Cannach MacBride is an artist and editor. They work with performance, installation, writing, video, sound, and event making, with and without institutions. Much of their practice focuses on relational entanglements, listening across and being attentive to difference, and working creatively towards an ethics of inseparability and interdependency. Collaboration and supportive practices are important to them; some of these look like art, some don’t. During times when they didn’t identify as an artist (and during times when they did), they worked in the care industry. From 2018–2020, they were part of a collective that ran a queer community center in Rotterdam called Tender Center.
They are currently undertaking doctoral research, funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, at University of the Arts London with a research project titled “Listening as creative practice, listening and decolonial practices: plural methods, plural experiences.” This research addresses listening as a research methodology, and as a creative practice through which to foster prefigurative forms of political action.
They have worked on editorial projects in arts publishing with a range of European arts organizations and publishers. Recently, they have been part of a working group developing a Climate Justice Code for northern-European arts practitioners and arts organizations to use to address climate injustice in their working practices. With curator Taraneh Fazeli, they are co-editing a book with the working title “Sick Time, Sleepy Time, Crip Time–a field guide,” which emerges from Fazeli’s long-term curatorial project “Sick Time, Sleepy Time, Crip Time: Against Capitalism’s Temporal Bullying” (2017-20).
As an artist, they address accessibility in how they produce their works, exhibitions and events. Examples include the exhibition “having been breathed out/patriarchy over and out,” the theatre performance “tongue breaks inhaling,” both CCA Glasgow, 2019, and the series of workshops and performances “undoing listening,” Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, 2017.
They have an MSc Art Psychotherapy from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh and an MA Fine Art from the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam.
They have undertaken residencies at CCA, Glasgow, Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, and Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn.