Arts & Health

Arts in Health Project Brief
Service Providers: St. Joseph’s Intellectually Disabled Services
Project Funder and Coordinator: Fingal County Council Arts Office
 

Background
Fingal County Council Arts Office has partnered with St. Joseph’s Intellectually Disabled Service to deliver a visual arts project in two health care settings (Clonmeathan Day Services and Knockamann Day Services).
Each setting has a dedicated arts space and the project aims to maximize the use of these spaces and provide staff with knowledge and skills that they can employ independently post project completion.
 

Client Profile
Clonmethan Day Services, Art Room
• 43 clients attend our Art room in Day Services (13 Community clients and 30  residential clients)
• The client’s age range is 32 to 78 years old
• They all have varying degrees of Intellectual Disability
• Their motor skills range from poor to good each client being very individual
• The majority of clients present with varying degrees of challenging behaviour and →there are also some physical disabilities- e.g., 1 hemiplegia and we also have 3 clients with hearing impairment and 2 with visual impairment
• The Area is supervised by one individual with support from other staff when needed

Knockamann Day Services, Art Room
• The art room caters for all the clients in the service (130) and approximately 10 community clients on a sessional basis of 30- 60 minutes. However, only 60 clients actually avail of the art room regularly.
• There is an age range of 30 to 75 years and there is a broad spectrum of intellectual disability.
• The majority of clients present with varying degrees of challenging behaviour and there are also some physical disabilities- e.g., hemiplegia, deafness, partial blindness, etc.
• The art area is supervised by one staff member and on occasion there may be students on placement.
• Some clients enter regular art competitions and have won prizes in the Texaco and Credit Union competitions.
 

The Visual Artist
A visual artist will be contracted to devise and deliver a set of workshops to the service users in both settings.  They will be required to deliver one session each week to a group of service users in each setting.
Duration
The project will run for six weeks. The artists will be resident in each setting for three hours each week. The artist and service provider can negotiate suitable days and times. 
Budget
The artists fee will be paid by Fingal County Council Arts Office.  The artist’s fee stands at €2,400
Materials costs and suitable working space will be provided by the project partnership.
An additional fee of €200 will be paid by Fingal Arts Office for a final review and evaluation report.

Eligibility and Requirements
It is open to professional artists both nationally and internationally, who have experience of working in adult health care settings. The applicant will have knowledge of working with the intellectually disabled and be able to work in group and individual sessions helping clients and staff to improve all art skills and gain knowledge in the use of proper equipment. Any applicant successful must obtain HSE Garda clearance prior to commencing project.
 

Essential
A qualification in Fine Art, Visual Art Practice, Arts In Community, Visual Communications, Arts in Health, or equivalent.
Substantial experience of working with adults in a health care context
Excellent communication skills
Clear spoken English Language
Preferable
Private Transport.
 

How to Apply
Email submission only
Complete the application form and submit by email to julie.clarke@fingal.ie
Support material should be kept to a minimum and only show work relevant to arts in health.  Images should be supplied in one pdf file, and no more than four images per applicant will be viewed.
{Deadline for expressions of interest has past}
All applications should be sent to Julie Clarke, Youth & Education Officer, Fingal Arts Office, Fingal County Council via email