About Olivia Hassett

Biography

Dublin based Olivia Hassett creates live and site-specific performance-based video works. Hassett regularly collaborates with other performance artists and works on cross disciplinary art projects. She graduated with a MFA from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin (NCAD) in 2012 and a BFA from NCAD in 1997.

Hassett has performed and exhibited both nationally and internationally at Performance Art Festivals in Pars (Always Charming 2025), HANPAF (2025), Turas Ur (2025), Greywood (2025), Supermarket Art Fair, Stockholm (2024), Live Art Ireland (2022,24), Catalyst Arts, Belfast, (2025 & FIX Festival (2023)), RUA RED, Dublin (2014), MART, Dublin (2024 & 2022/18/17/14) Trinity College Dublin (2017 & 19) PAB Bergen, Norway (2015), Bealtaine Festival (2021).

In 2025 Hassett Co-curated Becoming Tallaght, a four-day Performance art Festival at Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre. Dublin

In 2025 she also co-founded and continues to facilitate Xchange, ongoing collaborative group performances at Rua Red in Dublin

Olivia is artist in residence in Tallaght University Hospital since 2018. A large scale sculptural installation, outcome from the two-year Curiosity project with consultant Dermatologists was permanently installed in TUH in May 2025

Current projects include performance-based responses to Neolithic burial sites in Massey Woods in the Dublin Mountains. and on top of the Paps of Anu in the Kerry mountains. Alongside Paul Regan Hassett will curate the 2025 Performance Art Festival at Rua Red during September.

Upcoming residencies include Co-creating across liminal Boundaries in Connemara. Outcomes: embodied video responses to ceremonial sites. Upcoming group performances include Xchange at Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre.

Alongside Synaptic Space, a collaboration with fellow performance artist Rachel Macmanus, and Cerberus, with Deej Fabyc and Rachel Macmanus, Hassett regularly performs with performance group Bbeyond in Belfast.

For more information please visit:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hassettolivia/

Image: Creation Myths, performance at Mart Gallery, 2024

Image credit: Deej Fabyc

Artists Statement

Neolithic sites, Celtic matriarchal societies and female deities inspire my performance-based practice. Of specific interest are the Goddess Danu and prolonged embodied explorations of Neolithic ceremonial sites at the Paps of Anu in Kerry, and in the Dublin mountains.

From the monumental natural world to unseen microworlds my performing body intuitively responds and co-creates with the compressed energy, and thinly veiled layers of history, memory, and ritual action that echo at specific sites. I am drawn to explore the physicality and philosophical nature of the human body as it relates to the material, immaterial, and liminal spaces in between.

Intuitive, non-linear, and immersive performance and filmmaking processes offer glimpses into a temporal liminality where my body is not an image but a living place co-creating with another living place. Embodied colour is my language, it speaks out boldly and inspires the creation of site-specific performative skins. Each skin resonates differently with specific material choices or areas of a site. The layering of these multiple embodiments is key to the creation of the final artworks.

Prehistory is an ephemeral place defined by the absence of stable and final identities. Engaging with what is forgotten or lost through the relentless passage of time helps me resonate with those who feel invisible or unseen. As a performance artist working with a living ageing body that is moving beyond motherhood into a complicated physical and societal framework it is important to me that I reference this journey alongside incorporating empowering feminist ideologies into my practice.

Image: Papping, performance at the top of the Paps of Anu, Kerry,

Image credit: Peter Hassett

Curriculum vitae

Education

2010-2012 Masters of Fine Art Sculpture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin

1992-1995 Batchelor of Fine Art Sculpture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin

Employment

2025 Co-curator for Becoming Tallaght, four-day Performance art Festival, Dublin

2025 (ongoing) Co-founder/ facilitator of Xchange, collaborative group performances

2018-to date Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, Artist in Residence, General wards

2014-2020 Trinity College Dublin, Artist in Residence, Engineering Department

Upcoming events in 2026:

Three week funded residency at Interface. Co-creating across liminal boundaries. Embodied performance at ancient ceremonial sites in the Inagh Valley

Xchange facilitation and group performance outside Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre.

29th November 2025, 2-4pm, 31st January 2026, 2-4pm, 28th March 2026, 2-4pm, 30th May 2026, 2-4pm, 25th July 2026, 2-4pm, 26th September 2026, 2-4pm, 28th November 2026, 2-4pm

Solo Performances 2014 to date:

2025

Then & there…here & now, for the Always Charming Festival, Paris, France
TA(i)L(e) of Fire, for the HANPAF Performance Festival, Clare
Fan linn, part of the Turas Ur Festival, Inishbofin Island, Donegal
I Am Diaphony Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin
Threading time part of May Arts Festival, Greywood Arts. Cork
Mossing, part of the Moss exhibition, curated by Catalyst Arts, Belfast

2024

Tummy dummy, part of Alive and Kicking 3, curated by Live Art Ireland
Myths of creation, Mart Gallery, Dublin, curated by Livestock
Lamellea, series of four solo performances part of Supermarket Art Fair, April 25-28, Stockholm, curated by Allannah Robbins, Interface Gallery
Bound Aries, solo performance, Bruges, Belgium, March 18th

2023

Trace residue, solo performance part of FIX23 performance festival, Curated by Catalyst Arts, Belfast

2022

Perforation, solo performance, part of Alive and Kicking, Milford House, Tipperary. Curated by Live Art Ireland
Mesh, solo performance, part ofInterruption, Mart, Dublin. Curated by Livestock
Brittle, solo performance atConvergence, Milford House, July 2022. Selected and funded by Live art Ireland and Bbeyond

2021

A safe place, online performance, Bealtaine Festival, curated by Livestock
2019 The Oregon Maple @ the Parsons Building, Trinity College Dublin
2018 Livestock@Mart, Mart Gallery, Dublin
2017 Keep it Lively, Livestock at Black Box, Belfast
The Oregon Maple, two performative responses to the Oregon Maple in TCD
2016 Cumulative Sampling, Sept 15th- 18th, To Follow the Water, curator Anne Mullee.
2015 PAB – Performance Art Festival, Bergen, Norway, September
Endo Exo - Engineering Department, Trinity College Dublin, September
Screened – Feminism and the Body in Performance, curated by Katherine Nolan
2014 Between You and Me Part I - Gallery 1, RUA RED, part of ON THE SPOT.,
Between You and Me Part II - deAppendix, Dublin, part of residency.
Between You and Me Part III - What is the body for? Curator Katherine Nolan

Collaborative performances 2023 to date:

2025

Xchange, multiple performances at Rua Red, Dublin co-curated with Paul Regan
Push Pull Synaptic Space duo performance for Clifden Arts Festival, Galway
Thresholding, performance with Maria May, Season of the Witch, Live art Ireland
Cerberus performance part of Con/ P(art)y, People’s Museum of Limerick
Arcane Ritual, group collaborative performance as part of CEREMONY, London
H(U)RT, Cerberus group performance, Part of M.Fest, Galway

2024

Cerberus group performance to video, Venice Canals, Italy
Blocked, Cerberus group performance, Live Art Ireland Festival, Tipperary
B Bound Aries, group improvised performance for Spring Equinox with BBeyond Berlin, part of a temporary (global) community, March 21st, Berlin
B B Bound Aries, group improvised performance with Bbeyond Belfast, part of the Imagine Festival, March 23rd, Belfast
Becoming Tree, group performance with 20 national and international performance artists, February, Live Art Ireland, Tipperary.

2023

Bbeyond, group performance, part of FIX23 performance festival, Portview trading centre, Belfast

Long-term projects/ performative co-creation at ancient Irish ceremonial sites:

2024 to date Neolithic Wedge tomb site and adjacent river, Massey Estate, Dublin Mountains
2024 to date Paps of Anu, cairn burial sites at the top of two mountains in Killarney connected by a ceremonial stone way.
2025 to date Ancient wood and adjacent river, Glenbower Wood, Killeagh, Co.Cork
2025 to date Inagh valley, various Neolithic standing stone ceremonial sites in Connemara

Collaborative performance group membership

2025 Xchange@Rua Red. Founder member with Paul Regan of Bimonthly performance group in RUA RED. Inaugural performance 14thJune 2025.
2024 to date Founding member of Cerberus with Deej Fabjc and Rachel MacManus
2024 to date Founding member of Synaptic Space with Rachel MacManus
2014 to date Bbeyond, Belfast. Member of collaborative performance art group

Awards:

2026 Funded by Interface Inagh/ Arts Council Co-creating across liminal Boundaries residency/ project in Connemara. Outcomes: embodied video responses to ceremonial sites.

2023-25 Funded by The Meath Foundation, Dublin. Location: Tallaght University Hospital. Curiosity, Artist in residency in award 2023-25. Research and collaboration with Dermatology Department. Outcomes: permanent installation in TUH.

2022 Funded by Tipperary Arts Office, The Arts Council of Ireland and Live Art Ireland. Compression and Oppression three-week residency award.

2019/20 Funded by The Arts Council of Ireland, managed by CREATE. Research and Development with mentoring Award. (Mentor Marie Brett)

2019 & 2020 Funded by the Adelaide Health Foundation, Tallaght University Hospital. Community Health Initiative Scheme Award. co-creation workshops with clients of Alzheimer's Society of Ireland (ASI). Also funded in 2020 to create a series of Dementia friendly art packs for ASI clients. Project blog.

2017 & 2019 Funded by Trinity College Dublin. Trinity College Trees interdisciplinary collaboration and exhibition awards. Olivia Hassett with Professor David Taylor, David Hackett and staff in the TCD microscopic labs. Two projects funded by TCD 2017 & 2019. Project blog.

