Published 24.02.2025
by Kids’ Own
by Kids’ Own
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A children's arts organisation and publishing house.
Kids’ Own was delighted to collaborate with the National Arts in Education Team at Tralee Education Centre to document their I Am Creative programme. This initiative brought professional artists into special education settings, using creativity to support self-expression, confidence, and engagement in learning.
As part of this project, we visited three schools across Ireland:
Each school engaged with different art forms, including painting, decoupage, movement, music, and theatre. The project created opportunities for students to explore their creativity in meaningful and accessible ways.
Project coordinator Éilís Murphy wrote a blogpost about the project. See below:
“We were delighted to be asked by the National Arts in Education Team in Tralee Education Centre to document their I am Creative initiative in primary schools around Ireland. I am Creative is an art and creativity programme for schools that is focused in special education.
We visited three schools: St Catherine’s Special School, Wicklow; St Mary’s Special School, Navan and St Ita’s and St Joseph’s School, Tralee.
St Catherine’s Special School were working with artists Susie Fortune and Sharon Wells. For our first visit, we shadowed the two artists while they were working with different groups. Susie and the children made drawings outside using long sticks, feathers and other natural materials dipping them in paint to create expressive marks. Sharon and the children were creating decoupage animals which involved using decorative papers, glue and other materials.
The children were very engaged with the materials and it was really interesting to see how each of them expressed themselves creatively through the mediums.
In St Mary’s Special School, Navan, we got a great welcome from the students, artists and teachers. Artists Orla McFeely and Deirdre Gilsenan, were working with a group of students exploring self expression through movement, music and material. The sessions were very lively with lots of dancing, music and laughter. The artist created a space where students could engage at whatever level they were at that day. There were quieter meditative spaces and then more lively music filled areas. It was inspiring to see how engaged not only the students but also the SNAs and teachers were with the project!
The last school we worked with was St Ita’s and St Joseph’s School, Tralee. Students were rehearsing a Shakespearean play that they had created together with artists Mary Quirke and Tricia O’Connor. The school had never performed a public play before so it was a very exciting event for everybody in the school – and also the wider community.
It was incredible to see how engaged the students were with the creative process. Having worked over several months to create this piece, many of the students at the start were unsure about performing or using their creative expression in a theatrical setting. We heard from students and teachers alike, how their skills developed over the months giving them the confidence to express themselves creatively.
It was such an enjoyable experience to get the chance to document these art projects in these very special schools! Keep an eye out on our socials for the I am Creative video which showcase their projects.”
The Power of the Arts in Learning
Through I Am Creative, we saw first-hand how the arts can create inclusive and engaging learning environments. The programme provided students with opportunities to express themselves in new ways, helping to build their confidence, communication skills, and sense of connection.
We look forward to sharing more from this project soon. Keep an eye on our channels for the upcoming video showcasing the students’ creative work.
Find out more about our work here: https://kidsown.ie/projects/
