Orla Mc Hardy
omchardy@gmail.com
Irish, b. 1976
Lives & works: Donegal / Chicago

Education
2009 - 2011
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA
MFA in Studio, Dept. Film, Video, New Media & Animation

2003 - 2007
National Film School, IADT, Dublin, Ireland
BA Animation

1994 -1996
Northumbria University, Newcastle, England
Diploma Fine Art Sculpture


Selected Exhibitions
2012 GIRBTS, performance & screening with Mark Booth, Devening Projects + Editions, Chicago
2011 Centre for Contemporary Art, Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland
2011 MFA Thesis Show, Sullivan Galleries, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2010 Kunsttempel, Kassel, Germany
2010 Exothermia and Shadow Play, The (Con)Temporary Art Space, Chicago, USA
2009 The Polish Language, Higher Bridges Gallery, Enniskillen, N. Ireland
2009 Ritual Flux 51, Birr Arts Festival, Ireland
2009 Alter/native, Boyle Arts Festival, Roscommon, Ireland
2009 Love, The Dock, Leitrim, Ireland
2008 About 100 Experiments, Birr, Arts Festival, Ireland
2008 Judging A Book, The Winding Stair Bookshop, Dublin, Ireland
2008 Cycles, Synth Eastwood, Dublin, Ireland
2008 Sim House, Reykjavík, Iceland


Awards
2011 Project Award, Irish Arts Council, Ireland
2010 Nominee, Best Animation, IFTA 2010 (Irish Film & Television Awards), Ireland
2010 Special Mention, Expresión En Corto International Film Festival, Mexico
2009 Best Animation for ‘The Polish Language’, Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland
2009 Merit Trustee Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA
2009 Bank of Ireland, Millennium Scholarship Recipient, Ireland
2009 Bursary Award, The Irish Arts Council, Ireland
2008 Frameworks Funding Award, The Irish Arts Council, Irish Film Board, RTÉ, Ireland
2008 Travel & Training Award, The Irish Arts Council, Ireland
2007 Best First Short for 'The Grass is Greener', Dingle Film Festival, Ireland
2007 IADT’s Student of the Year award for thesis The space that lies between text/image


Film Screenings
2012 Anifest, Czech Republic
2011 Poesiefestival Oslo, Norway
2011 Cuisle Limerick City International Poetry Festival, Ireland
2012 The 8th Berlin International Directors Lounge, Germany
2012 RTÉ, Irish National Broadcaster, January 20th
2011 Krok Animation Festival, Ukraine
2011 The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick on Shannon, Ireland
2011 Lyrikertreffen, Münster, Germany
2011 Yellow Dog Festival, Portugal
2011 Montpelier Film Festival, Vermont, USA
2011 Birdseye View Festival, London
2011 RTÉ, Irish National Broadcaster, January 31st
2011 Irish Film Institute, two week run January 6-20th
2010 L’alternativa Festival de Cinema Independent, Barcelona, Spain
2010 Cineanima, Espinho Animation Festival, Portugal
2010 Red Rock Film Festival, Utah, USA (In competition)
2010 Encounters Film Festival, Bristol, UK
2010 Interfilm Short Film Festival, Berlin, Germany
2010 L’alternativa, Experimental Film Festival, Barcelona, Spain
2010 Cineanima, Espinho Animation Festival, Portugal (in competition)
2010 Kerry Film Festival, Kerry, Ireland (In competition)
2010 Uppsala Short Film Festival, Sweden (in competition)
2010 Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Germany (In competition)
2010 Liverpool Irish Festival, UK
2010 Festival de Nouveau Cinema, Montreal, Canada
2010 Mostrainvideo, Milan, Italy
2010 6th Singapore Short Film Festival, Singapore
2010 Cambridge Film Festival, UK
2010 Lago Film Festival, Lago, Italy (In competition)
2010 Expresión en Corto, Guanajuato, Mexico (in competition, special jury mention)
2010 Festival de Nouveau Cinema, Paris, France
2010 Lightbox Animation Festival, Sligo, Ireland
2010 Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland (In competition)
2010 Shanghai China, Expo, Irish Film Board showcase of Irish film
2010 Backup Festival, Weimar, Germany (in competition)
2010 SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival, Austin, Texas, USA (In competition)
2010 Clermont-Ferrand, France (In competition)
2010 Tabakalera, Contemporary Culture Centre of San Sebastian, Spain
2010 Animated Dreams Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia (In competition)
2010 Darklight, Dublin, Ireland (In competition)
2009 IAESDO Directors Finder Series, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
2009 Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland (In competition-Award for Best Animation)
2007 IADT Graduate Show, Ireland
2007 Galway Film Fleadh, Ireland
2007 ICE Film Festival, Iowa, USA
2007 Dingle Film Festival, Ireland
2007 Corona Cork Film Festival, Ireland
2007 Waterford film Festival, Ireland
2007 Anilogue Budapest Animation Festival, Hungary


Teaching
2011- Present, Chicago
Adjunct Faculty, School of Cinema & Interactive Media, DePaul University College of CDM
2011- Present, Chicago
Animation faculty, The Chicago Academy for the Arts
2010 - 2011 Chicago
Instructor for Early College Program Summer Class in Animation, School of the Art institute Chicago, USA
2010 Chicago
Teaching Assistant for Experimental Narrative Class, School of the Art institute Chicago
2010 Chicago
Teaching Assistant for 16mm film Image Making Class, School of the Art institute Chicago
2009 Chicago
Teaching Assistant for Experimental Animation Methods Class, School of the Art institute Chicago
2007 Dublin
Animation & Digital Skills Teacher for South Area Youth Service

Animation / Art Direction / Illustration
2009 - 2010 Dublin
Freelance animation for Brown Bag Films’ production of 23 Degrees and 5 Minutes
2008 - 2009 Dublin
Co- Direction/ Art Direction/ Lead Animation for Cel Division’s production of The Polish Language
2004 - Present, Dublin
Freelance Illustrator for Imagination Gym Educational books for children
2008 Dublin
Freelance Experimental Animation for Barley Films production of The Crocodile and the Night Sky
2006 Dublin
Flash Animator & Designer for Kavaleer Productions’ interactive educational programme
2006 Lodz, Poland
Production Assistant on film set of Skazani Przez Spoleczenstwo

Programming / Curation
2008 Lights Out! Programmer of animations for children 11-13yrs, The Dock, Leitrim, Ireland
2007 Timelines Programmer of avant-garde films & animations accompanying a group show, Mermaid Arts Centre, Wicklow, Ireland

Software Proficiency
Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, 3D Studio Max, Microsoft Office

Residencies
SIM, (Samband Íslenskra Mydynlistarmanna), Reykjavík, Iceland

Spoken Languages
English, Dutch, French, Irish (Gaelic)