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Scroll down for upcoming talks 〰️
AWARDS
Selected for one of the five Irish artists 2024 FUTURES
Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. FUTURES has grown from 13 to 21 members, covering the full scope of the European contemporary photography landscape. The platform currently draws from and collaborates with a consortium of the following art institutions across Europe to amplify emerging talents in photography: CAMERA - Centro Italiano per la Fotografia (IT), Centre Photographique Rouen Normandie (FR), Copenhagen Photo Festival (DK), Triennial of Photography Hamburg (DE), Der Greif (DE), FOMU (BE), FOTODOK (NL), Fotofestiwal Lodz (PL), Fotogalleriet (NO), Fotograf Magazine (CZ), Organ Vida (HR), ISSP (LV), PhotoEspaña (ES), PhotoIreland (IE), Photo Romania Festival (RO), Bienal Fotografia do Porto (PT), Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center (HU), Void (GR), Photoforum Pasquart (CH), Photo Elysée (CH), and Centre de la photographie Genève (CH) and our research member, Eurokleis s.r.l. (IT)
2024 Selected as the The Library Project TLP Editions artist.
TLP Editions is an ongoing collection, produced and designed by PhotoIreland, that presents work by contemporary artists in the form of uncomplicated publications. These are available through The Library Project in-store and online. All and any funds generated by the project go to producing more copies of the publications, ensuring we can keep promoting the artists and practices represented. These editions are regularly showcased and donated to international events and festivals, such as the Icelandic Photography Festival recently. In addition, TLP Editions also grace some important shelves and collections, including that of the Hasselblad Foundation Library and the Martin Parr Foundation.
CURRENT HAPPENINGS
AGE IS A PRIVILEGE, UNLESS YOU FORGET!
Create Centre Gallery on Spike Island, Bristol.
(Un)broken Memories. This is intended to illustrate that the exhibition both refers to the typical physical challenges that living with dementia incurs, but also that the show considers alternate ways of looking at the disease, as those afflicted, as carers and as a society. The artworks on display, across a variety of media, consider ideas of hope, changing relationships, social stigma, and of course grief, representing a tapestry of viewpoints on a disease that afflicts almost a million people in the UK today. Along with Artists Adrienne Blake, Michael Buckland. Debbie Castro, Bunshri Chandaria, Jenni Dutton, Natalia Millman, Sophie Wake curated by Dominic Head The exhibition runs from Monday 22 to Friday 26 July
There will be three evening openings for the exhibition.
Alzheimer's Research: Path to a Cure - 6:30-7:30pm, Monday 22 July 2024: https://bit.ly/3RJNTYz
Hear from Dr Sarah Carpanini from Cardiff University about her research into Alzheimer's disease as well as from a representative of Alzheimer's Research UK on the progress made so far and what the future looks like.
Let me know if you would like to attend this.Opening Night/Private View - 6-7:30pm, Thursday 25 July 2024: https://bit.ly/3VUtzpR
A free event for everyone to come and view the artworks on display.An artist panel discussion on the Friday night 26th July
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
Age is a privilege, unless you forget!
This is a travelling exhibition and currently in
St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) is delighted to host a temporary photography exhibition, centred on the theme of dementia, this May.
Age is a Privilege, Unless you Forget! is a weekend-long, drop-in exhibition which will be open in the Dean Clinic St Patrick’s on our St Patrick’s University Hospital (SPUH) campus in Dublin 8 on Saturday and Sunday, 11 and 12 May. Taking place from 6pm to 6.45pm on Friday, 10 May 2024, the panel discussion will see exhibition artist, Debbie Castro, joining a number of other speakers with varying perspectives, including Consultant Older Adult Psychiatrist here at SPMHS, Dr Declan Lyons. Speakers will discuss the effects of stigma related to dementia, dementia care, and the reality for those living with the dementia, as well as the reality for family and loved ones caring for someone with dementia.
The panel discussion will take place in our Dublin 8 campus. Following the panel discussion, attendees will be invited to take a first look at the exhibition ahead of its opening on 11 May.
Registration for the panel discussion is free, but essential; you can register here.
The exhibition is also open for drop-in visitors between 11 and 12 May in the Dean Clinic St Patrick’s. See more about the exhibition here.
The panel discussion and exhibition are also featured as part of the programme for the Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival which takes place from 8 to 12 May 2024.
11th February 2024 - currently held
St Joseph’s Dementia care home Shankill, Co. Dublin.
