Alt-Art Project

The Collective Producers and Andy Parsons

January—December 2023

About the Artist(s)

The Collective Producers at The Dock is designed to encourage young people aged 14-19 years to engage with the arts so that they can develop a creative voice, be part of decision-making, a space for creative discovery, learn to collaborate, and form deeper connections within their place and communities.
The Collective Producers Project began in 2019 when The Dock, working with artists created a unique programme of bespoke workshops and master class events for teenagers. The project culminated in the production of an E-zine which was an online showcase of the many and various creative processes that the participants and artists had worked through. Click here to see the Ezine

In 2020, a year when school, work and holidays were all put on hold, we recognised how vital it was that we devise a new way of working to maintain a creative connection with the young people involved in the project and to give them a creative outlet during lock-down. The new project emerged 2km 3 locations. The group continued to work with artists were encouraged to use their immediate area as inspiration for their creative work. The results were published in an online E-zine and also had a virtual exhibition curated by the group- Click here to see the Ezine
Click here to see the Nature Nuture Virtual exhibition video

In 2021 the project was re-designed during Covid 19 restrictions as The Collective Producers in Schools to support engagement with young people and secondary schools during school hours. The workshops were online and later in-person with four schools Sixty-five students engaged in a series of workshops led by artist, Celina Muldoon, where the students embarked on an extraordinary journey – investigating ideas surrounding ‘sense of place’ ‘claiming of space’ and the ‘environment.’ The young people created sculptural pieces which formed part of an exhibition at The Dock called ‘Observing Plains’ Click here to see the exhibition video

In 2022 sound artist and instrument-designer, Ed Devane worked with students from the four schools that make up The Dock’s Collective Producers in School. Students from schools in counties Leitrim, Roscommon, and Longford worked with Ed on a series of workshops to create an innovative sonic interactive musical instrument, using the cylindrical form as their starting point. The project was showcased as part of a Virtual Art Gallery by NYCI’s of STEAM in Youth work, and funded by NYCI, Science Foundation Ireland, Leargas and the Creative Ireland Open Call Programme through Leitrim County Council. Click here to see a video of art work

Andy Parsons is The Dock Youth Arts Residency has a background as an Art teacher working with young people in East End of London. Since moving to Sligo he has been involved in a number of innovative youth arts projects including Young Model and RUA Red Young Curators, and the Young Curators project for Cairde Arts Festival in Sligo.

Andy’s work has focussed on painting drawing and sculpture, however as a part of the Floating Worlds artists collective he has worked in many different media, including artists books, video, photography and text. This combination of skills will lend itself to the project which is based in a free ranging approach to exploring cultures and mediating through activities a varied as zines, music and sculpture.

The Collective Producers group at The Dock, worked with Andy in winter 2022 and have created an exhibition which explored identity through creating giant ‘Avatar’ drawings. These over life size figure drawings were fitted with lights and moving parts and were exhibited in the Gallery’s foyer area in Jan 23

Andy’s role will be to initiative creative journeys by presenting new materials and techniques and outlining contexts for exploration. The aim is for participants to develop a high level of autonomy in their responses as well as working on some long term projects which are collaborative in nature.

The Collective Producers at The Dock working with youth artist in residency Andy Parsons developed a new project Alt-Art, exploring how music, fashion, art, technology and popular culture from the past co-exist with and nourish culture made today. Supported by the Creative Ireland Open Call Programme through Leitrim County Council. Alt- Art project is in two stages May to July and October to December 2023

The Collective Producers is a youth project offering the opportunity to collaborate with artists and community groups as part of a unique programme of bespoke workshops, projects, and events, developed by you over the two months. The project is for people aged 14-19 years looking to meet new friends, develop ideas, create art, and be heard in your space at The Dock.

Alt- Art project looks at the cyclical and overlapping nature of culture, music and fashion. The project creates a dynamic and interesting space where young people can explore identity, and experiment in different media and processes through a series of interlinked workshops in two stages, May to July and October to Dec 2023, exploring through different processes in old and new technology e.g. printing using digital technology and lithography and punk-inspired collage and computer animation.

The project is an exciting experience for people because of the variety of media and processes explored. Many processes are completely new to the participants, for example, 35mm slides and lithographic printing. In recent years there has been a resurgence in interest in technology that was once seen as obsolete, an example would be the extraordinary revival in vinyl recordings. Each session explores the influence of past music, fashion, art and technology and The Dock’s programme of Art, Music, Dance and Theatre. This project expands on that idea by allowing young people to ‘play’ with analogue equipment and processes and explore ways to integrate these with current digital technologies.

From September to December guest speakers and facilitators will be invited to broaden the range of voices and different outlooks and working methodologies during the project. Outcomes will include posters, zines and events created/curated by the young people.

If you wish to sign up and want to know more about The Collective Producers, email Laura Mahon, Visual Arts & Education Manager: lmahon@leitrimcoco.ie

Below are images of work created from May to July