KATY McGAHAN
Artist
filmmaker, sound artist, photographer, writer
Against the spectre of climate breakdown, I am drawn to making works
that explore the tension between our deep connection with the rest of the living world and our simultaneous involvement in the destruction of it in this time of flux. I am interested in exploring the interplay between the fragility and the resilience of nature and re-evaluating our place within it.
My practice is multi-disciplinary - traversing filmmaking, audio works, poetry, photography and participatory art. In 2022 I completed the two-year MFA in Creative Documentary Practice at University College London (UCL) which gave me the opportunity to develop my film and audio practice. My graduation film, The Happy Man Tree (2022), has been shown in festivals in the UK and internationally. It was selected to screen as part of the UK-wide Green Screen Network, an initiative on the part of Picturehouse cinemas designed to encourage cinemas across the UK to screen more environmental films. I am one of the founding members of the NoticeThisTree art-for-action group who have been organising participatory art/activist/performance interventions in towns and cities across the UK since 2023.
For me an idea usually starts with a walk - in a town or city or in the countryside. Encounters with people, natural landmarks and my own thought patterns along the way always inspires me. As an artist, walking often help me to formulate and shape ideas in a dynamic environment beyond the studio.... the soul moves at 3mph....
I run short courses in radical filmmaking and experimental audio under
the banner of Hyenas in Petticoats.
I was Curator of Independent Documentary at the BFI National Archive (2001-2016) and continue to work as a film researcher, writer and curator
in a freelance capacity for various organisations including the BFI and the Open University.
I live in the High Peak, Derbyshire
I have dual British/Irish citizenship
Instagram: @katy.mcgahan
