Sionainn Fee
Young Curators Programme
12 June — 7 August 2025
Jonathan Harte is a graduate of University College Dublin, where he studied Heritage Management and Conservation. He is passionate about the role of cultural heritage in shaping how we understand ourselves, our communities, and the world around us.
Jonathan is particularly interested in everyday, vernacular buildings; the kinds of places that may seem ordinary at first glance but hold rich layers of history and meaning. He is drawn to how these buildings can spark memory, imagination, and emotion, and how different people may experience and interpret the same space in very different ways.
For Jonathan, heritage isn’t just something we inherit; it’s something we engage with and reshape as we live in and think about the past. He’s interested in how buildings, objects, and landscapes reflect both shared cultural stories and personal experiences, and how they can bring people together through a sense of connection and continuity.
History of The Dock
Through the Young Curators Programme, Jonathan will lead the development of new interpretive panels that explore the building’s layered history, from its 19th and 20th century life as a courthouse to its current role as a centre for contemporary arts. The aim is to make this history more visible and accessible for all visitors, while also honouring the building’s evolving identity.
He is also curating The History of The Dock, a public event series that highlights the architectural features, local stories, and historical and cultural significance of the building. Through these events, visitors are invited to explore the heritage of The Dock through materials, memory, and imagination.
Jonathan’s work focuses on how places like The Dock carry meaning across generations; not just as historical sites, but as living spaces where culture and community continue to grow. He is particularly interested in how interpretation can create thoughtful, inclusive ways for people to connect with heritage, especially in spaces that are still very much part of everyday life.
Young Curators Programme
The Young Curators Programme is a new initiative at The Dock to collaborate with young people on delivering strategic aims and priorities of the organisation, to provide paid work experience and funded training opportunities for young people in the arts and culture sector in Ireland and internationally, and to involve young people in policymaking and future-proofing activities.
Jonathan Harte's participation in the Young Curators Programme is kindly supported by the Leitrim Creative Sector Internship Programme, part of Leitrim County Council's Creative Ireland programme managed by the Arts Office and Local Enterprise Office.
