Ciaran Begley was born in Hawaii and is based in Australia. He has a MFA from Sydney University (2016) and a BFA from Canterbury University (1999). Begley was co-founder of artist-run spaces Enjoy (established Wellington, 2000, with Ros Cameron and Rachel Smithies), and Our Neon Foe (established Sydney 2017, with Mikala Dwyer).

In 2010 Begley received funding from the Elephant Trust for his exhibition Underpass/Overpass at Hold & Freight, London. Recent exhibitions include Hell is Other People (with James Nguyen), Gertrude Glasshouse, Melbourne (2019); Writhe #1, #2, Articulate, Sydney (2019); Flood, Our Neon Foe, Sydney (2018), Smashed Screens, Delmar Gallery, Sydney (2017) and Contradictory Demands, Ideas Platform, Artspace, Sydney (2017). Ciaran Begley was awarded the David Harold Tribe Sculpture award in 2017 and was a finalist in the Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Artists Scholarship 2018 and the Manningham Victorian Ceramic Art Award 2019.