Dr. Stanislava Antonijevic acquired her B.S. degree in Psychology at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia in 1993. Subsequently she undertook a taught and research masters degree programme at the University of Belgrade, which she completed in 1999. She acquired her doctoral degree in 2003 from the University of Belgrade, having undertaken her research at the University of Leipzig and the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. Since 2006 Stanislava is employed at the National University of Ireland, Galway lecturing in Psycholinguistics, Cognitive psychology and research methodology. Her research focuses mainly on language structure and cognitive processes related to language.
Nicola Gordon Bowe is an associate research fellow at National College of Art & Design (NCAD) and former director of the MA Course in the History of Design and the Applied Arts, NCAD. She has held several research fellowships abroad, is an Honorary Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, and has written and lectured widely on late 19th and 20th century decorative arts. Books include; Harry Clarke – His Graphic Art (1983), The Life and Work of Harry Clarke (1989), A Gazetteer of Irish Stained Glass (ed. and co-author) (1988), Art and the National Dream; the Search for Vernacular Expression in Turn-of-the-Century Art, Architecture and Design (ed. and contributor) (1993), The Arts and Crafts Movements in Dublin and Edinburgh (with E.S. Cumming) (1998). Nicola is currently preparing a book on the stained glass artist Wilhelmina Geddes.
Marie Brett, freelance visual artist, was awarded a Masters Degree with distinction in Visual Arts from Goldsmith’s College, London University in 2000 and 1st class BA in Visual Arts in 1987. A qualified teacher, trained in community development, she studied group facilitation and has over 20 years experience in the field of participatory and public art projects.
Robert Brady was born in Reno Nevada, and received a BFA Ceramics, California College of Arts, 1969, MFA, University of California Davis, 1975. Professor of Art: California State University, Sacramento, 1975-2009 (retired). Robert Brady began his artistic career as a potter, later figurative ceramic sculpture and eventually to figurative wood sculpture /mixed media. Brady has exhibited throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. With over 50 solo exhibitions, 10 of which were Museum exhibits. Two career survey exhibitions traveling to 7 museums featured both ceramic and wood sculpture. In addition, he has participated in countless group exhibitions. His work is in the collections of many museums and private collections.
Mary Cahill, FSA, FRSAI is an Assistant Keeper in the Irish Antiquities Division of the National Museum of Ireland with responsibility for the prehistoric collections. She is currently, a member of the Directorate of the Discovery Programme; has published and lectured extensively on Bronze Age goldwork, the history of collections and antiquarianism. Exhibitions she has curated include Rites of Passage at Tara, the excavation of the Mound of the Hostages; Ór-Irelands Gold; Ancient Egypt and Ten Years Collecting. Mary Cahill is a founding member of the Prehistoric Gold Research Group which is dedicated to discovering the sources of prehistoric gold in Ireland and Britain using a combination of archaeological and related geological disciplines.
Frances W. Chapin is the Cultural Services Manager for the city of Edmonds, WA. She has managed public art projects for the past 14 years and curates the city's public art collection of over 30 permanent installations and 120 portable works. She has a PhD in Anthropology from University of Wisconsin and a fine arts background in metal arts. She is past president and on the board of the statewide arts advocacy organization Washington State Arts Alliance.
Vanessa Cutler trained in Architectural Stained Glass at Swansea Institute and completed a Masters at University of Wolverhampton and has PhD from University of Sunderland (2006). She now lectures at the Welsh School of Architectural Glass, Swansea Metropolitan University, Swansea Wales. Alongside her work at the University her studio undertakes commissions that utilise her experience and knowledge with the field of architectural glass and waterjet cutting.
