We are excited to announce another phase of our long-running Virtually There project, which continues with thanks to a new round of funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Artistic enquiry between artists in their studio and children in the classroom will continue in six schools across Northern Ireland, and as part of our Virtually There Tour – funded through the Arts Council’s Touring Award – we are delighted to be partnering with The Education Centre, Tralee and Carrick-on-Shannon Education Centre, to pilot the project in two Kerry schools and one Leitrim school.

What are the possibilities for the kind of work that can be created when an artist in their studio collaborates online with children in the classroom? How can technology be more than just a tool for communication and become a creative form in its own right? For the past 7 years, Kids’ Own has been nurturing a new form of engagement between artists and school children through the Virtually There project, which has given rise to some of these questions. The project journals  give a great insight into the varied artistic processes and collaborations on the Virtually There residencies and can be viewed here.

This year the project will pilot with three new artists and three new schools in the South:

Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim
4th Class teachers Michelle Lowe and Laura Brehon
Artist Naomi Draper

Raheen National School, Killarney, Co. Kerry
Teacher Ann Kelliher (3rd-6th Class)
Artist Ruby Wallis

Ardfert Central School, Ardfert, Co. Kerry
Teacher Marie O’Connell
Artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Naomi Draper graduated from NCAD with a Bachelor of Design specialising in glass in 2007.  In 2011, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma Community Arts Education at NCAD. From her studio base at The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick on Shannon, Naomi has participated on a number of residency programmes within a community and educational context. She is currently Artist in Residence at two public crèches commissioned by Fingal County Council Arts Office, and the Artist In Schools Programme with Leitrim County Council. Exhibitions include the Practice National Tour, held at The Axis Arts Centre, Dublin, Skibereen Arts Centre, Cork and The Model, Sligo (2014).

Ruby Wallis is a lens-based artist and PhD researcher at NCAD (Dublin) who is concerned with the multiple issues in representation of landscape,portrait and place. She has been developing a phenomenological approach to explore place through photography and the moving image. Wallis lectures visual culture and the history of art and photography at GCD and is a visiting lecturer at BCA, LIT and GMIT. In 2013 she was selected for first prize at Claremorris Open Exhibition (COE) by Andrew Wilson curator of Contemporary Art at Tate Britain. Her most recent exhibition was ‘Unfixed Landscape’ at Pallas Projects, Dublin in September 2014.

Vanya Lambrecht Ward was born in The Hague, The Netherlands and has been living and working in Ireland since 1996. She initially worked in theatre and television as a designer and stage manager before finishing a degree in fine art in Sligo. In 2010, Vanya graduated with a part-practice part-theory MA in Contemporary Art at NCAD. Her practice combines photography, sculpture, painting and book works. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally. In addition to her own practice, Vanya works in education, health and other community settings as an artist as well as running a small artist book studio.