Garrett Phelan is a visual artists who continues to develop a distinctive practice through ambitious, site-specific projects that include; Independent FM radio broadcasts, sculptural installations, photography, drawing, animations, publications and text ephemera. Recent solo exhibitions and commissions include;  FREE THOUGHT The Douglas Hyde Gallery, I HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE SO NEAR, National Gallery of Ireland (2018); THE HIDE PROJECT, commission, Fingal County Council, Dublin (2017); HEED FM, commission, ART:2016, Arts Council, Dublin (2016); A VOODOO FREE PHENOMENOM, Project Arts Centre, Dublin (2015); NEW FAITH LOVE SONG, IMMA, Dublin (2012).

Websites: http://www.garrettphelan.com/

Do you have a favourite art work of all time?      

No

What is your daily routine as an artist/curator?

I am in the studio usually from 9.20am – 1.10pm and from 2.30pm – 5.30pm. All other time is dedicated to family duties.

What would you say is the biggest challenge as an artist/curator?

Time management.

Who has been of great influence to you in your field?

I installed the work of Jeff Wall in the early 90’s at IMMA. It was then I decided that I was an artist and I began making my work.

What is the best piece of advice you would give an emerging artist/curator?

Be interdependent with funding agencies and galleries. Persist. Make your work regardless of institutional financial or gallery support. Always know you can make your own work. If you do apply for funding and when you succeed in getting the funding, it comes as an added bonus. If you do not get the funding it doesn’t matter. Make your work. Continue to reapply for funding and make your next application better. Applying for funding is a learning process.

What has the support from the Arts Council meant to your practice?

The Arts Council is a superb cultural agency. It is an incredibly important institution for artists/curators. As artists/Curators we must support The Arts Council in return for its support of us. If they invest in us, we must invest in them. We must endeavour to protect The Arts Council and protect what it does. I have received many grants from The Arts Council over the years but I would also like to point out that I have been refused many awards also. The Arts Council is an ongoing, developing, fair and transparent agency for allocating funds to artists and I trust the expertise of the council to make important decisions with respect to my work.