37 Reasons to Be Blue
- Performance by Ki McBride

37 Reasons to Be Blue is a performance work that examines how distraction, isolation, and the pressures of constant productivity under late capitalism severely restrict our ability to think, feel, and act. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s ideas about the roots of totalitarianism. The performance examines the contradictions of hyper-connectivity and increasing isolation, as well as ‘context collapse’ in contemporary life, the dissonance of witnessing distressing images of war and violence alongside advertisements and entertainment. Through fragmented performance sequences, including audience singing lessons and online tutorials on how to smile. The work moves between absurdity and unease to question what it means to live, feel, and resist in the present moment.

Ki McBride – Artist Bio

Ki McBride is a multidisciplinary artist whose work sits at the intersection of visual art, theatre, and participatory arts. They studied theatre at Trinity College, Dublin, and subsequently took an MFA in Art in the Digital Age at NCAD, Dublin. Recent work includes An Injury to One is an Injury to All, a documentary theatre text developed with ex-Debenhams workers. Curating the For the Love of Water Festival, which explored climate change’s impact on river biodiversity, and Bzf D-Lhub (Too Much Love), a dance piece produced during their residency at The Live Room in Tangier, Morocco. They are currently working on Chosen Families, a portrait project being co-created with participants from the ?LGBTQ+ community that began its life here at the Butler Gallery. Ki’s work is socially engaged and rooted in human connection, creating art that is intellectually engaging, emotionally resonant, and deeply participatory.