A woman with long dark hair, glasses, and a black shirt standing in front of a mural of a city map
Simple black squiggly line on a white background.

About me

My name is Anca Danila, I am a visual artist originally from Transylvania, Romania, and based in Dublin. I hold a BA and MA in Fine Arts.

My passion for creating connections through art inspired me to set up Anca Danila Art Studio in the heart of Dublin, a creative and welcoming space where artists of all levels can learn together, develop their creative skills, and share their love for art.

With over 10 years’ teaching experience, I enjoy guiding students as they explore their talents and express their creativity. I believe art fosters strong communities and bridges cultural connections, and I cherish the small artistic community that has formed around my art studio. Through art classes, courses, workshops, and collaborative projects, I love bringing people together, making creativity a space for dialogue, connection, and shared experience.

My work is primarily in oils and explores the convoluted world of modern identities.

A black and white sketch of a flat, horizontal line with some curved lines above and below, resembling a minimalist landscape or abstract drawing.

My art practice

  • Anca Danila is a visual artist born in Transylvania, Romania and based in Dublin. She graduated in Fine Arts, BA (2008) and MA (2010), at the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

    Anca Danila explores the convoluted world of modern identities. Specifically, her paintings investigate the interplay between our ‘true’ selves and the ever-multiplying identities we adopt in our lives. Leaning into the mobile affect of digitalised globalization, they attempt to make sense of how past and present, family and larger social dynamics, are playing in the kaleidoscope of the identities we hold at different moments in our lives.

    By visually translating insights from psychology, sociology and anthropology, Anca’s paintings create a dialog between “past” and “present”, “here” and “there” in a space of togetherness beyond borders. The paintings confront us with the many identities that we all adopt to navigate our shared world, and the manners in which we interact, conflict, and harmonise with our own sense of self.

  • 2024-2025 - Borders: Rua Red Annual Exhibition, Rua Red, Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland

    2023 – Embassy of Romania in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

    2022 – Embassy of Romania in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

    2019 - 2020  Woman Power in Art, Cantacuzino Castle, Busteni, Romania

    2018 - 2019 37th Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    2016 - 2017  35th Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    2015  -"The importance of being...selfie", Nasui collection & gallery, Bucharest,  Romania 

    2014 - Art International Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    2014 - "Early years",Art Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    2013 - “I am” White Canvas Gallery - Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    2012 - EUART – Art from the old continent, Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, USA

    2012 - New Living Art III, Moxie Studios, IMOCA| Irish Museum of Contemporary Art, Dublin, Ireland

    2011 - EUART – Art from the old continent, Aqua Art Miami, during Art Basel, Miami, USA

    2011 - EUART – Art from the old continent, The Mary Brogan Museum of Art andScience, Tallahassee/Florida, USA

    2011 - Biennale Internazionale d'Arte Contemporanea, Florence, Italy

    2011 - Start  Gallery, Leoben, Austria

    2011 - ArtParis, Saatchi Gallery, Le Grand Palais, Paris, France

    2010 - The Art Museum, Arad, Romania

    2010 - “ Anamnesis” The City Hall of Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    2006 - Poszt, International Painting competition, Pecsi Art Gallery, Pécs, Hungary

  • In conversation with Mihaela Dedeoglu at Radio France Interationale Romania, interview on National Culture Day, January 2023, Romania

    The Irish Times, New to the Parish, January 2023, Ireland

    https://www.irishtimes.com/life-style/people/2023/01/03/ireland-loses-talent-to-the-price-of-being-here-irish-talent-and-foreign-too/

    Contatto, a portrait of Ireland’s creativity, (research conducted by Elena Cristofanon and Francesca La Morgia) Invited to talk about my art practice (29th October 2020, 6:52 min)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRpWV49Mjk

    Included in the index, Female Artists in Romania “Centennial of the Women in Romanian Art”, Publishing house PostModernism Museum, May 2019, Romania

    “Anca Danila: Contrast of the familiar”, Minus 37 Magazine, January 2019, Australia,

    https://www.minus37.com/2019/01/09/romanian-artist-anca-danila-and-her-self-discovery/

    “Anca Danila: Infant Obesity”, Rolling Stone Italy, October issue 2016, page 126, Italy

    "The importance of being...selfie", Nasui collection & gallery, Bucharest, AMA , Art Media Agency,  # 208, 25 June 2015, page 19, Monaco