Dr. Mark Elliott CSci, BA (Hons) (Open), MSc (Bham), PhD (Lond.)completed his education with a PhD in experimental psychology at the University of London in 1998 and, although steeped in the tradition of empirical rationalism, drew inspiration and mentorship from the living descendants of the Gestalt schools of visual phenomenology originating in Berlin at the turn of the 20th century. A lengthy period in Germany allowed him to complete research programmes examining the dynamics of visual form-coding mechanisms, although his primary interest lay and still lies in the phenomenology of visual structure – and from this the study of aesthetics. He has served as President of the International Society for Psychophysics. He has published over 50 articles on processing dynamics in vision and on the philosophy of appearance properties.
Sandy Fitzgerald, Director of CityArts, Dublin,1973 to 2001; founder member CAFE now CREATE; board member Royal Hospital National Cultural Centre (1985 – 1990), later to become the Irish Museum of Modern Art; board member Dublin Film Festival (1988 - 1993); founder board member Junior Dublin Film Festival (1990 – 1994); Executive Committee Member Trans Europe Halles, a European network of Cultural Centres (1997 – 2002). Currently Sandy is a partner in the arts consultancy group, OLIVEARTE and the cultural agency CultureWorks working on projects such as: ‘The Hat Factory’ (Luton); Beat Initiative (Belfast); Pekarna (Slovenia); Stanica (Slovakia). Published works include: Outburst of Frankness – A Community Arts Reader for Ireland and ‘Managing Independent Cultural Centres: A Reference Manual’.
Michael Flannery, Senior Lecturer in Education (Visual Arts) at Coláiste Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education and PhD candidate year four at NCAD Research: Exploring the triadic relationship between artist, teacher and child in a school based community arts practice.
Eleanor Flegg is a doctoral researcher in contemporary craft history at the University of Ulster. She has been the design columnist for the Irish Arts Review since 2003. From 2005 to 2009 she wrote an interior design column for the Sunday Times, and was editor of Room magazine between 2005 and 2007. Between 2006 and 2008 she was a part-time lecturer in design history at DIT. She has worked extensively on the county introductions for the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) and is the author of the Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wexford (2010) and is a History graduate of Trinity College, Dublin (1990).
Olivier Gaillot, Technical Director at RPS Ireland in Dublin, is an environmental engineer with operational experience in the waste and energy sector. He is currently responsible for a broad range of projects for waste management facilities, energy recovery and resource management. Olivier is currently the project manager of rx3 which is taksed to implement a €13 million multiannual programme funded by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to stimulate the development of indigeneous markets for recyclable resources.
Ed Kuczaj is Head of Art Therapy and Continuing Visual Education at Crawford College, Cork, where he is course leader on the MA in Art Therapy. He qualified as an Art Therapist in 1988 after taking a degree in Fine Art and working as an 'Art Instructor' in a Learning disability Hospital in the UK. Up until 2000 Ed worked as a clinician and manager of an Art & Drama therapy service in Bristol as well as teaching on a number of Art Therapy courses. He has a particular interest in the use of art/creativity within health and social settings and the development of an awareness of the Artist in a social context.
Geoffrey Mann is a Scottish artist, designer and lecturer whose fascination with transposing the ephemeral nature of time and motion has created a studio practice that challenges the existing divides between art, craft and design. He has exhibited in national and international venues including MoMA New York, International Bombay Sapphire Awards, London and Milan, Jerwood Space London, MAD New York and the European Glass Context in Denmark. In 2008, Mann was awarded the World Craft Council Prize for Glass and in 2009 won the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize. Mann has work included in MoMA New York, Design and Architecture collection and MAD New York, Design and Applied permanent collections.
Lesley Millar, Weaver, Curator, Professor of Textile Culture at the University for the Creative Arts Epsom, UK. Lesley Millar has been a practising weaver with her own studio since 1975, has work in the permanent collections of both The Crafts Council and Arts Council England and is listed on the Crafts Council Index of Selected Makers. She has exhibited throughout the UK, in Europe, the USA and Japan. She has worked as an exhibition organiser and curator specialising in contemporary textiles since 1987 and has been project director for 5 major international touring exhibitions featuring textile artists from the UK and Japan.
