Selected Writing

Book chapter: ‘Collaborative Arts Practice Through the Lens of Power: A methodological framework exploring inequality with young people and adults in Dublin’s south inner-city’, book chapter in ‘Contemporary Socially Engaged Art Practice in Ireland’ by Cork University Press, 2026

Book review: Review of The Lure of the Social by Gretchen Coombs in Art & the Public Sphere Volume 12, Number 2, 2024.

Booklet: Listening, Interpretation, Colonisation and Decentering – Reflections on With For About 2023: Care and the Commons, HeartOfGlass.org.uk.

Journal Article: ‘Boys in the Making: An Arts and Education Programme in Conversation with “the Biology of Adversity and Resilience”’ cowritten with Kevin Ryan as Two Fuse in Journal of Political Power, 2022.

Article: ‘What Does He Need? IMMA on what it means to be a man’, RTÉ Culture online, 15 Apr. 2022.

Article: ‘Inside The Apology – artists tackle Ireland’s housing crisis’, RTÉ Culture online, 21 Feb. 2022.

Book chapter: ‘Maintaining a critical approach to collaborative art and youth work practice in neoliberal times’, co-written with Jim Lawlor, in Arts, Culture and Community Development, Policy Press, Bristol, 2021.

Article: ‘What Does He Need? – Reflections on a cross-sectorial and transdisciplinary project unfolding in public’, Art & the Public Sphere, 9:1&2, Intellect, 2021.

PhD: Reconfiguring Systemic Power Relations – A Collaborative Practice-Based Exploration of Inequality with Young People and Adults in Dublin, with TU Dublin, 2019.

Book chapter: ‘A Dublin-Based MA in Flux’, in Uncertain Patterns. Teaching & Learning Socially Engaged Art, by HEAD, Geneva, 2019.

Book: Freedom?, part of ‘Sireacht: Longings for another Ireland’, cowritten with Kevin Ryan as Two Fuse, Cork University Press, 2018.

Journal article: ‘Through the Lens of Power: An Arts-Based Exploration of Power Relations with Young People in Dublin’, in International Journal of Art and Design Education, 37(4), Nov. 2018.

Book chapter: ‘The Listening Workshop’ in Art as Social Action – An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art, by Gregory Sholette, Chloe Bass & SPQ, 2018.

Editor: TransActions #2 – Field and Academy: Knowledge and Counter Knowledge in Socially Engaged Art (Edited by Fiona Whelan – NCAD, Ailbhe Murphy – Create and Helen Carey – Fire Station Artists’ Studios). Published jointly by NCAD, Create and Fire Station Artists’ Studios, 2017. See http://transactionspublication.com/

Article: Reflections on FSAS 2016 Summer School, published in Fire Station Artists’ Studios Publication, 2017.

Article: ‘Embracing Complexity’,Visual Artists’ News Sheet, 2016

Journal article: Beating the Bounds of Socially-Engaged Art? A Transdisciplinary Dialogue on a Collaborative Art Project with Youth in Dublin, Ireland, Fiona Whelan & Kevin Ryan, Issue 4, Field Journal, Spring 2016. http://field-journal.com

Editor: TransActions #1 – Dublin/Chicago (Edited by Fiona Whelan & Glenn Loughran, NCAD and Jim Duignan, Stockyard Institute). Published jointly by NCAD+UCD and Stockyard Institute Chicago, 2015. See transactionspublication.com

Article: ‘Insider Witness’, in The Visual Artists’ News Sheet 2015.

Book: TEN: Territory, Encounter & Negotiation – A Critical Memoir by a Socially Engaged Artist, self-published.

 

Selected Conference Papers, Presentations and Talks

This Must Be the Place – artist talk, RHA Gallery, Oct ’22. https://rhagallery.ie/archive-talks/

Presentation at ‘Participation: Making Community in Contemporary Irish Arts’, University of Rennes, France, 25 Nov ’21.

Panel member at ‘The Importance of the Arts Post-Pandemic’, TASC 20th Anniversary Event, RIA Dublin, 11 Nov ’21.

‘Arts as DNA’, panel member during ‘A Homebaked kinda day’ moderated by Jeanne van Heeswijk, online, 27 Feb ’21. Watch at: https://homebaked.org.uk/nowhere/media_publications/a_homebaked_kinda_day_arts_as_dna/%C2%A0

‘Care as a Radical Act’ panel member at Create Networking Day, online, 9 Dec ’20. Watch at: https://www.create-ireland.ie/publication/care-as-a-radical-act-networking-day-2020-subtitled/

‘The Textual Trace – Writing and Socially Engaged Practice’, Fiona Whelan and Gretchen Coombs in conversation hosted by Create. Watch at: https://www.create-ireland.ie/publication/the-textual-trace-writing-and-socially-engaged-practice-fiona-whelan-and-gretchen-coombs-in-conversation/

‘“Rip the Script”: Performing/Witnessing Natural History of Hope’ (with Kevin Ryan as Two Fuse) at The Sexual Politics of Freedom, The Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law – NUIG, 17 Sep. ’20

‘Reconfiguring Systemic Power Relations Through Collective Acts Of Voice And Listening’, paper at 5th International Irish Narrative Inquiry Conference, Trinity College, 3 May 2019.

