Carole Keating

Playful Participatory Live Art

Carole Keating is an Irish Mancunian artist and producer. She works across disciplines including live art, immersive theatre and interactive play, following the artist-as-initiator model. Her work responds to the injustices and inequalities of late capitalist society, crafting collaborative and empowering spaces of live creative activity co-created with audiences. Her practice is fiercely inclusive and is rooted in joy, care, tactility and play.

Influences include the mischievous playfulness and straight-talking, anti-elitist inclusivity of Jeremy Deller, the transformational ambitions of Tania Brughera’s arte útil, the generous, audience-focused instruction work of Abigail Conway, the ritualistic spectacle of the cult performance collective The Kazimier’s early immersive work, and the tactile participation of foundational performance artists such as Alison Knowles, Allan Kaprow, VALIE EXPORT and Yoko Ono.

In 2018 Carole created her first commission as an artist: The Academy of Painting and Decorating, a theatrical live art experience for Sounds From The Other City Festival in Salford, supported by Arts Council England.

Carole is currently in R&D for her next work, the live art installation No Limits, supported by Arts Council England and Factory International.

Carole has 14 years’ experience in programming and producing large-scale works for public audiences at major arts organisations including Manchester International Festival, Somerset House, Science Gallery London, Pinwheel and Brighter Sound, working with a wide range of international artists across disciplines including immersive theatre, visual art, live music, dance and mass participation. Carole’s producing work has appeared in national and international press including The Times, The Guardian, The New York Times, Vogue and Artnet, and has won a CityLife Awards Event of the Year.