The Dock, in collaboration with Carrick on Shannon Tidy Towns, completed a series of four workshops for young people aged 12 to 19 years, who worked alongside adults from Carrick-on-Shannon and our new Ukrainian community. These daytime workshops took place on Fridays at The Dock during late July and August. They provided a creative artistic outlet for young people and adults to express themselves in a safe environment. The workshops also encouraged and allowed for English conversations between people from Ukraine and local teenagers who were on their summer break from school.
Four artists from different artistic practices worked with the group over a four-week period to demonstrate how environmental, material, and craft expression could enhance their learning, vision, and language.
On July 29th a workshop on Upcycling with Découpage was facilitated by artist Norma Duignan. Using découpage techniques, various materials were upcycled. These included lollipop sticks that became bookmarks and old containers that were transformed into pretty storage solutions. The bookmarks were eventually used for The Little Library that Carrick-on-Shannon Tidy Towns has in the Linear Park.
On August 5th, the workshop focused on sculpture with artist Andy Parsons. He introduced the group to the sculpture process and different mediums, using organic forms and 3D forms.
During the workshop on August 12th, the group worked with Veronica Kelly creating sculptural wooden pieces for a Fairy Tree Trail that would eventually appear in different parks throughout the town. They also designed artwork that was then painted onto stones to further add to the trail. Veronica's quirky artwork can now be seen all over Carrick on Shannon as part of the amazing work done by Carrick-on-Shannon Tidy Towns.
The final workshop on August 19th centred on Folk Art from Ukraine. This art form is unique to Ukraine, and we welcomed Kyiv native Dara Mazina, to give the workshop. Dara is an editor by profession and is currently based in Carrick on Shannon.
A further iteration of the Art of Place project is planned for 2023.
