‘Talisman’

A creative collaboration between young people from St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Rush and artist Barbara Knežević. 

Commissioned by Fingal County Council’s Arts Office on the occasion of Cruinniú na nóg 2021.

The project introduced TY students of St. Joseph’s Secondary School to Barbara’s artistic practice and the idea of ‘a collection’.  Through virtual engagements the students learned about materials such as precious stones, clay and wax used by Barbara in her work. The group explored the collection of Newbridge House, Donabate and discussed why people collect objects, what makes some objects more precious to us than others and what meaning materials and objects can carry.

If Trees Could Talk

Artist Louis Haugh and eductaor Anne Bradley at Saint Marnock's Primary School, Portmarnock, Fingal. 

Please enjoy our project documentary here.

If Trees Could Talk is an exploration of artist Louis Haugh’s photographic work for primary school children.  His photographs are presented publicly on a billboard and several bus shelters in Portmarnock enabling children to view the work at scale.

Blakestown Students plant micro forest of 450 native broadleaf trees on school grounds.

This week students of Blakestown Community School proudly launched their Micro Forest of over 450 broadleaf trees on the school grounds. This beautiful concept of planting a forest outside of their art classroom was developed by artist Gareth Kennedy in partnership with woodwright Eoin Donnelly.

The art project, co-produced by Fingal County Council Arts Office and Superprojects, involved seasonal art and ecology activities led by Gareth and Eoin. It included tree planting, wood splitting and turning, mulching, and planting while learning about the ecology of our native woodlands and contemporary art practice in the open air.

Watch our video here

Growing Up:D15

Draiocht's Youth Theatre & FeliSpeaks

Dublin 15 Youth Theatre will present two new poetry works on June 12th.  Created by the members while working with poet, performer and playwright  FeliSpeaks aka Felicia Olusanya, and actor and facilitator Emily Matthews, these works reflect the lives of these young people living in Dublin 15 today.

You can watch this beautiful documentary here

Fox, Bird, River, Sing! An audio adventure for families of all ages & all abilities.

Premiere: RTE Jnr 11.55 am and 4.55 pm Saturday 12th June 2021

(Excerpt) 'Where the land meets the salty water you stand, barefoot.  The sea laps upon your feet and in-between your toes. It’s dawn and the birds are wakening the land and as you lift your eyes, you see the sun peep over the blue horizon. It all looks mysterious today. You curl your hands to your eyes to make magic binoculars and as you scan the horizon you see appearing far away, where the sky meets the sea, a red fur-bodied, big-eared, white-chested creature sitting proudly on a floating log, the wise Red Fox'

This radio play is a whole family audio adventure that transports listeners from the sea to the singing forest on an epic, interactive, musical journey of dancing and singing, frolics with curious creatures and fantastic fun for the whole family. You decide where the venue is; the comfort of your own sitting room, garden or forest. Turn on your imagination, tune in the radio or download the audio link and travel through rich soundscapes and beautiful music in the world of Fox, Bird, River, Sing!

Visit our beautiful website to hear the full piece and avail of resource guides www.foxbirdriversing.com

Fingal Arts Office is delighted to share this beautiful artist-led digital workshop with your school.

This digital workshop forms part of an arts-in-education project titled ‘If Trees Could Talk’, which invites children to explore the photographic work of artist Louis Haugh.

A Creative Movement Workshop with Dublin Youth Dance Company.

Age: 5 – 10 years

Duration: 30 minutes

Virtual workshop.

Registration required: https://free-as-a-bird-dance-workshop.eventbrite.ie

A Creative Movement Workshop with Dublin Youth Dance Company.

Age: 5 – 10 years

Duration: 30 minutes

Virtual workshop.

Registration required: A Creative Movement Workshop with Dublin Youth Dance Company.

Age: 5 – 10 years

Duration: 30 minutes

Virtual workshop.

Registration required: https://free-as-a-bird-dance-workshop.eventbrite.ie

An uplifting adventure exploring movement, space, music and play! Facilitated by the exceptional Dublin Youth Dance Company, this inventive dance workshop can be enjoyed in any family setting, indoors or outdoors. Liberate your spins, twists and jumps and prepare to dance your own dance! Register here to receive a Zoom invite to the virtual workshop on June 13th.

Dublin Youth Dance Company is Ireland’s premier dance company for children and young people. This is an opportunity not to be missed.

Look & respond to a selection of artworks within Fingal's Municipal Art Collection with artist Beth O’Halloran.

Age: all ages

Fingal Arts Office recently celebrated 25 Years of collecting art. We now share a selection of artworks from this amazing collection with you and invite you to respond with your own masterpieces. Ideal for all ages and abilities, our wonderful artist Beth O’Halloran will guide you through a process of looking, imagining, creating and drawing, inspiring your very own response to these magnificent artworks.

The four Dublin Local Authorities – Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council, and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are delighted to announce this year’s recipients of the Exploring & Thinking Bursary Award. 

It’s an exciting time to be young in Fingal! The Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board has partnered with Fingal County Council and Music Generation to improve music education opportunities available to children and young people in the county.  Fingal is the latest area to commence participation in Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme which strives to transform children and young people’s lives by giving them opportunities to create, play and perform music in their own communities. ‘Music Generation Fingal’ will be established as part of the programme’s journey towards nationwide expansion, meaning that ultimately children and young people in every city and county in Ireland will have access to high quality, subsidised performance music education.

Fingal Arts Office has teamed up with Poetry Ireland this academic year to improve access to the Writers in Schools Scheme for Fingal schools. The Writers in Schools Scheme facilitates visits by writers and storytellers to primary and post-primary schools. Funding from Fingal Arts Office will ensure access to the scheme at a reduced rate. Schools are now invited to apply for a visit by a writer or storyteller.

