Emma Mahony

Dr. Emma Mahony is a Lecturer and Head of the Visual Culture BA Programme at the School of Visual Culture, National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She is a Principal Investigator for the €690,000 MSC H2020 RISE project SPACEX, which explores spatial practices in art, architecture, and design as tools for fostering empathy in urban spaces. Her research connects commoning, care-centric practices, and anti-neoliberal strategies across cultural institutions and academia.

• Education: PhD holder

Her research interests span Contemporary Art, Curatorial Studies, and Activism, with a focus on resisting neoliberalism through radical care and institutional reform. Recent publications analyze artist-motherhood, contested monuments, and the structural inequalities faced by women in the art world. Mahony actively contributes to editorial boards and peer-review panels, advocating for equitable teaching environments and systemic change.

Her 13 peer-reviewed articles since 2012 (shortened to 10 in this list) reveal trends in Neoliberal Critique, Urban Commons, and Art Activism. These works often intersect with Feminist Economics and Eco-feminism, emphasizing reproductive labor and collective care.

Mahony’s grants and projects include the MSC H2020 RISE SPACEX (€690,000) and leadership of academic events like the 2023 From Cultural Value to Social Wealth symposium. She co-edits the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Spatial Practices and the Urban Commons and has organized exhibitions and lectures on socially-engaged art since the early 2000s.