Anna McCarthy (born 1981https://www.instagram.com/p/CrDazSkI0wI/?img_index=2 in Munich-Neuperlach) is an Irish multidisciplinary artist, who lives and works in Munich. McCarthy's projects are usually based on a political idea and historical research. Typical of her work are her journalistic gesture, combined with Poetry and Humor. Her work is wide-ranging and includes performative Installation with elements of Concert and Musical and Painting, Drawing and Film.
Life and work McCarthy is the daughter of a social worker and an aircraft engineer. The family moved from Blackpool to Rosenheim. McCarthy's interest in art, music and Munich's nightlife was awakened early on by her older brothers. One of the two brothers is Nick McCarthy, who was the band Franz Ferdinand guitarist in the early 2000's.
McCarthy's work is multidisciplinary: her work consists of painting and drawing, installations, books, films, music, musicals, parades and demonstrations. She works over a longer period of time in different formats. Her humorous and poetic works, in which she calls for rebellion and refusal, usually have a political aim and are often based on historical research. She uses elements of pop culture and enjoys collaborating with fellow artists.Anna Jehle, Anna Voswinckel: Anna McCarthy. In: Janine Mackenroth, Bianca Kennedy (Hrsg.): I Love Women in Art. Pole Positions, 2020, ISBN 978-3-9821741-1-2 Her work has been compared to artists such as David Hammons, Eva Hesse or Ana Mendieta.
In 2001 she studied at Kingston University.https://futurebased.org/topics/witchcraft-made-science-with-anna-mccarthy/ From 2002 to 2009, McCarthy studied Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich and practiced in various areas such as Video Art, installation, painting and Music. 2005-2007, she studied Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art.
In her project How to Start a Revolution, which consists of a musical (2013), a book (2016), film works, among others, she dealt with clichés of rebelliousness, embedded in contemporary socio-political events and included the artist's personal environment. How to Start a Revolution has been exhibited internationally, including in galleries in London, Glasgow and Iceland.,Eva Huttenlauch and Stephanie Weber, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München (eds.):Favorites III. 2017, ISBN 978-3-88645-189-0 solo exhibitions and group exhibitions including "Hints to Workmen" with @Harun Farocki at the Nottingham Gallery for Contemporary Art and performances of "How to Start a Revolution: The Musical" at Haus der Kunst Munich and Goethe University Frankfurt. In 2015, McCarthy was a fellow of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.Anna McCarthy – Visual artist. In: Villa Aurora & Thomas Mann House e. V. Retrieved 12 August 2020. Her short film Fassbinder in La-La-Land was made here, which was commissioned by the Munich Fassbindertag e. V. In the film, McCarthy depicts a kind of female Rainer Werner Fassbinder living in exile in LA.Fassbinder in Lalaland In: annamccarthy.de
2007-2015 was McCarthy member of the eight-piece band Damenkapelle, she played Bass and sang. The band released their debut album on the Munich label Echokammer in 2012Andi Hörmann: Aquarium sound from the soundproof garden shed. In: Deutschlandradio, 24 July 2012, retrieved 16 August 2020 and moves stylistically between pop, punk and performance.
From 2012 to 2014Catalog search results In: AAP Archive Artist Publications, Retrieved 16 August 2020 McCarthy curated the reading series No Country for odd poets together with Federico Sánchez in the Kunstverein München. Here, protagonists of the performance and literature scene were invited, among them the filmmaker Chris Kraus, the poet John Giorno, Wolfgang Müller, ex-member of The Deadly Doris,Katrin Hildebrand: Finally space for the bohemian. In: Merkur.de, Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag GmbH & Co.KG, 17 May 2013 and the German writer Emine Sevgi Özdamar.
As a Guest lecturer of the Munich Academy of arts, she held a seminar in 2020 that dealt with the "political life-reform movement".We'll throw a walnut at your head In: The dyeing, Retrieved 20 August 2020 She currently teaches at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.Anna McCarthy In: Münchner Kammerspiele, Retrieved April 18, 2024 PUBLICATIONS - Gelatin Jaws, McCarthy is in charge of the performance and multimedia workshop of the municipal youth cultural center "Die Färberei" in Munich. Here, in 2020, during the COVID-19-Pandemics the online workshop Quarantine Artist Book, where she explains how to create and bind an artist's book, quoting Ray Johnsons Mail Art, among other things. Furthermore, McCarthy is active in the Munich cultural center Köşk and participates in youth projects of the Bellevue of Monaco and the Münchner Kammerspiele.
