Connecting
31 January to 14 March 2020
Participating Schools – St. Enda’s NS, Urhan NS, Gaelscoil Skibbereen, Rath NS and Our Lady of Mercy NS. 

Connecting is a primary schools programme initially inspired by Anita’s Groener’s Exhibition The Past is A Foreign Country. Five primary schools across West Cork worked with Public Engagement Assistant Kate McElroy to develop their concepts and create highly imaginative Artworks. The programme consisted of a teacher’s workshop, an exhibition tour and workshop at Uillinn, a classroom-based workshop and working with the teachers and students to curate an exhibition of the work here at Uillinn.

The Past is a Foreign Country was a very timely show dealing with issues of migration and what it means to be human. The theme of Connecting was seen repeatedly throughout the show both in her ideas and her process of making working which included installation, film and drawing. The students investigated this idea further looking at it from varying perspectives of empathy, our relationship to others, storytelling and our connections to home and nature. The students developed their concepts in a workshop at Uillinn and back in the classroom. This exhibition displays the depth the students went to exploring their themes and processing their ideas into well-crafted and innovative artwork. The students worked across a range of media with no limits to their creative solutions often bringing in found objects and materials from home. They were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the entire project and we hope to see them back at Uillinn displaying their work in the future. A big thank you and congratulations to all the schools that took part.