Frances Hennigan is an Irish artist based between Essen, DE and Roscommon, IRE. Her practice examines topics surrounding the thirst for internet fame such as; misinformation, scandal, glamour and performative political activism. Her practice focuses on the role of celebrity influencers in shaping political discourse, examining how attention is manipulated, and distributed in the cycle of online images.
Frances work interweaves familiar content from memes, influencer fails, viral infographics and the moral impetus to engage, and celebrity quotes to reflect on social media's relationship to politics. Her works highlight online attention-hacking, where visual tropes from canonical art or political imagery are used to generate maximum impact with minimal alienation of audiences.
Frances was awarded a fellowship of Digital Culture with Kulturforum Witten in 2023 and is a co-founder of CRUX, a collective making offsite exhibitions.
EDUCATION
2020-2022 MA Art Research Collaboration, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Ireland, Second Class Honours
2017-2020 BA (Hons) Art, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Ireland, First Class Honours
2014-2016 BA(Hons) Jewellery and Metalwork Design, National College of Art and Design, Ireland
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025 FemFestival, Kulturamt Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt, Germany
2024 From Digital to Analogue (and back again?), Curated by Stefan Mildenberger, Hinterconti, Hamburg, Germany
2024 FutureTechFest, Curated by Alain Bieber, Areal Böhler, Düsseldorf, Germany
2024 REAL, CRUX collective, trio exhibition, B63, Witten, Germany
2024 Dead of night, Solo exhibition, Saalbau, Witten, Germany
2022 Internationales Digitalkunst Festival, Kultur im Bunker, Stuttgart, Germany 2022 Wax Rhapsodic, The LAB Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2021 Luan Gallery Art Fair, Luan Gallery, Westmeath, Ireland
2021 Periodical Review, Pallas Projects/ Studios, Dublin, Ireland
2020 In the Making/ Appraisal, Pallas projects/ Studios, Dublin, Ireland
2020 Online Graduate Showcase, IADT, Ireland
2020 Signal Open, Signal Arts Centre, Bray, Ireland
2020 crux.project, Rathmichael ring fort, South County Dublin, Ireland
2019 Making the intangible, tangible, United Arts Club, IADT student exhibition 2019 How’s your Da? MLV Studios, Dublin, Ireland
ARTIST TALKS
2024 From Digital to Analogue (and back again?), Hinterconti, Hamburg, Germany
2020 Artist’s breakfast club, The Model, Sligo, Ireland
GRANTS
2024 Culture Moves Europe, European Commission
2024 Zeitgeist Irland, Culture Ireland
2024 Project funding for Witten’s Free Scene, Kulturforum Witten, Germany 2024 Zeitgeist Irland 24’, Culture Ireland
2023 Agility Award, Arts Council of Ireland
2022 Artist bursary Roscommon County Council, Roscommon, Ireland
RESIDENCIES
2024 Brettebude Residency, Kulturforum Witten, Witten, Germany
2024 Professional Development Research Residency, Leitrim Sculpture Centre, Manorhamilton, Leitrim, Ireland
2023-2024 No End to the Road, Fellowship, Kulturforum Witten, Germany
2022 May-June Killenure Lodge, Killenure Castle, Ruth E Lyons residency. Tipperary. Ireland 2020 SPUR.WORLD, Online Digital Residency
PUBLICATIONS
Material Relations: Niamh O’Malley’s Gather at the fifty-ninth Venice Biennale, Glass Ireland 2022. Published January 2023
LINKS
Real, CRUX, B63, Witten, DE, 2024
D-Fellow Doccumentary, Kulturforum Witten, DE, 2024
Dublin Enquirer interview, Dublin, IRE, 2021
crux.project, CRUX, Rathmichael Ring Fort, Rathmichael, Dublin, IRE, 2020