'Venn Diagram: A Love Story" with Riona Hartman and Banbha McCann

April Thursday 9th
Doors 8.30pm
www.myspace.com/rionasallyhartman

'Venn Diagram: A Love Story" with Riona Hartman and Banbha McCann Thursday 9th of April @ The Back Loft.
Doors Open at 830pm. Admission 10€ / 5€ student concession & complimentary drink (limited to those who arrive early)

'Venn Diagram: A Love Story' is a collaboration between Riona Hartman and Banbha McCann a visual artist and practicing architect. Following three years of studying architecture in UCD both Riona and Banbha decided to pursue their respective beloveds: music and art. On April 9th in the Back Loft they will mutually pursue them; Riona will be singing her own original tunes with a band while Banbha presents a selection of her films. Some of these works will be married, some will have a tentative open relationship with each other and some will be completely independent of one another. The idea for the event came about because Riona and Banbha noticed some overlap in their work, which is hardly surprising considering their shared experiences (they grew up together, went to the same schools, studied in college together). Banbha's short 'Crossing the Water (highly commended at the Fresh Film Festival) based on the Sylvia Plath poem of the same name, approaches the theme of suicide in much the same way as my own song Kamikaze. They both split it the process into the calm, dignified intellectual aspect and the turbulent, doubtful emotional result.

The band on the night will be of Sam Kavangh on saxaphone and backing vocals, Dan OCallaghan on double bass, Lucie OFlynn on violin and backing vocals and Steven McNamara on guitar.

"DARK ROOM" by 3rd year new Media NCAD"

"DARK ROOM" by 3rd year new Media NCAD"

Opening Night: Wedn 13th May 6-8pm
Dark Room is an exhibition by new media artists from The National College of Art and Design presented at The Back Loft from 13th - 16th May 2009. This presentation of work incorporates sixteen emerging artists whose intention is to explore and operate throughout a wide span of new media technologies and theoretical explorations. In a society where technology and its systems are becoming an ever increasing and important mode of communication, new media plays a vital role in their contemporary artistic practices.

Within this exhibit all the artists come together collectively, executing work from a wide variety of media. Although under the shared idea and common interest of technology, each work is distinctive and independent from each other, standing alone in their creative variance. The presented work is formulated from a wide range of approaches including installation, performance, generative art, photography, video, sonic design, drawing, painting, audio and sculpture. Each of the 16 artists share conceptual themes such as site specificity, identity, the surreal, social analysis and narrative, psychological process, memory and perception, archiving and audio/video synthesis.

"DARK ROOM" by 3rd year new Media NCAD

Dark Room

Opening Night: Wen 13th May 6-8pm
Dark Room is an exhibition by new media artists from The National College of Art and Design presented at The Back Loft from 13th - 16th May 2009. This presentation of work incorporates sixteen emerging artists whose intention is to explore and operate throughout a wide span of new media technologies and theoretical explorations. In a society where technology and its systems are becoming an ever increasing and important mode of communication, new media plays a vital role in their contemporary artistic practices.

Within this exhibit all the artists come together collectively, executing work from a wide variety of media. Although under the shared idea and common interest of technology, each work is distinctive and independent from each other, standing alone in their creative variance. The presented work is formulated from a wide range of approaches including installation, performance, generative art, photography, video, sonic design, drawing, painting, audio and sculpture. Each of the 16 artists share conceptual themes such as site specificity, identity, the surreal, social analysis and narrative, psychological process, memory and perception, archiving and audio/video synthesis. The name Dark Room itself not only refers to the photographic process of film development, but it articulates this creative method which is undertaken in the production of each piece. From the inner workings of our imagination, to the excitement of entering into a new place, or gaining new knowledge and understanding, Dark Room showcases the process of this exploration and discovery.

"NO DIRECTION"

"NO DIRECTION"
Photographic exhibition by award-winning Irish film director Anthony Byrne.

Opening: Thursday 26th March 2009,
6pm - 8pm.
Daily viewing Friday 27th-Tuesdy 31st march 12pm-6pm.

Exhibition curated
by Aoife Tunney.

Press inquiries: Aoife Tunney
T: +353 87 6181598
E: http://uk.mc244.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=aoife.tunney@gmail.com
www.anthonybyrne.net

REVIEWS:

IRISH TIMES, BY GEMMA TIPTON on Sat 21 March
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2009/0321/1224242941352.html

INDEPENDENT, BY S.GORMAN on Sat 28th.
http://www.independent.ie/incoming/if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-today-1689614.html

"No Direction" is the debut exhibition of photography by award-winning Irish film director Anthony Byrne.

Byrne is one of Ireland's most talented young filmmakers. His work in both film and television has been critically acclaimed; from the award-winning short film "Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill" to his debut feature film "Short Order" to RTE's successful drama series "Single-Handed". Byrne has just finished shooting the eagerly anticipated adaptation of Edna O'Brien's novel "Wild Decembers".

"No Direction" is a collection of photographs that Byrne has been working on over the past two years when he wasn't directing or developing other projects. He explains:

"I started as a filmmaker through photography: creating stories from still images and letting my imagination do the rest. Photography is where I work as an artist in a singular discipline. It's where I have complete autonomy. I don't have to rely on scripts, producers, actors or crews. I don't have to wait on anyone. It's just me and my camera. It's the purest form of visual narrative".

Anthony Byrne's work in photography captures his unique outlook as a film director. There is something melancholy even haunting, about the images. Many of the images are of places where people seem lost or waiting on something yet to happen: "They are literally stuck in a moment".

Byrne began to concentrate on the theme, "No Direction" and develop the ideas, aptly enough, on his travels. The resulting collection of images were taken in locations as varied as Morocco, Paris, London, Dublin, Dubai, New York, Madrid, Los Angeles and Cuba.

But it's the director's hometown of Dublin that has been chosen for the debut exhibition. The collection then moves to London in April, where it will be exhibited at the famous Soho Café and bijoux gallery "La Maison Bertaux", run by curator Tania Wade. Wade has recently hosted exhibitions for Noel Fielding (The Mighty Boosh), Nobby Clark and Keith Martin. Icelandic musicians Sigur Ros and rapper MIA will also exhibit at "La Maison Bertaux" later this year.