What Are People For? In 2017, McCarthy had her first solo exhibition What are people for? at the Kunstverein Goettingen.What is the art of the future, dear Anna McCarthy? In: Bayerischer Rundfunk, 1. April 2019Kunstverein Goettingen - Anna McCarthy. In: Kunstverein Göttingen (German) Under the same title and with elements from this exhibition, she wrote performances in collaboration with the musician and composer Manuela Rzytki,Rzytki | Staatstheater Darmstadt which were shown in Munich,Anna McCarthy + Manuela Rzytki – What are People for? In: Netzwerk Freie Szene München e.V. 2018 Berlin and Reykjavík.Shows In: annamccarthy.de In the same year, at the invitation of the artists' initiative, McCarthy spent Popps Packinga studio stay in Hamtramck, Michigan. In 2018 the performance What Are People For? received the Rodeo Prize at the Rodeo Festival with which they traveled to the Performing Arts Festival in Berlin with a sold-out performance at Ballhaus Ost, Berlin.
McCarthy's band, What Are People For?, with Manuela Rzytki, Paulina Nolte and Tom Wu came from these performances. They released an album of the same name in 2022 on the label Alien Transistor (by The Notwist), with a release performance on the main stage of the Münchner Kammerspiele, together with the band F.S.K.. According to the SZ review, the music on it moves between Spoken Word, Post-Wave and Electropunk. McCarthy, who was responsible for lyrics and vocals,Art-Pop from Munich: The debut album of "What Are People For?" In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 5 January 2023 cites Moor Mother, Kae Tempest, Lil Simzand the Sleaford Mods as role models.Stefan Michalzik: "What Are People For?": Don't go to party In: Frankfurter Rundschau, 23 November 2022 In 2024, they toured Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain together with their label mates The Notwist. In 2025, they played as support for @TV on the Radio at Astra Berlin. In the year 2025 they played the New Year's Concert in the Kunstsammlung Nordrehein Westfalen K21 in Düsseldorf.
McCarthy is, as of 2026, represented by Galerie SperlingAnna McCarthy In: Sperling Gallery. in Munich and Galerie Diana in Milan.
Exhibitions and Performances (Selection) 2013: NA-EN-DE-NA-EN-DE-NA-WI-DA II, "showcase" of the Pinakothek der Moderne, MunichGabi Blum & Anna McCarthy. NA-EN-DE-NA-EN-DE-NA-WI-DA : II – Schaustelle In: Die Schaustelle der Pinakothek der Moderne 2014: Nein "Platform Munich"→ No – Anna McCarthy In: Platform München.Sponsor: Münchner Arbeit gGmbH 2014: Performance How To Start a Revolution: The Musical im Maximiliansforum, MunichAnna McCarthy In: Sperling Gallery 2015: Project Biennial of Contemporary Art, D-0 ARK Underground, Bosnien-Herzegowina3rd edition In: Biennial of Contemporary Art. 25 February 2015 2016: Favorites III: New Art from Munich, together with eleven other artists in theLenbachhaus, MunichFavorites III: New Art from Munich In: Lenbachhaus, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau 2017: What are people for? - Kunstverein Göttingen 2017: Die Hölle im Valentin-Karlstadt-Musäum, Munich 2018: Performance How To Start a Revolution: The Musicalin the context of the exhibition Art of Revolt // Revolt of Art, organized by the Offenes Haus der Kulturen e. V., Frankfurt am MainArt of Revolt // Revolt of Art, Exhibition and Program In: Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main 2019: Bloodless Boutiquein the German Butchers' Museum in Böblingen31. Kathrin Haasis: New exhibition at the Butchers' Museum: A high-end