in Cork through studio space, exhibitions, professional development and public events.

We were delighted to welcome first-year students from to Backwater Artists Group yesterday. Our connection with MTU Cra...
08/10/2026

We were delighted to welcome first-year students from to Backwater Artists Group yesterday. Our connection with MTU Crawford goes back to Backwater’s beginnings; our founding members were graduates of the college.

The visit gave students an opportunity to learn more about how Backwater operates, including how our studio spaces support artists and how our Professional Development Network provides opportunities through events, workshops and other supports.

We also introduced students to our annual bursary programme, through which we award 10 bursaries each year, including the Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary, Moving Image Bursary, two Graduate Residency Bursaries and several Network Bursaries.

We hope the visit gave students a sense of the opportunities available to them as they develop their practices and how they can become part of Cork’s wider artist community after college.

Find out more about our Graduate Bursaries and other opportunities on our website (link in bio).

The next in our series of Artist Talks is coming up soon with Backwater member Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, who will be speaking t...
07/10/2026

The next in our series of Artist Talks is coming up soon with Backwater member Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, who will be speaking to our members about the evolution of her practice and offering insights into her work, creative process and professional development.

Working across film, photography, tapestry and installation, Ailbhe’s practice explores themes of imperial legacy, displacement and ecological crisis through immersive, associative narratives and meticulously constructed visual worlds.

Born in Co. Clare and based in Cork, Ailbhe has exhibited widely internationally, including at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg; Lahore Biennale; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; 16th Lyon Biennale; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Hammer Museum, LA; Broad Museum, Michigan; and Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid. Recent solo exhibitions include Andréhn-Schiptjenko, Paris; Kunsthal Gent, Ghent; Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin; and Lismore Castle Arts. Her work is held in the collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, IMMA and MAC Lyon, among others.

Ailbhe Ní Bhriain is represented by Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery, Paris & Stockholm, and Domobaal Gallery, London.

This talk offers an opportunity to hear directly from Ailbhe about the development of her practice and career, and to gain insight into the ideas, processes and experiences that have shaped her work.

Interested in becoming a member? Check out our website (link in bio) for details on the range of memberships we offer and how to apply!

In Conversation – Éadaoin Glynn and Kim Crowley Saturday 17 October | 1 pm Booking essential via website (link in bio) J...
06/10/2026

In Conversation – Éadaoin Glynn and Kim Crowley
Saturday 17 October | 1 pm
Booking essential via website (link in bio)

Join artist Éadaoin Glynn and curator Kim Crowley for an in-person conversation exploring the ideas and processes behind the exhibition The Slow Moon Climbs. They will discuss Glynn's research and her physical approach to painting while touching on subjects such as identity, midlife and the cultural invisibility imposed on women as they age. They will explore what it might mean to make space for an understanding of female midlife, positioning it as a threshold for possibility and transformation.

Éadaoin Glynn is a painter based between Cork and Kerry, Ireland, whose work centres on female experience: ageing, visibility, and the body as a site of cultural pressure. She paints with acrylic on raw and primed canvas, using paint's tendency to bleed, stain and resist control to produce surfaces that feel vulnerable and unstable.

Kim Crowley is a curator based between Cork City and Co. Kerry. She works primarily with language, participatory events and expanded publishing. She utilises methods of production that foreground experimentation, process and exchange.

We are delighted to announce our next Members Presentation event, featuring artists Carol Healy and Dee Hurley.Our Membe...
02/10/2026

We are delighted to announce our next Members Presentation event, featuring artists Carol Healy and Dee Hurley.

Our Members Presentation sessions give Backwater Artists Group members a much-needed opportunity to share their work with their peers in a safe, supportive and informal environment. They’re a great way to meet fellow members, discover what others are working on, and build confidence in speaking about your own practice.

Carol Healy is a visual artist based in Cork City. A graduate of Crawford College of Art & Design (2015), Carol has exhibited nationally and internationally and has been a member of the Backwater Network since 2025. Alongside her studio practice, she has been involved in arts education and has facilitated drawing workshops for adults and peers since 2017.

Working primarily with coloured pencil on paper, Carol explores the relationship between personal history, memory and physical landscape. Using the body as a source and template, her densely textured drawings are built through repetitive, deliberate mark-making, creating shifting topographies that map emotional and remembered landscapes.

Dee Hurley has worked across a range of design and arts roles, from film and television set design to art facilitation, event management and bookbinding. She has completed a degree in Contemporary Applied Art at MTU Crawford College of Art and Design and is currently undertaking research into art and ecology.

Dee’s practice centres on textile art and botanical elements, drawing on her fascination with the beauty, structure and diversity of the natural world. Through collecting, arranging, assemblage and upcycled textiles, she explores botanical forms while reflecting on biodiversity loss and the importance of nurturing a deeper appreciation and respect for our natural environment.

Members can sign up for this event via our website (link in bio).

01/10/2026

Exhibitions opening in October from Backwater Artists Group members

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Exhibitions opening in October by Backwater Artists Group members.1. Stephen DoyleRoyal Ulster Academy 145th Annual Exhi...
01/10/2026

Exhibitions opening in October by Backwater Artists Group members.

1. Stephen Doyle
Royal Ulster Academy 145th Annual Exhibition
Ulster Museum, Belfast
18 October - 5 January

2. Dee Hurley
Plant Kin
MTU Crawford Gallery, Cork
23 October - 3 November

3. WoManifest
Threshold
The Laneway Gallery, Cork
29 October - 19 November

October at Backwater Artists Group. We have lots of events coming up this month for our members, from Artist Talks to Cu...
30/09/2026

October at Backwater Artists Group.

We have lots of events coming up this month for our members, from Artist Talks to Curator Visits and much more. If you would like to have the opportunity to attend events like these, why not consider becoming a member? There are several membership options to choose from to suit artists looking to connect with a thriving artist-led community in a variety of ways. Details on our membership options can be found on our website (link in bio).

We also have some fantastic events that are open for anyone to join starting with the opening of our next Studio 12 exhibition, The Slow Moon Climbs by Eadaoin Glynn.

Behind the scenes...Eadaoin Glynn's solo exhibition, The Slow Moon Climbs, is almost ready! Join us for the opening rece...
29/09/2026

Behind the scenes...

Eadaoin Glynn's solo exhibition, The Slow Moon Climbs, is almost ready!

Join us for the opening reception this Thursday; all are welcome!

Opening Reception
Thurs 1 Oct | 6 pm | Studio 12

The Slow Moon Climbs is a solo exhibition by Éadaoin Glynn exploring the midlife female body. Bringing together a series of new paintings, the exhibition considers this time of transformation as a threshold where new possibilities can emerge.

As part of her research, Glynn developed an anonymous online survey inviting women to describe their experiences of perimenopause and menopause through images or phrases. Responses included water-based language alongside images of transformation.

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication (pictured here) featuring contributions by Éadaoin Glynn and curator Kim Crowley, alongside a responsive text by Irish writer and critic Cristí­n Leach. This publication will be available to purchase for a nominal fee throughout the exhibition, subject to availability.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for Culture Night last week!It was wonderful to welcome so many visitors into ...
24/09/2026

A big thank you to everyone who joined us for Culture Night last week!

It was wonderful to welcome so many visitors into Backwater for our Studio Tours, offering a glimpse behind the scenes and an opportunity to discover the work being made across our studios.

A special thank you to all of our studio artists who generously opened their doors, shared their work and practices, and took the time to chat with visitors throughout the evening.

“A flickering thread runs through Room Innate… taking up play, memory and myth as ways of thinking through the self.”- K...
23/09/2026

“A flickering thread runs through Room Innate… taking up play, memory and myth as ways of thinking through the self.”

- Katie O’Grady

There are just a few days left to visit Danny Foley’s Room Innate at Studio 12.

To accompany the exhibition, Katie O'Grady, Curator at The Glucksman, was commissioned to respond to Foley’s work in a new text. Drawing connections between the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, childhood play, memory and the shadow self, O’Grady follows the threads that run throughout the exhibition and asks what might emerge when we remain with what is unfinished, awkward and unknown.

Read Katie O’Grady’s full text on our website (link in bio).

Address

Backwater Artists Group, Wandesford Quay
Cork
T12E26D

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+353214961002

Website

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