Fund Raising Event Thursday evening 7th March 2024
5th December -10th February 2024
LexIcon Library and Cultural Building
Queen's Rd, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 9th February 2024 11.00 - 13.00
Talk with Gráinne Hope from GBHI, hosting is Karen Meenan Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health Co-Founder Lewy Body Ireland Founder Making Hay Reminiscence Theatre, Founder Volunteer Forget-Me-Nots Choir, Volunteer dementia-inclusive Near FM Community Radio. Studio, dlr LexIcon. Information to book here
2023
AGE IS A PRIVILEGE, UNLESS YOU FORGET!
24th August -1st October 2023
Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) Ireland with curator Sarah McAuliffe
During the exhibition at the RHA, a panel discussion was held with Dr Declan Lyons Consultant Psychiatrist, St Patrick's mental health Services and Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Siobhan Grant Head of Fundraising at Saint Joseph's Shankill; Dedicated to Dementia Care and Angel Luis González is Director of Photolreland, an independent organisation dedicated to stimulating a critical dialogue around Photography in Ireland and to internationally promoting the work of Irish-based artists.
2018
I-CUT Bermondsey Project Space, Bermondsey, London
2011
GLAMOUR IN THE BLOOD
Inspirational Arts, 7 Herbert Street, Dublin 2 Ireland Photofestival
2011
PORTRAITS of WOMEN – Suffragettes
John Scurr Community Centre, Limehose. East London
Commissioned by Tower Hamlets Council for International Women’s Day
2010
THE SCARRED LANDSCAPE
Mill St Gallery Mill Street, Dublin 8 Ireland Photofestival
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024
AGE IS A PRIVILEGE, UNLESS YOU FORGET!
DOCUMENT NOW Bermondsey Project Space, London Bridge, London. UK
6-17th February 2024
2022
OPENING THE GATES - IMAGES ARE ALL WE HAVE
PhotoIreland festival 2022 The Printworks, Dublin Castle
2019
ALTERED
Chro-Art in collaboration with RB12 Shoreditch
2019
TIME to THINK Festival Pil’Ours France
2014
WHO GAVE YOU THE ROSES?
Bottleneck Gallery, 60 Broadway, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC
2012
FOCUSED IDENTITY; UNFOCUSED SPACES
Moxie Studios, Lad Lane, Dublin 2 Ireland
2009
THE SCARRED LANDSCAPE P3 Gallery, University of Westminster, London
PUBLICATIONS
2014
WHO GAVE YOU THE ROSES?
With text by Francesca Carrington Birch
LIMITED EDITION x 10 (82 Page) A5
QUALIFICATIONS
2008-2009
Masters in Arts degree from University of Westminster, Harrow Campus, London
1998-2001
BSc Hons Psychology and Psychoanalysis Dublin Ireland
WORK
2021 - Domestika Online course - For beginners in photography - Manual mode
2016-CURRENT
C0-ORDINATOR AND TRAINER FOR LIoP
London Institute of Photography, The Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London
Role includes organising Monthly Talks, Creating teaching material, Organising and curating yearly exhibition, monthly challenge and blog posts including creating Masterclasses.
2011- 2016
DIRECTOR OF TRAINING AND SENIOR TRAINER
London School of Photography London
ARTIST STATEMENT
Debbie Castro, an Irish Conceptual Documentary Artist currently based in London, UK.
Castro’s art merges photography delving into the intriguing concept of the death instinct. Viewing the photographs as objects, pushing the envelope on how they can exist beyond flat images to become tactile, sculptural forms. This approach not only challenges the conventional perceptions of photography but also invites a deeper engagement with the physicality and texture inherent in photographic material.
Central to Castro’s studies, is how people manage to remain strong and adapt despite the unavoidable fact that everything eventually comes to an end. This research encourages a scientific discussion on how temporary life is compared to the absolute certainty of its ending."
The art invites viewers to reflect on the cycle of life and death, and the ways in which these universal experiences are captured, preserved, or transformed through photography.
This thematic focus seeks to provoke reflection on mortality, memory, and the passage of time, urging viewers to confront the delicate balance between creation and destruction.
Castro’s exhibitions have served as platforms for these conversations, where the tangible presence of the work encourages a reevaluation of photography's role in capturing and contemplating our existence. Each piece, carefully crafted and thoughtfully presented, is an invitation to explore the profound depths of our collective unconscious and the aesthetic dimensions of our mortal journey. Through the creations, the artist offers viewers a sanctuary for contemplation, where the physicality of the work facilitates a connection to the deeper truths of our being.
Beyond her artistic endeavors, Debbie Castro is an experienced facilitator and tutor, engaging in both informal and formal learning practices. Her extensive background includes leading workshops and professional development programs, offering support to early career photographers as they navigate their creative paths.
CONTACT
debbie@debbiecastro.com
Studio : 4th floor, Z Block, 91 Brick Lane London E1 6AL