Fionnuala Coway - Multi-Media Artist

Fionnuala Conway is a musician/composer and multimedia artist, and has recently completed her PhD at Trinity College, Dublin. With a background in music and music technology, Fionnuala has worked as composer and performer on a number of theatre productions with the group, HiHo Productions. Works include Doomsday Cabaret, that enjoyed a considerable run at the Sugar club and Vicar Street, Dublin, and more alternative musical shows such as Hansel and Gretel, Hebags and Geebags. She completed the FÁS Screen Training Ireland module in 1997, writing for a variety of ensembles.

Her interest in the application of new media and technology to art and performance prompted a return to academia. Her PhD thesis, Exploring Citizenship through Art and Technology, focuses on the creative use of technology to generate awareness of citizenship (and other social issues), with a particular focus on interactive immersive physical environments. The Art of Decision project, shown in May 2005, is a practical manifestation of Fionnuala’s research. A feature-length documentary, Art of Decision, was produced in 2006.  

Fionnuala has produced work in a wide variety of forms, from traditional materials to interactive digital media, wearable technology, installations and theatre presentation. Work in wearable technology includes Urban Chameleon, in collaboration with Katherine Moriwaki, and the Reactive Performance Dress designed for the musician, Miriam Ingram. She has also produced if() then() else(), a multimedia theatre piece exploring the application of technology to performance and its influence on narrative structure.

Fionnuala completed a Bachelor of Music at University College, Dublin in 1994 and an M.Phil. in Music and Media Technologies at Trinity College, Dublin in 1999. She has been lecturing on the M.Phil. in Music and Media Technologies course since 2002 and was appointed Course Director in 2006