The Artist / Gallery Relationship- 1st October
Navigating representation, communication, and long-term working relationships with commercial and non-commercial galleries is a key component of building a sustainable visual arts career.
Drawing on nearly three decades of professional experience exhibiting across commercial galleries, public institutions, and international platforms, artist Beatrice O’Connell leads a discussion examining the dynamics of the artist/gallery relationship. This session provides practical strategies and first-hand insights into navigating contracts, maintaining professional momentum, and fostering healthy, productive collaborations.
Key Topics Covered
- Approaching & Connecting: How to research compatible spaces, initiate introductions, and present work effectively without cold-calling blindly.
- Working Agreements & Expectations: Understanding contracts, consignment agreements, commission structures, insurance, and terms of sales.
- Exhibition Preparation & Delivery: Best practices for communication, scheduling, shipping logistics, documentation, and install management.
- Sustaining Relationships: Managing professional boundaries, navigating shifts in representation, and balancing commercial representation alongside public funding, residencies, and independent research.
- Open Discussion & Q&A: An interactive forum to address practical questions regarding career stages and gallery etiquette.
Beatrice O’Connell
Beatrice O’Connell is a multidisciplinary artist from Dublin, Ireland. She holds a BA in Painting from TU Dublin and an MFA from NCAD (2022). Her practice spans painting, drawing, film, installation, and other time-based and multidisciplinary forms.
Her work explores ecological storytelling, place, cultural memory, and different systems of knowledge. With a practice spanning nearly three decades, she has held solo exhibitions at Taylor Galleries (2026, 2024), Kevin Kavanagh Gallery (2000), and the Hunt Museum (2004), among other venues.
Working across painting, film, and installation, O’Connell develops collaborative and research-led approaches to ecological storytelling. Projects include the collaborative film Mutualism, made with Rayleen Clancy and presented as part of Homeland at Damer House Gallery following an open call, before subsequently screening at LOOP Festival, Barcelona (2025). Her recent projects include a research visit to The Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg (2026).
Her work has been included in major national exhibitions including the RHA Annual Exhibition, the Royal Ulster Academy, and Rua Red Open Submission Exhibitions, as well as internationally at The Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg and the Beep Painting Biennial in Swansea.
Her awards and professional development include an Arts Council Agility Award, a scholarship to study with Mark Dion at the Alternative Art School (2022), and a mentorship with Sabine Theunissen at The Centre for the Less Good Idea (2021). She has undertaken residencies at Leitrim Sculpture Centre (2023), Interface Inagh (2024), Fundación Valparaíso in Spain, the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Monaghan, and Cill Rialaig in Kerry.
Alongside her studio practice, O’Connell has worked in academic libraries, most recently at TU Dublin and the National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL). This experience continues to inform her research-led approach to art-making, particularly her interest in archives, knowledge production, and ecological storytelling.
Poster Image: Beatrice O’Connell – photo by John Kelly.
This event is supported by Fingal County Council.