The exhibition project, Libraries of Rest, sees Irish artist Ciara Barker facilitate the creation of a shared resource of ideas for methods of rest. Cultivating an environment that invites audiences to imagine a future where care is prioritised and rest is celebrated, Libraries of Rest proposes a direct engagement with visitors, inviting them to participate in a knowledge-sharing exhibition. After the exhibition comes to a close, the artist will gather these contributions to create an online library of ideas for rest. Barker’s practice prioritises rest, care and connection as central to a sustainable and equitable future.
The aim of this exhibition project is to create an inclusive and comfortable space that considers alternative futures, divorced from productivity, using ideas of utopia as a method. This exhibition will present the diversity of contemporary Irish art by centring an approach that is inspired by neurodiverse experiences of material environments.
The exhibition is curated by Aoife Donnellan and contains a soundscape by Mankyy.
More informationCiara Barker is an artist from Co. Galway, based in Limerick city. Her practice takes form as immersive installations, offering visitors a route to personal experience and discovery. Ciara is currently undertaking a period of research and development supported by an Irish Arts Council Agility Award. She is a long-term Artist-in-Residence at Ormston House and was commissioned to develop a large-scale installation for their project The Feminist Supermarket, an iteration of which was exhibited at Supermarket Independent Art Fair, Stockholm (2021). Exhibition highlights include the Galway International Arts Festival (2019). Ciara co-founded Spacecraft Studios in 2017 and was a Director there for two years. She holds a BA in Fine Art from Limerick School of Art & Design (2017) and a H.Dip. in Interaction Design from Dublin City University (2022).
Aoife Donnellan is a researcher, art writer, and curator from Limerick, based in Berlin. She holds an MA in Material and Visual Cultures from University College London. Her research interests are in accessibility practices in exhibition making and sustainable work practices.
Mankyy is a musician and producer from the West of Ireland.