www.communityvoice.ie - Art news from Dublin 15

Exhibition by Hartstown students

As part of the pilot Artist in Residence scheme run by Fingal Arts Office, acclaimed artist Alan Mongey has been working with first year students at Hartstown Community school and introducing them to a variety of creative techniques. The end product of this innovative collaboration will be seen next Monday when the students’ work will be exhibited at Blanchardstown Library. Hartstown artists at work

Alan is based on the SCR, near his studio off Thomas Street. Last year, to great critical reviews, he produced “No Fighting in the War Room,” the culmination of a five-year body of work, which concluded a series of three national exhibitions. The show was an exciting mix of interactive sculpture, video and print, inspired by the continuous threat of global terrorism and warfare – both real and imagined.

Since October, though, Alan has spent two and a half hours per week every Thursday with the students. “It has been very interesting working with first year students, as they had no formal experience of art education prior to this,” explains Alan. “It was like working with a blank canvas, so to speak. I have been introducing them to various little techniques in different media, some of which they wouldn’t even learn in third level. This has helped them to produce artwork which is really greater than the sum of the parts.

“Of course, the input has to come from the students also and they have been great. Some might not have been interested at first, but they very soon became totally engaged and committed to the project and it has been a very rewarding experience for all of us.”

To date, the students have been taught life casting, mixed media, monoprinting and life drawing skills. The academic year long residency also offered the opportunity for field trips to galleries and studios which broadened the students’ understanding and interest in making artwork.

The group visited the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, home to many important works by national and international artists, and this had a profound effect on their thinking and art making. As well as viewing the exhibitions on show, the students met with international artists resident in the museum’s artist studio spaces.

Each student has a visual notebook for research and development. They use the notebooks to make notes and sketches, which are used later to inform work made in the classroom. According to Julie Clarke, Youth and Education Officer with Fingal Arts Office, “the gallery and studio visits encourage the student’s interest in the arts, as the process takes the mystery out of the art world. It gives them courage to visit art spaces, which can appear uninviting and daunting to even the most professional of artists and arts administrators at times.”

“I have to admit I am passionate about the teaching of the arts in a community and school environment,” says Alan, who has worked on many previous projects, including graffiti art, with groups all over Dublin. “I feel that if I can just get children interested in the arts, they can achieve great results simply by realising their own potential.”

For the forthcoming exhibition, each student will decide which of their works should go on display, whether it is a piece of sculpture, a drawing or a print. An official launch will take place in the library on Thursday 22nd May, where The Mayor of Fingal County Council will present each young participant with a certificate of achievement.

The exhibition will run in the Blanchardstown Library exhibition space from Monday 19th May to Thursday 5th June.

Admission is free during Library opening hours.

Community Voice, Media House, Church Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
Phone +353 1 822 1432 - Fax +353 1 640 4444
info@communityvoice.ie