Studio 12

Visual Archive | Studio 12 Project Residency – Peter Nash
Visual Archive 

Studio 12 Project Residency,  1 — 22 January 2025

“Drawing forms the foundation of my artistic practice. It is a way of collecting images and visual references and also working through ideas. Over the four years as a studio member of Backwater Artist Group, I have made hundreds of drawings, more than I can use or view at one time in my studio.”

During the Visual Archive project Nash will use Studio 12 to display these drawings all together and sift through the work, evaluating, organising and sorting into a useable archive, where imagery can be referenced and easily accessed in future. This archive will then form the basis for developing new work, including collage, print, sculpture and animation.

There will be an open studio on Saturday 11th January, 2-5pm. Visitors are invited to call in and engage with the archive. Using processes including photocopying, cutting, drawing & collage, we will break & experiment with the collected drawings, then reconfigure and reassemble them into new iterations. This interaction will form the basis of new work to be developed during the remainder of the residency project.

On Tuesday 21st January. 1-2pm in Studio 12 Nash will exhibit the outcomes of the project, and speak about the process during a lunchtime artist talk.

Backwater Artists Group is delighted to present, The Weight of Nothing, an exhibition by Backwater Artists Network member, Andrew Mc Sweeney.

Opening –  29 January 2025, 6pm
30 January – 21 February 2025
Studio 12, 1st Floor Backwater Artist Studios, Wandesford Quay. 

This exhibition delves into the transformative interplay between objects, materials, digital processes, and experimentation, while also reflecting on the idea of nothing in both material and concept. Featuring an array of works—video simulations, drawings, and sculptural pieces—it investigates how digital tools can breathe new life into the physical world, reshaping materials in ways that challenge our perceptions of form, texture, and context.

The video simulations explore the relationship between organic and synthetic materials, blending tactile qualities with their digital counterparts. Sculptural works, inspired by photo scanned objects, reimagine materials entirely, presenting new forms and textures that transcend the limitations of the physical world. Meanwhile, a series of hybrid drawings merge traditional mediums with digital processes, fostering a dialogue between the tactile and the virtual.

At its core, The Weight of Nothing reflects on the creative potential of digital manipulation—not simply as a technological feat, but as a means to fundamentally alter how we perceive and work with materials. The exhibition invites viewers to consider the possibilities of reinterpreting nothingness—a space where absence becomes a catalyst for transformation.

About the artist:
McSweeney completed a BA in Fine Art at CIT Crawford College of Art & Design (2015) and an MA in Interdisciplinary Design Practice (2021) at the Limerick School of Art & Design. Recent projects include the XaRt commission (November 2023), developed in collaboration with the NExIS research team and the MTU Arts Office CREATE Le Chéile Fund, and an experimental video piece exhibited as part of 9.57 (SUNSET) during the Cork Midsummer Festival at the Triskel Arts Centre (June 2024). McSweeney also presented “Green World”, an interactive augmented reality application, at the Earth Rising: Eco Festival (September 2024) at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

NEWS

Last week, we heard of the untimely passing of one of our members, Anna Barden.

Anna was a member of Backwater Artists Network, since its inception in 2020. She was a talented artist and she had a brilliant mind. She was also an active, enthusiastic and valued member of our group. We were fortunate to have her as a member and to be able to support her practice, in the past number of years. She exhibited in several of our member exhibitions including; A Moment Before Lockdown, Studio 12, Backwater Artists Group (2020), Remaining Places, Fota House & Gardens (2021), Drawn Works, The Long Space, Backwater Artists Group (2024) and Deep Time, in Spike Island (2024).  In 2022, she had a solo exhibition in our Studio 12 exhibition/project space, Falter. Check. Resolve which consisted of 18 drawings, 7 ceramic works and an accompanying text drawn on the wall, which served as both statement and memory. The work explored themes of mental illness and chess as seen through the world of Beckett’s ‘Murphy’. In 2024, she was awarded the Backwater Artists Network Residency and had a studio onsite for 6 months. She used the studio consistently and prolifically, to create a large body of work, some of which was due to be exhibited in The Long Space in February 2025. It was really lovely to have Anna as a member. She contributed in so many different ways and made many friends at Backwater Artists Group. We will sorely miss her.

