There is a figure in Western thought that is as persistent as it is silent: the studier. Hidden away under a veil of night, scribbling notes and occult symbols in the margins of books, flipping through well- worn tomes, mumbling with hushed breath. How to capture a glimpse of this strange, nocturnal creature lurking in the shadows?

The Sacred Night of Study. Tyson E. Lewis (p.1, 2024) 

Night Study presents a unique collection of artefacts collected from over a decade of artistic exploration and experimentation by artist and educator Glenn Loughran. The works on display serve as traces of events of enquiry, a diverse constellation of things that have mediated practices, from artistic research to critical pedagogy to social engagement.

Spanning the years from 2008 to 2025, the exhibition also features a new, site-specific installation, developed for Uillinn, titled: Night Study. This installation utilises a movable light installation to navigate the gallery spaces and examine the history and politics of study in an era of inattention. In his recent publication The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource (Hayes, C. 2025), journalist and MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes analyses how the attention economy has reshaped our brains and weakened our political systems. Reflecting on the value our attentional habits, he writes, “Information is abundant; attention is scarce. Information is theoretically infinite, while attention is constrained. This is why information is cheap and attention is expensive” (p.3). Within the politics of inattention, the practice of collective study emerges as a profoundly nourishing and practical response to the increasingly toxic flow of information. Drawing on historical practices of night study from the medieval period and the empowering traditions of working-class evening education, Night Study invites participants to join artists and educators for a series of collective reflections at Uillinn, after hours, once the building has closed and night has fallen.

Night Study sessions will focus on core thematics in the exhibition. Each session will be led by a guest speaker, beginning with the inaugural session on art and education featuring Prof. Thierry de Duve. Titled, Case Study. How to Make an Art School… this session will reflect on de Duve’s research into the form and character of the art school in the early 2000s. The second session, Study: Climates and Time will be led by Dr. Julie Louise Bacon, artist, curator and Lecturer in Art and Ecology at the Edinburgh College of Art. This session will draw on research from Bacon’s upcoming book Habitat. Performance artist and academic El Putnam will lead the third session, titled Studying in the Aftermath: Repair, Art Practice, and Study in ‘Broken World Thinking’. In the fourth session, Prof. Mick Wilson will facilitate An Imaginary Study in Reading the Dead through the work of the internationally renowned Brazilian artist and theorist Denise Ferreira da Silva, and her proposed reading practices. Finally, the Working Group on Artistic Research at ELIA will organise an open study session on Constellating Study Practices through Artistic Research in Turbulent Times. 

Beats to Study by. Drawing on his research into the connection between music and studying, sound artist and Donegal D.J, Seán Ó Cuireáin will develop a unique musical soundtrack for the Night Study installation.

Night Study Programme

These weekly sessions are centred around the core themes of the exhibition, and each will be led by a guest speaker. The sessions are free, but places are limited so they must be booked through eventbrite (links to booking and more information on each session are below).

Prior to each session, those who have booked will receive a paper by the guest speaker to read before attending the session. At the beginning of the session the guest speaker will contextualise the paper and then facilitate a group discussion where participants are encouraged to interpret the ideas in their own way and contribute critically to the conversation.

Session 1. How to Make an Art School…

Prof. Thierry de Duve

Saturday 27 September – 5pm – 6.30pm

Book here on eventbrite

Session 2. Study: Climates and Time

Dr. Julie Louise Bacon

Thursday 2 October – 5pm – 6.30pm

Book here on eventbrite

Session 3. Studying in the Aftermath

Dr. El Putnam

Thursday 9 October – 5pm – 6.30pm

Book here on eventbrite

Session 4. An Imaginary Study in Reading the Dead

Prof. Mick Wilson

Thursday 16 October – 5pm – 6.30pm

Book here on eventbrite

Session 5. Constellating Study Practices Through Artistic Research in Turbulent Times

ELIA working group on artistic research.

Thursday 23 October – 5pm – 6.30pm

Book here on eventbrite

ELIA is Europe’s leading multidisciplinary network in higher arts education and research. It connects art schools and other members from across various disciplines and countries to facilitate knowledge exchange, innovation, and advocacy for arts education.

Supported by the Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary (CapIM) and L’Internationale (Online)