Cathy Fitzgerald

Current

• Board member at An Bord of NCAD
• Board Member, Communications, EU Sustainable Forestry NGO at Pro Silva Ireland
• ArtLinks Director at ArtLinks

• Artist at Art & Ecology artist, blogger
• Visual Arts Practitioner at cathyfitzgerald.ie

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Education

• National College of Art & Design
• Waikato Institute of Technology

Recommended

2 people have recommended Cathy

Connections

70 connections

Industry

Arts and Crafts

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Summary

Originally from New Zealand, Cathy Fitzgerald, has a diverse background. Although passionate about visual art since early childhood, Cathy spent the first part of her working career as a scientist, working for 8 years at an agricultural research institute in New Zealand. An opportunity to travel and having an Irish citzenship, she set out 14 years ago to live in Ireland. Arriving in Dublin in 1995 when employment opportunities in science research were limited, she instead found an exciting opportunity to follow a childhood dream of going to Art College. During Summer breaks, she also developed experience and a strong interests in environmental work (Cathy received an ESB Environmental Endeavour Award for her work with Crann).

Cathy spent the next six years completing a First Class Joint Honours degree in Fine Art Painting and Irish Art History at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin. During her time in college she developed a unique practice of installations involving her long interest in science. Her MA in Fine Art New Media (Virtual Realities) developed this interest with a novel residency in the leukaemia laboratory at St James Hospital in Dublin, while also allowing her to develop considerable knowledge of interactive online media, film & theory.

Cathy has negotiated exhibitions in both gallery and novel public spaces, helped curate exhibitions and has experience in using social online media for her art practice, in growing membership in voluntary organisations and for the ArtLinks website. (The ArtLinks.ie website which she has overseen and managed was recently short-listed for the 2009 E-Govt Awards and she has spoken at Podcamp Ireland on several occassions).

Cathy has been the first person to direct ArtLinks, a unique, regional, five county, local authority Professional Development Service & Resource Arts programme for adult amateur and professional practitioners from all creative fields: Dance, Theatre, Film, Visual Arts, Music.

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Specialties:

Arts Development, Arts Administration & Strategy, Local Authority Arts Knowledge, Social Media and the Arts, Contemporary Visual Arts & Irish Arts History knowledge, Art & Ecology, Art & Science, Environmental knowledge

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Experience

• Board member

  An Bord of NCAD

  (Non-Profit; Design industry)

  May 2009 — Present (7 months)

• Board Member, Communications, EU Sustainable Forestry NGO

  Pro Silva Ireland

  (Renewables & Environment industry)

  January 2009 — Present (11 months)

  pro silva (latin: 'for the forests')
  
  Pro Silva Ireland recognises and values the unique history of Irish forestry and its past, current and potential contribution at local, regional and national levels. Members are convinced of the need in Ireland for a greater range of management skills amongst foresters and forest owners.
  
  The non-governmental organisation (NGO) was founded in order to develop and promote Pro Silva Principles as an alternative to clear felling in Irish forestry.
  
  Pro Silva Ireland is a non-profit organisation and is a member of the European umbrella organisation Pro Silva Europe, which was founded in Slovenia in 1989. The organisation includes 27 member countries.

• ArtLinks Director

  ArtLinks

  (Arts and Crafts industry)

  June 2007 — Present (2 years 6 months)

  ArtLinks has a full time Director (since June 2007), Cathy Fitzgerald, who is based in the Arts Office, County Hall, No. 72 John St, Kilkenny County Council.
  
  Cathy coordinates the ArtLinks Programme with the five Arts Officers and oversees the development of the ArtLinks website.
  
  **The ArtLinks.ie website was shortlisted for the 2009 eGovernment Awards.
  
  Contact Cathy at info@artlinks.ie or
  c/o ArtLinks, Kilkenny Arts Office, County Hall, John St, Kilkenny.

• Artist

  Art & Ecology artist, blogger

  (Arts and Crafts industry)

  May 1996 — Present (13 years 7 months)

  I blog about my own art practice: I have worked with forest environmentalists on and off since 1996 in Ireland; I currently blog about Art & Ecology and having an ongoing SLOW ART project documenting converting my 15 year old spruce monoculture plantation to a permanent mixed forest, with foresters and my local community

• Visual Arts Practitioner

  cathyfitzgerald.ie

  (Arts and Crafts industry)

  January 1980 — Present (29 years 11 months)

  Practising visual artist, works with scientists & community groups documenting art/science/ecology projects

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Education

• National College of Art & Design

  MA , Fine Art & New Media , 1996 — 2002

  Activities and Societies:

  1st class honours degree, Joint honours degree in Fine Art & irish Art History

• Waikato Institute of Technology

  Food Science 1989 — 1990

Additional Information

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Interests:

art,creativity, online communities and communication personal art work : art, science & ecology projects, chiefly on sustainable forests

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Honors:

ArtLinks.ie website shortlisted for 2009 eGovt award

My personal blog ecoartnotebook.com shortlisted for 2009 Irish Blogger Award

Arts Council Travel Award for ArtLinks Mentoring research 2008

Arts Council Residency, Trinity College, Zoology, 2004
British Festival of Science exhibition, Trinity College, 2004

ESB Environmental Award 96: for Hedgerow Awareness Project

Cathy Fitzgerald’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch