Collaborator Bios

Richard Kearney

WRITER, PERFORMER & CO-DIRECTOR

Richard Kearney is a writer, professor and cultural organizer of several international projects, most recently ‘Exchanging Stories, Changing History’ (see guestbookproject.org). He has written two novels Sam’s Fall and Walking at Sea Level translated into several languages – and a volume of poetry, Angel of Patrick’s Hill. He has also written several books on the role of imagination and narrative in Irish culture, literature and the arts most notably, The Irish Mind (1984), Transitions: Narratives in Modern Irish Culture (1988), PostNationalist Ireland: Culture, Philosophy, Politics (1998) and Navigations: Collected Irish Essays (1976-2006). As a member of the Irish Arts Council, chair of the UCD Film School and public intellectual and broadcaster he was actively involved in organizing many national and international cultural projects.

Sheila Gallagher

PERFORMER & CO-DIRECTOR

Sheila Gallagher is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and professor of art at Boston College. She works in many media including video, smoke, drawing, animation, live flowers, and light projections. She has had numerous solo exhibitions, and has exhibited widely at commercial galleries, museums, and universities in the U.S. and internationally, including the Moving Image Festival, London, The Institute of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas and the Dodge Gallery in NYC. Gallagher is the co-curator of the Becker Collection, a private archive of Civil War drawings, currently touring the United States. Together with Richard Kearney she codirects the Guestbook Project.

Kevin Sweet

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, ANIMATOR, LIVE VIDEO

Kevin Sweet is an multimedia artist working across film, performance, and virtual reality. He received his M.F.A in Film & Video from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2012 and a B.A. in Film Studies from Keene State College. His collaborations with artists, scholars, poets, and scientists have been exhibited at galleries and conferences in the US, Canada, and Europe. He has lectured at institutions including Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Boston College, and was appointed the first Artist in Residence for Boston College’s Institute for Liberal Arts.

Dana Lyn

COMPOSER, ORIGINAL SCORE

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Dana Lyn has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center, Beacon Theater, Carnegie and Town Halls, as well as folk festivals and dive bars the world over. As a violinist and keyboard player, she is at home in multiple musical worlds, ranging from classical to folk, contemporary and improvisatory music. As a composer, Lyn has received commissions from the Brooklyn Rider, the Apple Hill String Quartet and the New Orchestra of Washington. Lyn is also a well-versed fiddle player in the Irish tradition and was featured on The Raw Bar and Geanntrai, two documentaries on traditional Irish music that aired on national television in Ireland.

The Apple Hill String Quartet

MUSIC

Comprised of Elise Kuder, Colleen Jennings, Mike Kelley, and Rupert Thompson, the Apple Hill String Quartet has earned praise around the world for its concerts presenting interpretive mastery of traditional repertoire, neglected masterpieces, and music from around the world, as well as world premieres and commissioned pieces.

Brian O’Donovan

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Widely known for his work in public broadcasting, music production, and as a curator for live events, Brian O’Donovan is the on-air host for A Celtic Sojourn, a program at 89.7 WGBH Boston Public Radio exploring traditional and contemporary music from around the Celtic World.