For the duration of the Covid-19 crisis and its restrictions, you can apply for support for a virtual visit to your school by a writer or storyteller. Poetry Ireland will continue to support in-person visits upon formal agreement between the school and the writer and if in adherence with public health guidelines. 

Please read on for more details. 

Cruinniú na nÓg is Ireland’s national day of creativity for children and young people. It is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s ‘Creative Youth Plan’ to enable the creative potential of children and young people. The inaugural Cruinniú na nÓg took place in 2018 with free events taking place in cities, towns and villages across the country. The second iteration in 2019 proved to be even more successful with more unique creative events taking place nationwide, including ‘Continued Professional Development’ for Musicians working in Early Years through a Fingal Arts, Dublin City, Dublin South & Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Partnership.

Fingal County Council, in partnership with the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, invite you to complete a survey that will help us understand your views regarding access to performance music education for children and young people in the county.

This research will support a submission to Music Generation, the national performance music education programme. Your views are important to this process and will enable the partners to develop and deliver music education programmes that suit the needs of children and young people, aged 0 – 18 years, now and into the future.

There are three surveys to choose from:

Children & Young People www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicYoungPeople

Music Education Providers & Musicians www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicProivders

General Public www.surveymonkey.com/r/FingalMusicGeneralPublic

Read on for more information. 

Call For Musicians

Fingal County Council is inviting expressions of interest from Musicians who wish to be included on our Musicians’ Panel, with a view to delivering high quality music tuition to children in primary schools in the academic year 2019 / 2020. 

Call for Schools

Fingal County Council Arts Office is offering schools an opportunity to apply for partnership support to initiate a new music project, or develop an existing music project within their school.  The project must engage a professional musician to deliver lessons that take place on the school grounds and within school hours. The school must match fund the proposed amount they apply for and commit to a two year agreement. 

The four Dublin Local Authorities are collaborating to offer professional musicians an opportunity to develop their skills and understanding of music in the early years. There are three experiential CPD workshops to choose from and musicians can attend more than one.

Each CPD workshop offers a follow up opportunity to observe, and in some instances assist, an early years music specialist working in context with early years children. The four local authorities are offering a stipend to musicians selected to participate.

Continued Professional Development Opportunity for
Early Childhood Educators

Where: Draíocht, Blanchardstown
When:  Sunday 20th of October 2019, 10am – 4pm

Artist Lucy Hill will introduce participating educators to ways of using contemporary artworks as a starting point for designing bespoke early years arts activities for young children that take into account the Aistear curriculum, children’s highly specific needs and likes, and the spaces available in early years settings.

During the day Lucy will guide the group on an exploration of Estuary - an exhibition featuring some of the artworks within Fingal County Council’s Public Art Collection, to generate ideas for art activities designed for children. This will be a practical, messy and highly enjoyable day where you will collaborate with other professional early childhood educators to inspire and extend your confidence and abilities for providing arts activities for children, from early years to after school clubs.  

Early Years (0 – 5 years)

Fingal Arts Office began significant work in the area of Early Years arts provision in 2012.  Projects to date have provided early childhood educators, parents and children with accessible workshop opportunities while also supporting artists’ to conduct action research to assist professional development in the area. Partnerships have been formed with education institutions, crèche services, Fingal County Childcare Committee, and artists working in this specialized remit of education. These programmes will assist with the formulation of a strategic policy for the development of Early Years arts practice in Fingal.

Children & Young People (5 – 18 years)

Fingal Arts Office provide for children and young people through an annual artist in residence programme in schools and through alternative projects which take place outside of the formal education system.

Fingal Arts Office works in partnership with leading education and cultural institutions, researchers and artists to provide educational resources that are accessible, timeless and encourage self directed learning. By 2014 we will have produced two publications featuring the works of fourteen Irish Artists who form part of the Irish Art History Leaving Cert Curriculum for students, teachers and those interested in learning more about some of Ireland’s most prolific artists and their art practice.  We will produce a report on an early years music and visual arts programme for early childhood educators, artists and others interested in this field of work to encourage peer learning across the sector. Projects such as Creative Exchange which provide classroom teachers with assistance and support to learn the skills required to deliver quality arts education programmes in their classroom allow for funding and resources to reach as many as possible.

Through the provision of funding, administrative and advisory support Fingal Arts office seeks to provide local health services, community groups, and individuals opportunities to engage in quality arts experiences. Qualified artists and creative professionals with experience of working with children, young people and adults are invited to design and deliver projects.

The four Dublin Local Authorities invite submissions for:
Exploring & Thinking Bursary Award 2020

Purpose: The Exploring & Thinking Bursary Award will support individual professional artists to develop their artistic practice working with and/or producing work for early childhood arts.
Open to: Individual professional artists who wish to develop their practice in early childhood arts, artists practicing in all artforms, artists resident in Ireland
Bursary range: €500 - €5,000
The closing date: 5pm, 11th December 2020

Read on for more information.

Fox, River, Bird, Sing! An audio adventure launching for families of all ages & all abilities, 12 noon Saturday 12th of June 2021.

Where the land meets the salty water you stand, barefoot.  The sea laps upon your feet and in-between your toes. It’s dawn and the birds are wakening the land and as you lift your eyes, you see the sun peep over the blue horizon. It all looks mysterious today. You curl your hands to your eyes to make magic binoculars and as you scan the horizon you see appearing far away, where the sky meets the sea, a red fur-bodied, big-eared, white-chested creature sitting proudly on a floating log, the wise Red Fox.