Robert Milnes is Dean of the College of Visuals Arts and Design at the University of North Texas and President of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. His artworks have been included in over 165 exhibitions nationally including 26 one/two person shows. He has served as Director of the School of Art and Design at San Jose State University, Director of the School of Art at Louisiana State University, and Chair of the Art Department and Professor of Ceramics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Milnes earned a PhD in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, a MFA in Ceramics from the University of Washington, and a BA in Philosophy and Fine Arts from Claremont McKenna College.
Cearbhall E. O’Meadhra is currently the Bank of Ireland Visiting Research Fellow in NCAD, where he is developing a ‘Reference modal for Accessibility’. Cearbhall is blind, an Architect, computer programmer, musician and Fellow of the RIAI. He is assisting the NSAI in the creation of standards for accessibility and is the official representative of EIDD – Design for all Europe in the European Disability Forum. He was previously working on secundment to the Institute for Design and Disability to help further develop the concept of Design for All and to support the implementation of the Barcelona Declaration as policy leader of the recent Barcelona Declaration Project.
Gana Roberts was born in England in 1952 and studied history and culture at London University. She moved to Ireland in 1973, became involved in the visual arts through an interest in textiles. She learned felt making in Hungary in 1987 and then designed and made felt rugs and wall hangings. In 1994 she became interested in ceramics and worked in ceramic mosaic. She studied kiln-formed glass in Oregon in 2002 and is currently working in fused and flat-cast glass.
Alex Robins is a philosophy graduate student with a research specialization in 20th century theories of art. He received his BA in philosophy from Northwestern University and is currently a PhD student in philosophy at Emory University. This year Alex is a Fulbright scholar to University College Cork where he is completing an MA in Aesthetics and the History of Art. Alex’s current research explores the interplay between physical and cognitive reflection in art.
Sandy Simon attended University of Minnesota (1967 – 1970), and moved to Georgia to join a potters community. She left her work as a studio potter in 1978 to become a faculty member of the Chicago Art Institute, also taught at Purdue University and in 1980 moved to the newly established Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee. Sandy was appointed Dean of Students and met her collaborator/colleague/future husband, Robert Brady. In 1982 they moved to California. Robert resumed his teaching job at Sacramento State University. Sandy started TRAX gallery in Berkeley, to showcase the work of nationally known potters. TRAX has become recognized as the foremost American gallery for utilitarian studio pottery.
Wayne Strattman received a PhD, University of Sunderland. He has spent many years of work researching, writing, advocating for, and making sculpture with neon and other advanced forms of lighted glass. An engineer and a physicist by training, Wayne also applies his considerable skills to developing innovative practical applications for the technologies developed in his art, as both an independent developer and as a consultant to other developers.
Georgie Thompson has worked as Assistant Curator and National Programmer in the Collection Department of the Irish Museum of Modern Art since 2006. She has curated exhibitions as part of the Museum’s National Programme in association with partner organizations in both art and non art spaces throughout Ireland. Thompson has worked extensively on Altered Images, a partnership project between IMMA’s National Programme, Mayo County Council and South Tipperary County Council. Altered Images is a touring exhibition and will be shown in IMMA from 19 May to 15 August 2010. She has also worked on exhibitions within the Museum such as Carlos Amorales and Self as Selves.
Dr. Audrey Whitty is Curator of Ceramics, Glass and Asian collections at the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks. She has curated several exhibitions, mostly notably ‘A Dubliner’s Collection of Asian Art: The Albert Bender Exhibition’ and the museum’s visible storage facility, which showcases important collections of applied arts. A graduate (B.A.: History and Archaeology) and postgraduate (M.A.: Archaeology) of University College Dublin, she recently completed her doctorate at Trinity College on the ‘Albert Bender Donations of Far Eastern Art to the National Museum of Ireland in the context of his Cultural Interests in Ireland and California’. She was appointed Irish Commissioner to both European Ceramic Context and European Glass Context (European Union-wide biennales of contemporary glass and ceramics) in 2006 and 2008.
