Waves, connecting young people, art and the political
As part of the Fingal 2016 Centenary Programme, Fingal County Council’s Arts Office worked in partnership with Fingal Curator Cleo Fagan, founder of Superprojects*, to provide a unique arts-in-education initiative for two post-primary schools in Fingal titled Waves. The project explored the multiple layers of meaning and contexts associated with the 1916 Easter Rising and the commemorations in 2016. The project links history and the everyday, bringing awareness to the influence of individuals, collectives and our material environment on social and political changes, past and present.
Fagan engaged four contemporary Irish artists, Clodagh Emoe, Sean Lynch, Ruth Lyons, and Eoghan Ryan, to respond to the context of the Easter Rising through a series of creative and investigative workshops with TY students in Fingal.
The students engaged in an exploration of themes raised by the 1916 commemorations which included; ‘protest’ in art, ‘collective conscience’ in society, ‘commemoration’ in art, ‘the Manifesto in art movements’, and ‘political influence’, through facilitated workshops. Each school worked with two artists.
Artist Jenny Brady collaborated to visually document the project. Design company Distinctive Repetition engaged to create a graphic poster which includes a commissioned text piece by writer Sue Rainsford. A public screening of the film and a reading by Sue Rainsford took place in Draiocht on may 12th to share the many facets of the project with a wide audience and to celebrate all the great work done.
We're delighted to share the Waves Documentary Film here: http://vimeo.com/167734613 and a glimpse of Sue Rainsford's reading at our celebratory event and film screening at Draiocht on 12/05/16 https://vimeo.com/168612557
A written artcile on each workshop exists below from www.superprojects.org
http://www.superprojects.org/blog/2016/3/4/time-travel-with-ruth-lyons
http://www.superprojects.org/blog/2016/3/1/people-power-in-hartstown-community-school
http://www.superprojects.org/blog/2016/5/13/how-art-behaves-with-sean-lynch
http://www.superprojects.org/blog/2016/5/9/making-flags-and-making-meanings-with-eoghan-ryan
For further information contact:
Julie Clarke, Youth & Education Arts Officer, julie.clarke@fingal.ie
Cleo Fagan, Curator, cleofagan@gmail.com www.superprojects.org
* Superprojects is an initiative for young audiences that generates possibilities for creative encounters with contemporary art and artists. Cleo Fagan is its founder. www.superprojects.org
Image 1: Participating Artist, Ruth Lyons, 'Pilot Light', 2015, limelight, limestone, aluminium, stainless steel; Drogheda Arts Festival. Photo credit Jenny Matthews
Image 2: Participating Artist, Clodagh Emoe, 'An Exercise in Seeing', 2014
Image 3, 4, 5: 'People Power', a workshop with Clodagh Emoe and Hartstown Community School
Image 6, 7, 8: 'The Material World' with Ruth Lyons and Fingal Community College