    "The importance of being...selfie", Nasui collection & gallery, Bucharest, Zeppelin, June - August, 2015, page 8, Romania

    “Oamenii timpului nostrum”, Q Magazine, August 2015, page 48, Romania

    “Anca Danila: Anamnesis” ArtClue - Eastern Europe Art Magazine - Romania

    “Anca Danila: Artistul e o fiinţă mai sensibilă în a recepta mesajele fine ale vieţii”, Jurnalul Spiritual , Romania

  • 2019 Excellence Award given by the Romanian Community of Ireland

    2014 STRABAG Artaward International, 2014, Austria - selected as one of 91 nominated artists from 927 artists from Austria, Poland, Romania and Russia.

  • Artist in Residence

    Summer School on Cultural diversity, Create, National Development Agency for Collaborative Arts, Dublin, Ireland.

  • A young man in a white shirt holds a shiny ornament covered with magazine paper in front of his face, with one hand supporting it from beneath and the other hand gripping a string attached to the ornament.

  • Two young boys sitting on the floor, facing each other, with one boy covering his face with his hands and the other boy sitting with his back to the camera.

  • A person with short brown hair covering their face with their hands. They are wearing a light-colored, striped shirt with words and phrases written on it in colorful letters.

  • A person in a black hoodie with white text on it, lifting their arms while associated with numerous torn and crumpled pieces of lined paper, connected by red thread, covering their face and part of their head, against a plain neutral background.

  • A person with a backpack standing in a narrow hallway with a glass ceiling, looking towards a door at the end of the hallway.

  • A young boy with short dark hair and a striped shirt is playfully blowing bubbles while holding a bubble wand near his lips, against a warm, softly blurred background.

Art facilitator - community events & art workshops

I am part of the Artist Panel at Hugh Lane Gallery and have had the pleasure, over the years, of leading a variety of art courses, workshops, and sketching tours at the Hugh Lane Gallery, as well as in community centres and schools.

I have also collaborated with professionals from diverse fields to curate community events, creative projects, and workshops at Rua Red, Draíocht, and Hugh Lane Gallery.

Line drawing of a geometric abstract shape.

  • "See Through Cafe" - A free and open space for conversations with artists and art enthusiasts about art and diversity in and across Ireland. An event curated together with Evgeny Shtorn sociologist and Mother Tongues Festival director Francesca La Morgia,  and organised in collaboration with RuaRed and supported by the South Dublin County Arts Office.

  • Over the years, I’ve also had the pleasure of conducting a variety of art courses, art workshops, artistic projects, and sketching tours at the Hugh Lane Gallery and Rua Red.

    Here are a few examples of some of the artistic projects and art workshops I led:

    “Soundscapes in motion: Expressing Rhythm through Visual Art”

    In these series of immersive workshops, we explore the powerful synergy between live music (Afro, Brazilian, Jazz, Exploratory, Percussive, Soundscaping) and visual art.

    Guided by the rhythms and melodies of the amazing musicians Johnny Batista, Richard Ng, and Segun Akano, and with drawing sessions led by me, Anca Danila, we delve into how sound shapes form, how rhythm moves the hand, and how art becomes a powerful expression of self.

    Soundscapes in Motion is a project that is part of The Hugh Lane Gallery's Citywide Salons, a curated programme that brings together artists and communities to explore and stimulate artistic practice.

    This programme was curated by Emma Ross Sermons, Hugh Lane Gallery Fulbright Curatorial Scholar 2024-2025, in coordination with Jessica O'Donnell, Head of Education and Community Outreach at Hugh Lane Gallery.

    “Make and Be”, Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin - A series of art workshops designed for families from the Romanian community, encouraging participants to speak in the language that they feel most comfortable with.

    “ANSEO” at Rua Red, Tallaght - A series of art workshops aiming to enhance the sense of belonging in newcomer children in South Dublin. A programme designed in partnership with Rua Red and Mother Tongues, funded by the RTE The Late Late Toy Show.

    “The map of inclusion” - art workshop for adults, Mother Tongues Festival, Rua Red, Tallaght,

    “The power of words” - art workshop for teenager from the Romanian community, Mother Tongues Festival, Draiocht, Blanchardstown.

Connect ~ Create ~ Inspire ~

Connect ~ Create ~ Inspire ~

Art is not only what you create, it’s also who you become along the way.