Aoife Banks is an Irish curator, writer, researcher, and lecturer working across contemporary visual art. Her practice is informed by queer and decolonial perspectives, exploring the intersections of visual culture, social history, and political discourse through collaborative, research-led exhibition making. Working closely with Irish and international artists, she develops solo and group exhibitions that examine the cultural narratives, social conditions, and structures of power that shape contemporary experience. Central to her approach is a commitment to artist-centred methodologies, critical inquiry, and meaningful public engagement.

Since 2022, Banks has served as Curator and Programming Coordinator at Luan Gallery, where she has curated and delivered an ambitious programme of exhibitions, commissions, publications, and public events, fostering dialogue between artists, audiences, and contemporary social concerns. Curatorial projects include solo exhibition and publication TUBERCLEROSIES by Kevin Mooney, States, Stations by Samir Mahmood, and group exhibitions such as Divergent Lines, PORTALS, Athrú, an Invocation, The Tides of Monumental Gestures (co-curated with Brendan Fox), Soft Surge, SYSTEM ARMING, and Affective Forms, which have brought together multidisciplinary practices spanning sculpture, film, installation, textiles, and painting while supporting new commissions and experimental forms of exhibition making. Her work supports ambitious commissions and interdisciplinary projects while expanding access to contemporary art through talks, workshops, and community initiatives.

 

Alongside her institutional work, Banks actively contributes to the wider visual arts sector through research, writing, and professional development initiatives. She collaborates with Visual Artists Ireland on the development and delivery of programmes supporting artists and curators and regularly delivers guest lectures on contemporary curatorial practice, exhibition making, and visual culture. She has also curated projects beyond her current institutional role, including exhibitions and public engagement programmes such as REWIND<<FASTFORWARD>>RECORD at IMMA (Assistant curator), The Queeratorial at Pallas Projects/Studios and Butler Gallery, and regional exhibitions, including the Mayo Artists Show at The Linenhall Arts Centre and Ballina Arts Centre. Banks holds a joint BA in Fine Art and Visual Culture (2018) and an MA in Visual Culture: Art in the Contemporary World (2020) from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).