Lets’ Stay Together - Irish Aphasia Theatre

For this week’s 'Let's Stay Together' Series, Caroline Cowley Public Art Co-ordinator catches up with Artist and Director Grainne Hallahan and Actor and Facilitator Aine Ni Laoghaire of Irish Aphasia Theatre.
Aphasia is the term associated with an acquired brain injury, it can affect individuals at any stage of life either as a result of stroke or trauma to the brain, it impairs the individual's ability to communicate verbally, the condition could also be accompanied by other impairments depending on the cause, but in some cases it is just the speech and process of delivery.

Irish Aphasia Theatre provides a high quality arts education to those living with other health conditions. Professional actors and facilitators across special areas of writing, directing, voice, movement and acting have been developing this method with participants since 2017. The benefits of IAT’s theatre methods include support and assistance in participants, physical, mental, communicative, cognitive and social health, many of these supports have become visible during the process with participants growing in their communication, confidence and artistic experience.

Grainne Hallahan was supported in developing this project through funding awarded under our recent Infrastructure – Public Art Programme Emerging Artist Award and further through the Arts Council’s Artist in the Community Scheme administered by Create which funds ambitious projects for artists wishing to work in a community or place. Grainne is from Dublin 15 and has developed a close relationship, with Fingal County Council and Draíocht through this project.

With Covid 19 restrictions, limiting their ability to deliver live workshops, IAT and their participants moved activity  online. IAT have been delivering weekly, one to one and group workshops on Zoom and in doing so continued to create and support each other through art.

For this week's 'Lets Stay Together' interview see: http://https://vimeo.com/436797692

To connect with Irish Aphasia Theatre visit:

http://www.IrishAphasiaTheatre.wordpress.com   or email: IrishAphasiaTheatre@gmail.com