Rest in Peace, Anna 🌸

Emerging Curator Award 2026
OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS  – Deadline Tuesday 4 February, 5pm

Backwater Artists Group is seeking submissions from emerging curators for our Emerging Curators Award 2026. This initiative will support an emerging curator to develop their curatorial practice and gain experience in all aspects of exhibition production. The successful candidate will work with our team to produce a members group exhibition or project for our Studio 12 exhibition/project space, as part of our artistic programme for 2026. The curator will receive a curator’s fee and a production budget for the exhibition/project. A 4-week slot will be made available for the project/exhibition in 2026. 

Job Opportunity 

Wandesford Quay CLG Part-time Administrator
12 month Rolling Contract Position

Wandesford Quay CLG is a management company formed by Cork City Council in 2000, to administrate the management of the Wandesford Quay Complex which houses three arts organisations: Backwater Artists Group, Cork Printmakers & The Lavit Gallery. Wandesford Quay CLG is hiring a part-time Administrator to co-ordinate administrative tasks, manage the finances of the organisation, liaise with the Board of Directors and all three organisations in the Wandesford Quay complex to ensure the smooth running of the premises. For more information please visit our website and to apply or for any questions please contact Peter McMorris at director@corkprintmakers.ie. 

Members Exhibitions: 

Fiona Kelly
Let The Mirror Express The Room, Selected by Benjamin Stafford, Luan Gallery, Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Friday 29th November – 02 February 2025

Pádraig Spillane 
Skin / Deep: Perspectives on the Body
23 November – 8 February 2025
Photo Museum Ireland, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
& 
In Pieces: Navigating the Body in Contemporary Irish Art
29 November – 9 March 2025
The Glucksman Gallery, UCC, Cork City, T12 V1WH

Deirdre O’Mahony
FARMWORK Void Art Centre Derry ON Jan 10 2025 , running until March 7, 2025. 
Open Tues. – Sat. 11am – 5pm.

Lisa O’Sullivan & Dee Hurley
MTU CCAD Selected Graduates exhibition, Curated by Padraig Spillane and Sarah Kelleher
Europa Gallery, 11 Chatham Street, Dublin 02 
Opening January 30th 

Orla O’Byrne
𝘦-𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 by f.Project 
GOMA Waterford
11th January – 9th February 2025

Lisa O’Sullivan
‘Ar Scath a Chéilie’ 
MTU Arts Office exhibition award, James Barry Exhibition Centre MTU
Opening January 29th

Deirdre Frost
Tumbling Earth
Kevin Kavanagh, Chancery Lane, Dublin 8
Thursday 9th January – 8th February 2025
Opening reception Thursday 9th January 2025, 6pm

Joseph Heffernan 
Final Figures Group Exhibition
The Lord Mayors Pavilion – Sample-Studios
Opening Thursday 16th from 5-7pm and the show runs till Feb 22nd. 

Sarah Long, Amna Walayat & Pádraig Spillane 
Pallas Periodical Review 

Fionn Timmins
RDS Visual Arts Awards in the RHA running until 18th January.

Sarah Long, Debbie Godsell & Stephen Doyle
SO Fine Art Editions – Winter Exhibition. 5th December, 2024 – end of January, 2025

Róisín O’Sullivan, Ben Reilly & Tina Whelan
Rua Red Gallery Group Show, Open until: 25th January 2025

Éadaoin Glynn
BEEP Painting Biennial: ‘I won’t stay in a world without love’,
Elysium Gallery, Swansea, Wales,
9th November 2024-Mar 2025
&
Profiles Issue 3 with an accompanying exhibition in the James Joyce centre,
Dublin opening November 30th-January 2025
&
OXO, Outset Gallery, Galway until 26th Jan

Ben Reilly
Winter Light, Stairwell and Link Galleries, Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre
6 November 2024 to 25 January 2025 

Intersite
⌥ertigo, A Crescendo
Where: Top two floors of Cork County Hall, Carrigrohane Road, Cork, T12 R2NC.
When: 7th–9th February 2025 | 5pm-8pm 
Time slots are available to book through Eventbrite: Here
Booking is essential and time slots are limited.