We’re excited to share the conclusion of our collaborative project with Scoil Iosa in Ballina, Mayo. This initiative brought together children from diverse backgrounds to explore and celebrate their family histories in a creative and engaging way.

Under the guidance of associate writers Mary Branley and Sarah O’Keeffe, alongside artist Alice Dixon, the project sessions were a blend of exploration and creativity. Children had the opportunity to delve into their family stories, creating vibrant artwork that reflects their personal connections and experiences.

Our associate writer Sarah O’Keeffe reflected on the last two sessions with the children, “For our final two sessions the children of 5^th and 6^th Class had the opportunity to try a variety of different creative activities that everyone enjoyed. We began Thursday’s session working with quick dry clay, students were invited to create something that was important to them resulting in a wide variety of creative outcomes from pets, football players and pitches, friends, flowers, and ice cream to the adventures of “The Super Crab-Frog Family”! It was lovely to see the students work independently, and also in collaboration with friends, their projects literally “spoke” to one another in a fun and beautiful way.

The second session began with illustrations using coloured paper and oil pastels. Some beautiful drawings included flowers, nature scenes, characters from favorite games, and football players – they really like football. After the illustrations the students were invited to go outside to splash and throw paint against a canvas on the building wall. Everyone loved this, there was a lot of fun and great technique resulting in a unique canvas painting any famous street artist would appreciate. Finally, the students had the opportunity to decorate the building windows with chalk drawings. There were many laughs, and thankfully, no school uniforms were harmed during the making of these projects.”

Throughout the project, the sense of intercommunity collaboration was palpable. Children from Travelling communities and other backgrounds came together, fostering understanding and appreciation for each other’s cultural heritage. With 12 sets of great-grandparents belonging to the participants, there was a unique opportunity to bridge generational gaps and preserve intergenerational wisdom.

As we wrap up, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be producing a book from the artwork, preserving the essence of this collaborative endeavour for all to enjoy. A big thank you to Scoil Iosa, Mary Branley, Sarah O’Keeffe, Alice Dixon, and our funders for their support throughout this journey.

Keep an eye out for the final book, where the participants’ vibrant artwork and narratives will be showcased! Read all about the project here: https://kidsown.ie/projects/exploring-family-histories-a-collaborative-project-with-scoil-iosa-in-ballina/

This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of our funders:

– National Museum of Ireland

– Ballina 300

– Mayo North East