Panel Three: “Critical Spaces”
This panel focuses on critical spaces established by artists out of necessity and in response to perceived needs. This includes physical spaces (like galleries or studios) in which artists can gather and work, or positive mindsets and spaces of retreat that help to cultivate creative agency and growth.
Lecture Theatre 1, 3pm – 4:15pm
CATHERINE BARRON is a mid-career artist who lives and works in Waterford city. Her expansive painting practice is her primary research methodology, which is foundational to all other activities; it allows her to engage with questions relating to the profound and often ineffable human experience. Barron recently self-published her book, The O(map): A Theory of Creativity, which provides the framework for performance lectures, and participatory arts projects within educational, social and environmental contexts. A mid-career retrospective of Barron’s work was presented last year at Waterford Gallery of Art. She is represented by the Molesworth Gallery in Dublin.
catherinebarron.ie @catherinebarron85
FIONA CASHELL is a lens-based interdisciplinary artist working with digital, material and hybrid practices to explore the boundaries and artistic use of expanded photography, text, textile, print and moving image. She holds an MFA in Studio Art from Stony Brook University, New York, and a BDes (Hons) in Visual Communication from MTU, Cork. Cashell is a PhD researcher in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University, where she is a recipient of the John & Pat Hume Doctoral Award, and lectures on the BA in Media Studies. She serves as an advisory board member for Studies in Arts and Humanities Journal.
fionacashell.com @fionacashell_art
LAUREN MORRISON is an emerging artist from County Tyrone and a Co-Director of Catalyst Arts. Formed in 1993, Catalyst Arts has a long history at the forefront of the arts scene in Belfast. The organisation’s voluntary, artist-led model is based on collaboration and community, with a strong emphasis on promoting and supporting the arts in Northern Ireland and beyond. As a members-based organisation, Catalyst Arts supports a community of artists through the provision of resources, exhibitions, residencies, and events. Activities include gallery-based exhibitions, off-site projects, and a dedicated outreach programme, which aim to attract wide and diverse audiences.
catalystarts.org.uk @catalystarts
ORLA WHELAN is a visual artist working primarily in painting, whose practice includes expanded, floor-based paintings, writing and collaborations. She has an BA Painting from NCAD, MA European Fine Art form WSA, Barcelona, and an MA Visual Arts Practice from IADT. Solo exhibitions of her work have been presented at Lavit Gallery (2026), Hillsboro Fine Art (2024), Custom House Gallery (2024), Pearse Museum (2023) and RHA Gallery (2022). Whelan’s book, Matter Mammal Oil Soar, was launched at the Dublin Art Book Fair in 2021. In 2013, she founded the peer-support collective, At Home Studios. She is represented by Hillsboro Fine Art.
orlawhelan.com @orlawhelanartist
