Baile na mBocht | Andrea Newman 

Andrea Newman | Baile Na mBocht | Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary

5 September– 3 October 2024    

In Conversation Event with Andrea Newman & Aideen Barry, Thursday 5 September, 5pm

Baile na mBocht is an exhibition displaying the work and research of Cork based artist Andrea Newman investigating the history of and ongoing neglect of social housing in Mayfield. She has been exploring this subject matter through motifs of death and the use of lost Irish language. The Irish word for Mayfield is Baile na mBocht but the direct translation to English is town of the poor. This comes from the area being the site of a leper colony, today now sixty percent of the area consists of social housing in disrepair. Black mold and a bad landlord. Where do we go from here? This exhibition was developed during Andrea’s time at Backwater with support of the Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary.

Andrea Newman is a visual artist working and living in Cork City. In her work she utilizes lost Irish language to explore Ireland’s current housing crisis. She specifically is interested in documenting socioeconomic issues within this work. She combines photography and print in her work and has explored installation and bookmaking to combine her use of these mediums. In 2023 she graduated from Crawford College of Art and Design with a first-class honors degree in Fine Art. She was awarded the Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary with Backwater Studios and the Roberts Nathan Student of the Year Award with Lavit Gallery. She is a member of Sample Studios. She most recently exhibited in The Reading Room, at Muine Bheag Arts.

Backwater Artists Group is an artist-led organisation, located on Wandesford Quay, in the heart of Cork City. Our mission is to support and advocate for visual artists, allowing them to thrive, to foster a deep appreciation and enthusiasm for the visual arts within the community and to keep sites of production at the heart of Cork city. We are a key fixture in Cork’s cultural landscape and we sustain a thriving visual arts community. We currently have 100 artists in our various memberships. Since our inception in 1990, we have supported the practices of over 500 artists, including 150+ early career artists.

Backwater Artists Group Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary is awarded to a graduating artist from MTU Crawford College of Art & Design, who demonstrates talent and ambition in their work practice.

Ciarán Langford (1964-1997) was an artist and valued member of Backwater Artists Group during the 1990s. He played an active part on the steering committee in those formative years. In 1992 whilst the studios were based in Pine Street it was decided to award two bursaries each year to graduates from MTU CCAD, the first award of that kind in Cork. On moving to our permanent home at Wandesford Quay in 1999 Backwater Artists Group commemorated Ciarán’s life and work by renaming the award The Ciarán Langford Memorial Bursary.

What we provide:

• full use of a studio for 6 months from October to March
• full access to Backwater’s facilities including darkroom, digital suite, woodwork room, mitre press and underpinner
• a solo exhibition opportunity in our Studio 12 exhibition space or other venue to include technical support, artists fee and PR support. Please note: new work must be produced for this exhibition.
• mentorship from a relevant art professional

In 2023/2024 Andrea was mentored with Aideen Barry.