Helen O'Donoghue & Lucy Hill - Curator & Artist Instagram Takeover

#𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗢’𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗲, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭

I was deeply honoured to be invited to work with Draíocht’s Director Emer McGowan and Children & Youth Arts Officer Sarah Beirne as the Curator for their inaugural Children’s Commission of a visual artist for the 25th Anniversary programme. I have been a long time admirer of their work and the centrality of the young child in Draíocht’s programme.

I spent over a year in research, visiting galleries to see artist’s work, attending presentations and exchanging ideas with Emer and Sarah.

The ambition of the brief that we generated together was to reflect the high quality of long term development work with children and young people and the support of artists practice that Draiocht is known for.

The brief stated-
‘For this commission the artist is invited to consider the gallery space as it might be experienced by children (age to be determined by the artist). We welcome work that engages the child’s curiosity and sense of play and exploration, work that invokes the imagination and facilitates a magical experience of the ordinary and everyday to allow the child to be fully immersed in self directed exploration.’

The commission invited artists to create new ways to navigate the gallery space - the emphasis was on …
‘Work that engages the senses and the mind, transporting the child to a new and imagined space or to engage with the world through a new lens, enriching their experience and opening up new vistas and ways of seeing and experiencing.’

Centering the gallery space as the location for this work was a considered strategy as often work for children in galleries and other cultural spaces is placed to ‘one side‘ of the primary spaces.

Lucy’s response to the brief, her portfolio of previous work and deep research into early childhood artistry excited us and led us to selecting her proposal. Her concept of materiality and mark-making using the primary actions of lines, scribblings and colour as her starting point that would be tested out across the gallery and through the workshop programme evolved and became - Colourings.

#𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭

I was inspired by the intention of the brief and how it was looking for an artist to develop work for children from their own studio practice. I wanted to use my collages and drawings as the basis to create a series of soft sculptures that could be played with in the space, treating the gallery like a huge blank piece of paper and the sculptures like collage scraps that might form different relationships with each other and the space. I wanted children to be able to move the pieces around and to make their own compositions from the pieces in the gallery.

I thought that the best way to visualise my idea was to create a miniature model of the gallery, which architecture student Peter Doherty made so beautifully for me. I sent the whole model box with a box of ‘scrap’ sculptures for the selectors to play with as my submission.

The title, and philosophical basis of ‘Colourings’ comes from my reading of Walter Benjamin’s work on how children perceive colour differently from adults. Benjamin writes that where adults see form and structure first, colour is often seen as inconsequential, decorative and even prevents getting to the ‘truth’ of an object. Colour for children on the other hand, comes first, as energy, nuance and is constantly changeable and can be absorbed to create energetic shifts in the perceiver. Benjamin takes this idea further and discusses children’s colouring as having anti-fascist potential. This idea became the compass for the work as it evolved.

#𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: During the year of making the work, my studio circumstances changed a number of times, which although very unsettling, the upside was that this meant that I had the opportunity to see the work developing in many new physical environments. Each time the work was packed away and reopened, this allowed me to keep ‘reseeing’ it and how it adapted and could take on many forms.

Selma Daniel visited my studio in Mountjoy Square and played with some of the pieces, thinking about choreography which opened up the possibilities of the different pieces even more. Dancers Mia DiChiaro and Ciara Hannon worked with Selma and the soft sculptures in the gallery to develop the dance piece ‘Outline’ for the opening launch for Cruinniú na nÓg, on June 6th.

I worked with Orla Langan in her studio in Artane on some of the more technical pieces. I have worked with Orla on a previous set of wearables (now in the ‘dress up’ corner of the Draíocht show). She is a fashion designer with her own label and is incredibly knowledgeable, skilled, supportive and fun to work with.

Adam Kennedy worked on the soundscape from his base in Skibbereen and we sent each other sound and video samples and found ourselves very much on the same page in our idea development for the soundscape and movement responsive sensors and how they would bring another imaginative dimension to the sculptures.

Studio visits from Helen were a genuine treat to be able to think together about how children might respond and what the work might allow them to imagine and experience.

#𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗢’𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗴𝗵𝘂𝗲, 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮

My studio visits with Lucy were a period when we slowly began to get to know one another and to deepen our common understanding of her intention and the potential of the work. The studio felt like an Aladdin’s Cave of sumptuous colour and form, composite structures of various fabrics, marks and lines interwoven across surfaces and behind all of these voluminous forms were the series of sensitive line drawings framed and lined up along the wall.

When Selma visited, the energy shifted from our one-to-one quiet interactions, to the playfulness that a dancer/choreographer was about to bring to the ever growing series of collaborations.

The spirit of collaboration continued throughout the installation period where Lucy and I tested out placing the work, considering children’s viewpoints and using all of the available surfaces to create an immersive space.

The team at Draíocht were fully involved assisting in technical decisions while giving us full freedom to make decisions, skillfully advising when needed. The finishing touches of any installation is always the lighting and full credit has to be given to Sarah Beirne, Draíocht’s Children & Youth Arts Officer, who sprinkled her magic fairy dust at this stage of the process.
 

#𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯

Seeing the responses of children to the work has been fascinating and fun. There have been so many anecdotes from invigilators, and feedback from adult visitors of how children have come into the space and responded to the work and touched and engaged with things.

Galleries are such interesting spaces for children to be invited into, with so many inherited norms that traditionally don’t allow children and many others to be themselves and feel comfortable, so this commission unravels some of those norms, with its strong declaration that the space is for children to be central consumers and creators of culture.

So many rich discussions and questions have emerged throughout the process. Also beautiful moments of children creating work in the First Floor Gallery which has been an engagement space with highly intentional materials and processes offered over 3 months, which really opened up possibilities for children to explore, often alongside artists Sarah Ward @sairyelizabeth and Maev Kelly @maevkelly in drop in sessions, and some ticketed workshops with me too.

It has been a delight and a privilege to see this side of the work develop throughout the summer months and to see how families and schools make the space their own while they create.

#𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 | 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐧𝐞, 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 & 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫, 𝐃𝐫𝐚í𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐭 | 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟒

"As both a parent and someone whose work involves creating opportunities for children to encounter art, it was fascinating to observe my own six-year-old son, engaging with Colourings. At one point, he wore a sculptural element from the exhibition that seemed to transform his sense of self - becoming a character. Later, it seemed his character used another element to gather smaller floor pieces together, treating it like a plough moving across a field of Lucys' three-dimensional forms. The artwork becoming part of an imagined world of his own making through play.

Nobody was directing or interpreting the work for him. He was making his own decisions, finding his own meanings, and responding to the exhibition in ways that made sense to him as a six-year-old. The exhibition created space for a form of understanding that was physical as well as intellectual. Through movement, touch, imagination and experimentation, he was able to engage with the work on his own terms.

Equally watching the range of his engagement, alongside moments of energetic and imaginative play, there were periods of sustained concentration and careful attention. After ploughing, with a group of other children, he spent a considerable amount of time weaving smaller elements into a larger yellow sculptural form. Afterwards, I realised that I had begun placing loose elements into the sculpture while tidying the space. The children observed this simple action and then adapted and expanded it in their own ways. It was a reminder that engagement within gallery spaces is often reciprocal, with engagement or experience emerging through observation, imitation, experimentation and exchange ... And with time.

Colourings creates an environment where multiple forms of engagement can coexist. Imaginative play, physical exploration, social interaction and focused making are all equally valued. It is a joy to witness how freely children moved between these modes of engagement, bringing their whole selves to the encounter. The experience offered a valuable reminder into the varied ways children can connect with contemporary art when they are given the freedom, trust and permission to do so.” Sarah Beirne