boutique with bloody goods In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 4 December 2019 2020: Adventure Room at Galerie Sperling, MunichAnna McCarthy Adventure Room In: Sperling Gallery. Archived by Original (no longer available online) on April 28, 2020; retrieved 22 August 2020 2021: Global Angst in the Muffathalle and in Munich's public space, together with Chicks on Speed, Der Plan, Bavarian Refugee Council u. a.Global Angst – An artistic conference by Julian Warner In: German Federal Cultural Foundation 2022: Washing Cycle at Galerie Sperling, Munich 2023: Creatures In The Soap, Liste Art Fair Basel 2024: Volatile, Galeria Diana, MilanStephanie Weber, Justin Lieberman: Anna McCarthy – Volatile In: Diana Gallery, 19 March 2024 2024: The Hills Have Crazy Eyes. Woman in a landscape, Münchner KammerspieleMK: The Hills Have Crazy Eyes In: Münchner Kammerspiele 2025: not dying. An exhibition based on Ingeborg Bachmanns "Types of Death Project".Group exhibition together with Christiane Blattmann, Brigitte Dunkel, Nora Hansen, Kate Mackeson, Dorothee Elmiger,Heike Geißleru. a.,House Rüschhaus, Münster 2025: I Hear a New World No. 3, interim quarters of theVilla Stuckat Goethestraße 54, together with Nathaniel Russell, Annabel Wright, Tetsuya Umeda, Anne Brugni and others.Villa Stuck - Detail In: I Hear a New World No. 3. The final festival in the interim building of Villa Stuck
Video works (selection) 2019 – 2020: Bloodless Boutique,Bloodless PoolandBloodless Brandhorst. Digital video series in collaboration with Paulina Nolte. The third part was commissioned by the Museum Brandhorst.Anna McCarthy and Paulina Nolte: Bloodless (2019-2020) In: Kino der Kunst. 27 October 2020 2025: screening of Volatile together with Keren Cytter at Filmuseum Munich.
Stage design 2023: Who is afraid of fuck you all? The Story of Kathy Acker– A body-erotic punk biopic. Staging on ETA Hoffmann Theater, Bamberg. Director: Paula Thielecke
Publications (selection) 2024: Trickles & Oozes, Edition Taube trickles-oozes In: editiontaube.de (German) 2024: The Hills Have Crazy Eyes - Woman in a Landscape, Edition TaubeThe Hills Have Crazy Eyes - Woman in a Landscape In: editiontaube.de (German) 2016: How to Start a Revolution – The Musical. Edition Taube, ISBN 978-3-945900-07-9 2017: What are people for? Edited by Anja Lückenkemper, design by Studio Jung. Hammann von Mier Verlag, Munich / Kunstverein Göttingen, ISBN 978-3-947250-04-2 2022: Gelatine Jaws, Hammann von Mier Verlag, Munich, ISBN 978-3-947250-44-8 2024: Trickles & Oozes. Edition Taube, ISBN 978-3-68917-003-5
Awards 2009: Leonhard and Ida Wolf Memorial PrizeLeonhard and Ida Wolf Memorial Prizes In: Kulturpreise.de 2014: Contemporary Art Prize, Kunstclub13 2014: Förderpreis für junge Kunst des Kunstclub 13 e.V. for the exhibitionNo2014 | Art Club 13 In: Kunstclub13 e. V. 2016: Bavarian Arts Prize, special prize for "Sound and Noises" 2018: Prize of the Munich Dance and Theatre Festival Rodeo to Anna McCarthy and Manuela Rzytki for the production What are people for?Michael Wolf: New management for Munich Rodeo Festival In: Nachtkritik.15 October 2018
Discography (selection) 2008: As contributors in addition to Yoko Ono, Ted Gaier, Cobra Killer u. a.: Tribute to Gustav Metzger. Compilation, curated by Justin Hoffmann, belleville Verlag, ISBN 978-3-943157-37-6 2012: As a member of the band Damenkapelle: Damenkapelle. Echo Chamber 2018: As a member of the band in addition toZoro Babel, Sachiko Hara, Albert Pöschl, Manuela Rzytki, Pico B:, Salewski: Songs, Echo Chamber