We are coming to the final days of The Winter Art Studio here at The Ark. This vibrant programme has been immensely popular with public and schools alike. Our aim has been to connect children and families to contemporary art and artists and to invite them to experience a taste of being an artist working in an art studio.
We are coming to the final days of The Winter Art Studio here at The Ark.
This vibrant programme has been immensely popular with both public and schools. The children involved got to experience what it might be like to be an artist working in an art studio. Where do artists get their inspiration? Why do they make the work they do? What materials can be used to make art? These are some of the questions that we and the children engaged with.
All children began by visiting a specially curated exhibition of artwork themed around winter. Led by artist-facilitators Claire Halpin and Elaine Leader they were encouraged to look closely at these artworks and to consider what they were made of, how they were made and what they depicted. They considered artistic process and discussed how artists found inspiration and why they make work. Two school groups were able to pay a visit to a real artist’s studio nearby – Vanessa Donoso Lopez at Temple Bar Gallery & Studios.
In the workshop session that followed the children were invited to adopt the role of an artist working in an art studio. The Ark team had created a studio with a rich range of materials and tools available. The children were asked to think of their art-making activities as experiments where they were free to try new materials, techniques and ideas. “We’re like scientists!” was the delighted exclamation of one school child.
The children (and parents) enthusiastically embraced the role of ‘artist’ and the studio became a hive of creative activity across each of the studio sections – print, paint, drawing, construction, fabric & fibre and clay. We hope the images give a taste of the variety of the work created and the quality of this dynamic programme.
Cleo Fagan
Visual Arts Assistant
This programme was a partnership with Dublin City Council Arts Office and The LAB - the aim of which was to explore innovative approaches to children’s engagement with contemporary visual arts practice with a focus on aesthetic and visual thinking and how that connects to “making” - physical making and conceptual meaning making.
Feedback from school groups and families
‘They enjoyed all the different types of art to do, especially the freedom of choice. The studio part of the session worked perfectly and the amount of staff and nature of the help and encouragement they gave was brilliant.’
‘Great Session, great to get an introduction to lots of different media and techniques.’
‘The thing that they enjoyed most was seeing the exhibition and trying new things (printing). There were plenty of staff to assist. It was an excellent morning and the venue is just stunning.’
‘Nice, positive and encouraging, great staff and great experience.’
‘It’s a nice way for a family to spend time together. I liked the fact that the parents didn’t have to assist the children, so they (the children) were freer to work on their own.’
‘You’re close to perfection. Thank you The Ark’
