We also applied to Dublin Corporation for funding for the materials for the project. We were thrilled that this application was successful and appreciate greatly their agreement to provide £500 to cover the cost of mounting our presentation.
The Education Department of the Irish Museum of Modern Art also played an important role in this project. Through their in-service program for teachers they inspired many of the ideas used in this project. Children took part in the schools' programme based on the Andy Warhol exhibition and through this began their experience of printing and pattern making. We are grateful to IMMA for their ongoing education program and for the work they do to involve teachers and children in their exhibitions.
As part of this project some of the children involved in the play visited Macnas' workshops in Galway and were shown a lot of their work. This experience was a very valuable one.
The project has primarily involved 6th class NDNSP and Group 5, St. Michael's House and is supported by 2nd and 4th classes NDNSP.
The project was divided into two stages. During the first stage the children used drama to focus on deepening their understanding of particular themes, topics or issues and they were asked to act-out within an already defined situation, sometimes with given roles. By presenting their ideas to others they improved skills of communication.
This work was linked to work in other areas of the curriculum. Masks and puppets were made by the children in art classes and also during combined activities between our two schools. Material for costumes was dyed and printed by each child using a unique design of their own making. Percussion instruments were made and used to express feelings and to enhance dramatic work. The children became the instigators, the designers, the creators, the performers, the evaluators of their own work. The key to the work was the use of the imagination by the children. Home and school were brought closer together as the child explored, represented and discussed incidences observed at home during work in school. In turn, improvisations enabled the child to see how activities in school can link up with the outside world. The improvisations helped to inter-relate and deepen the child's understanding of the world.
The second stage of the project involved an assimilation of the ideas and experiences which emerged from the workshops in stage one and the artist's ideas into this multi-media presentation. This presentation is based on one of the themes explored by the children and integrates the work done in the dramatic, visual and musical arts groups. Through this the children continued to work on communication skills but have also experienced sustaining work for longer periods of time, working with a large number of people towards the production and becoming aware of the effect that they as individuals have on the overall success of the performance. Through this the children deepened their understanding of the chosen theme and also of the dramatic process. Post-drama discussions enabled the children to talk about issues raised by the drama, their personal feelings and attitudes and also about elements of dramatic form.
'Living Art' engaged the children in active, shared participation in appropriate learning situations which were based in both schools with links to the community. By bringing to life the art work the children produced and by developing it alongside the drama programme, we believe we offered the children from both schools a valuable learning experience.
The art group made lots of different kinds of puppets. This picture shows some papier mache puppets:
Then they made clay and papier mache masks. In these pictures they are putting the finishing touches
to the papier mache masks:
This group are making a masks by using bandages:
This team are working on a puppet theatre:
Another group are making costumes which they are going to dye and print later:
Meanwhile in the hall, another group are doing drama workshops with Emma:
Sixth class have become experts in mask making and have now begun to work with 2nd and are
helping them to make their masks:
Printing continues as we get ready for our performances in June. Here is a picture of Danny putting
the final touches to his gown.
We have made lifesize puppets and here we are putting the finishing touches on them:
We took advantage of the lovely weather in May to do some printing outdoors:
Our presentation is fast approaching and it is time now to put the finishing touches to the masks:
We went to Galway to visit Macnas and had a brilliant time. We saw a video of lots of shows that Macnas have done.
Then Dave looked for a volunteer and Luke was chosen. We were intrigued as Dave began to make a mask.
Here is the fabulous result:
We saw lots of props and costumes. Here are a few examples:
The children presented their work which they decided to call 'Tribal Quest' for the first time on June 5th. 2nd class joined
with 6th for the first performance which was for the Junior Sections of both our schools. Straight afterwards 4th took
over and along with 6th they performed for the Senior Classes. There was great excitement throughout the school as
everyone looked forward to seeing the performance.
The next performance was for Scoil Chiaráin on Tuesday 9th June. On the 11th and 12th June there were evening performances for
parents, relations, friends and invited guests.
Here are some pictures taken during the performances:
If you would like more information on this project contact Emma Haugh (Artist in Residence) or Jennifer O'Connell (Project
Coordinator) at NDNSP
More to follow :-) - Watch this space!
Background to this Project
Last October we made an application to the Arts Council under the Artist in Residence Scheme for funding for our project entitled Living Art. We are delighted that our application was successful and are grateful to the Arts Council for funding an Artist in Residence for our schools for the duration of the project - Emma Haugh is a past pupil of the North Dublin National School Project and an artist and drama teacher with a wide experience of working on a variety of projects and with a particular background and interest in the area of integration of people with special needs.Nature and Purpose of the Project
"Living Art" was designed to give opportunities to children to explore, interpret, express and communicate feelings and ideas by representing them in a variety of symbolic forms and by incorporating as many art forms as possible. Through active exploration, children were allowed a deeper understanding and experiencing of a vast range of human feelings and perceptions which otherwise may not be dealt with in the rest of the curriculum. This is very much in keeping with the ethos of
St. Michael's House School, Ballymun and the Core Curriculum of the N.D.N.S.P
Integration Project - NDNSP/St. Michael's House
This project forms part of the school links between St. Michael's House School, Ballymun and the North Dublin National School Project. The school link project has been in operation for some 13 years now. The development of our shared project has been an ongoing process. We recognise the need to develop new learning situations for the children in both our schools. We agree that they need (a) more opportunities to develop better social interaction with their peers in order to help them to grow to be more independent, fulfilled and happy persons and (b) more practical, concrete, learning experiences in the arts.The Process
We began work on this project in November 1997. Much of the work is linked to the Andy Warhol
project with the Museum of Modern Art.
6th Class have been going to St. Michael's House every Tuesday to work with Mary Gallagher's Class
there and here are a few examples of their work as it progressed:
The Multi-Media Presentation
Telephone: +3531 837 1620 or
send an email to ndnsp