2014 Individual Artist Bursary Award, South Dublin County Council.

Residencies:

2026/27 Embodied performance at ancient ceremonial sites in Connemara, three-week funded residency at Interface Gallery, Inagh. Supported by Irish Arts Council.
2025 Threading through Time, funded residency at Greywood Arts, Cork
Season of the Witch, Live Art Ireland
2023-25 Funded Meath Foundation Artist in Residence at Tallaght University Hospital
2024 Becoming Tree micro residency, February, Live Art Ireland, Tipperary
2023 Leitrim Sculpture Factory, self-funded residency
2022 Compression & Opression, 3 week funded residency at Live Art Ireland
2018-to date Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, Artist in Residence, General wards
2014-2020 Trinity College Dublin, Artist in Residence, Engineering Department
2014 Three-month residency deAppendix, Dublin in a working GP's surgery

Collections

Nissan Ireland - Tallaght University Hospital - Solomon Gallery - St. James Hospital - Various private collections

Lectures/ Symposia/ workshops

2025 Symposium panel, part of Becoming Tallaght Performance Festival, Dublin
2025 Arcane Rituals co-created workshop with Vest&Page, Part of Ceremony, London
2024 La Pocha Nostra Alumni Summit, Live Art Ireland
ECC online Acts of Absurdity performance video workshop with Rosie Gibbons
ECC online workshop Performance-based Filmmaking with Vest&Page
2024,23, 22 Presentation and workshop with medical students, Tallaght University Hospital
2024,23 Culture Night workshop at Tallaght University Hospital
2024, 22,19 Presentation to the Arts and Health committee, TUH
2022 Residency in Milford House - work in progress presentation, Living Process (we act) event curated by Live Art Ireland for Culture night
Presentation, part of Festschrift for Professor David Taylor, Trinity College Dublin
Presentation to the Arts and Health committee, Tallaght University Hospital (TUH)
2019 & 22 Presentation and workshop with medical students, Tallaght University Hospital
2018 Pimp my Zimmer, patient collaboration, part of positive Ageing Week, TUH
2016-2018 Six workshops for children aged 4-12,yearly in RUA RED:
2017 Presentation to medical staff,TUH
2014 Artist talk with Prof. Taylor and Tina Kinsella, part of deAppendix residency
2013 National Drawing Day workshop, initiated with Chloe Brennan and Siobhan Carroll, NCAD Creative Campus Project, RUA RED, Dublin
2012 Postgraduate Symposium, National College of Art and Design
2011 Pecha Kucha presentation, Dialogue Arts and Health
2008 Artists Talk, Backwater Studios, Cork

Publications/ blogs/ interviews:

2025

Online Case Study on Arts and Health.ie, detailing the creative process behind the Diaphonyartwork and the I Am Diaphony performance, from a two-year art project inspired by dermatology specialists at Tallaght University, Dublin.
April 27th, Sunday Independent, Theatre & Arts. Niall Mac Monagle review of ‘Threading time’ Greywood Arts residency and performance at the May Festival
April 3rd, Irish Examiner, Art/ Culture, promotion of Greywood Arts May Festival

2024 Reflections on Livestock: Creation Myths, by Kate Antosik-Parsons. Estudios Irelandeses.org
2022 Where science and art meet, essay outlining the collaboration between Professor David Taylor and Olivia Hassett. Part of Perspectives on the mechanics of fracture and biological materials, Essays in honour of Professor David Taylor, Trinity College Dublin.
2019/20 Co-creation in the Community, Art and Dementia blog– outlining co-creation research, workshop development, project outcomes and imagery.
https://cocreatinginthecommunitydementia.art.blog/
2019 Interview on Mooney goes Wild, Radio 1, April 8th 2019, Terry Flanagan talked to the Trinity College Team about the works in the embrittled | resilient exhibition
2016-18 Trinity College Trees blog – outlining art and scientific research, conservation and the use of innovative materials and technology for both tree projects
https://trinitycollegetrees.wordpress.com/
2017 Interview on Mooney goes Wild, Radio 1, 5th November 2017. Eanna ni Lamhna learns how the Trinity Trees project is revealing microscopic
2017 Six conversations about flags, part of Standard exhibition, curator Davey Moor
2014 Underline, exhibition essay by Aine Phillips
Penumbra, essay written by Ann Mullee in response to Penumbra exhibition in the Tactic Gallery Cork
2013 Anamorph, self-published book in response to solo exhibition in the Garter Lane Gallery, Waterford, July to September 2013
2013 Form(less), essay written by Darren Campion in response to solo exhibition in the Garter Lane Gallery, Waterford, 2013
2012 ...after the fact, article written by Barry Kehoe in response to the NCAD Postgraduate exhibition in Steambox, Dublin 2012
2008 Biomorph, self-published book in response to exhibition in Backwater Studios, Cork

About Olivia Hassett

Biography

Artists Statement

Curriculum vitae

Awards:

Residencies:

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