Cruinniú na nÓg 2022
Cruinniú na nÓg 2022 – the National Day of Creativity for children and young people takes place on Saturday 11th June, and is funded by Creative Ireland through Leitrim County Council. The model is similar to Culture Night except, in this case, events are held during the day, and are focused on providing children and young people with opportunities to explore creativity.
This year, The Dock worked with artist Andy Parsons on an investigation of the sculptural forms that surround us in our everyday lives in an event entitled, A Sculptural Viewpoint. The artist worked with a group of primary school students and examined how 3D forms can be both playful and informative. The class deconstructed various aspects of Contemporary Sculpture and examined how the natural beauty and environs of Carrick-on-Shannon can inform sculptural works and held with discussions regarding local historical sites/sculptures, and how these works can showcase, inspire and provide a pedestal for the young people's works.
In this series of workshops in The Dock, Parsons introduced a group of young people from Scoil Mhuire N.S. Carrick on Shannon to ideas surrounding Contemporary Sculpture, and in turn the group created a series of varied and exciting 3-dimensional works. The group worked with basic sculptural materials, such as found objects, Papier-mâché, bamboo, and aluminium armature wire. They created a series of sculptures exploring form, balance, and texture, and then photographed the sculptures in situ and in the environs of Carrick on Shannon.
The work was underscored by a visit to the ‘The Louvre of the Pebble’ exhibition by Bennie Reilly at The Dock which took as one of its main themes the grammar of display in relation to sculptural objects and played with ideas of hierarchies in relation to museum displays.
During five days in May, with workshops in the school, at The Dock, and around Carrick on Shannon, all workshops and activities took place before Cruinniú na nÓg day. A documentation video reel of the work process was produced and is now available to watch above.
A select number of photographs and the student’s sculptural works are exhibited in The Dock’s Jury Room Cafe for Cruinniú na nÓg day and until August. These images form part of the project's discovery process - looking at the landscape or environment around Carrick on Shannon as a plinth, or pedestal, for sculpture.