‘Practice and Pedagogy – The Question of Artists’ Formation’ panel member at Collaborative Arts Partnership Programme: Practice and Power event, The LAB, Dublin 22 June 2018.

‘Can Young People Influence the Future of Garda Training?’, presentation at Irish Council of Civil Liberties’ event Rights-Based Policing, Dublin, 2018. Transcript at: https://www.iccl.ie/justice/can-young-influence-policing/

‘Power and (im)possibility? Socially-engaged art and Cynic practice’ (Fiona Whelan & Kevin Ryan under collective title ‘Two Fuse’), presentation at CAPPE, University of Brighton, 29 May 2018.

‘Through the lens of power – an arts based exploration of power relations with young people in Dublin’, conference paper at iJADE international conference, NCAD, 17 Nov ’17.

‘Power and Freedom in the Enterprise Society: “catch up, keep up, get ahead…”’ (Fiona Whelan & Kevin Ryan NUIG as ‘Two Fuse’) presentation at The Power of Narrative – RC 36 Interim Conference, University of Pavia, Italy, May 30-31 2017

‘Policing Dialogues’ keynote address at New Foundations in Youth Justice event, DIT Grangegorman, 29th June ‘17 2016.

‘Power Three Ways: A Place-Based Methodology’ conference paper at Mapping Spectral Traces VIII: The Place of the Wound, Dept of Geography, Maynooth University, 19 October 2016.

2016                ‘A Fair Land Discussion: Social Change through Creative Practice’, presentation, Irish Museum of Modern Art, 20 August.

‘A Durational, Practice-Based Model of Identifying Learning’, presentation at Creative Research Practices and Alternative Sites of Learning, UCD College of Social Science, 3 May 2016.

‘Policing Dialogues; a creative exploration of neighbourhood relations of power’, paper at The Geographical Turn conference hosted by NUIM Geography Dept, 2015.

‘Renegotiating Power Relationships – Who Speaks and Who Listens?’ presentation Signal Summer University, hosted by CIFAS, Brussels, 2015.

Selected News/Reviews/Features:

IMMA exhibition Interview with artist Fiona Whelan and community worker Paul Ring, on Arena, RTÉ Radio 1, 12 April 2022.

Interview about IMMA exhibition with artists Fiona Whelan and Feidlim Cannon, on Artbeat, Dublin City FM, 30 March 2022.

‘IMMA presents What Does He Need?’, in Art Daily, 28 March 2022.

‘Hard-hitting performance imagines housing apology’, RTÉ News, 21 Feb. 2022.

‘Art group to perform imagined apology from the Taoiseach for the Housing Crisis’, The Journal, 21 Feb. 2022.

‘New public artworks explores what influences modern masculinity’, Enda O’ Dowd, Irish Times, 24 May 2021

What Does He Need?,Della Kilroy, Drive Time, RTÉ Radio 1, 24 May’21

‘A Poem, Co-Written by Young Men, Reveals What Shapes Their Lives’ By: Stephanie Costello, Dublin Inquirer, 7 April 2021

Charlotte McIvor, ‘What Does He Need?’ in ‘…the lives we live’ publication, Grangegorman Public Art, 2020.

Simon Barker, The European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology (book review of Freedom?), Vol 6 (4), Nov 19

Declan McGonagle, Community Development Journal, (book review of Freedom?), 2018, Oxford University Press.

Fiona Woods,  ‘A Radical Performance of World-Making’ (book review of Freedom?), Journal of Political Power, 11(3), 438-441, 2018.

Kevin Gildea, ‘Freedom? By Two Fuse Review: A Handbook Towards Change’ (book review) Irish Times, 9 June 2018.

Gerry Kearns, ‘Enduring Place’, Klaxon 6 – For an Inclusive City, published by CIFAS, Brussels, 2017 (feature on my practice).

Sharon Todd, (2017) ‘Culturally Reimagining Education: Publicity, Aesthetics and Socially Engaged Art Practice’, in Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2017 (features extensive review of The Day in Question live event).

Sarah Keating, ‘When Feminism Met Real Working-Class Lives in Rialto’ (review of Natural History of Hope), Irish Times, 28 June 2016.

RTE Arena, radio interview about Natural History of Hope,11 May 2016.

‘Negotiating the Territory of Socially Engaged Art’ (book review of TEN) by Megs Morley, Journal of Political Power, 9:1, 147-152, 2016.

‘TEN: Territory, Encounter & Negotiation’, (book review) by Sofia N. Gonzalez-Ayala, Irish Journal of Anthropology Vol. 18(1), 2015.

‘Project work in conflict situations in socially deprived areas’, Schattenblick, (Berlin based magazine), Feb 2012

Tonight with Vincent Browne, (feature on Policing Dialogues exhibition/residency) TV3, 28 Sep 2010

‘Young people’s tales of Garda harassment in new exhibition’, Juno McEnroe, Irish Examiner, 16 Sep 2010 (about ‘Policing Dialogues)