Published 17.12.2024
by Kids’ Own
by Kids’ Own
A children�s arts organisation and publishing house.
A children�s arts organisation and publishing house.
The Shared Island project brought together schools from County Down and County Mayo, encouraging children to connect through art and shared experiences. Through a series of creative workshops, children have been discovering what they have in common and celebrating their differences. Kids’ Own associate artists Ann Donnelly and Susanna Galbraith led the sessions in Down.
At St. Colman’s PS in Annaclone, the project started with activities designed to help the children get to know one another. Artist Ann Donnelly introduced creative exercises using chalkboards and photography. The children explored guided daydreaming and began working on portraits, letting their imaginations lead the way. Reflecting on the session, Ann shared:
“In our first session with the P7 class in St. Colman’s PS in Annaclone, we started to get to know each other, experimenting with chalkboards and photography.”
In the second session, artist Susanna Galbraith brought fresh inspiration to the classroom by introducing Emily Dickinson’s envelope-poems. This sparked creativity, as the children experimented with writing and watercolour techniques on unfolded envelopes. Susanna reflected:
“In our second session in Annaclone, we took inspiration from Emily Dickinson’s envelope-poems and – revisiting some ‘good questions’ for getting to know each other from last week – we experimented with different ways of writing these and exploring watercolours on unfolded envelopes.”
The workshops encouraged creativity and personal expression while allowing the children to try new techniques. Ann described one session:
“Today was all about finding ourselves in the landscape, looking for inspiration, thinking about composition, colour, storytelling, mood, and our own individual perspectives. Everyone in the class was really focused, producing amazing work. We didn’t want to stop.”
Although this article highlights the Annaclone sessions, the Shared Island project also brought children from Down and Mayo together at Enniskillen Castle, Here, the group took part in collaborative activities, drawing, writing, and sharing stories. The workshops helped the children connect through shared interests and laughter, building friendships across schools.
Ann said “It was exciting to bring the two school groups together in Enniskillen Castle. We worked gradually to move them into the space, and start to introduce them to each other. A river of ideas flooded out as the children were invited to fill long rolls of paper using marks, drawing and writing. ‘Question askers’ – version of fortune tellers -drew the children into groups as they helped each other to fold paper and write questions. We gave the group time to move around freely, using the question-askers to introduce themselves. The children discovered lots of common ground:, pets, siblings, hobbies, and of course, farming and tractors. A singing session allowed everyone to come together -‘Hit the diff’ was a highlight, blending the Co. Down and Co. Mayo voices. It is so important to make space for this kind of experience in children’s lives, as there is so much pressure on teachers and pupils from so many directions. Altogether heart-warming.
Looking Ahead
The Shared Island project will finish with a public exhibition celebrating the children’s creativity and their journey together. This meaningful initiative demonstrates the impact of bringing young people together to share ideas, explore their creativity, and learn from one another.
Keep an eye out for updates and more information about the upcoming exhibition! Thanks to Creative Ireland Cruinniú na nÓg Shared Island Initiative for supporting this project and our partners Mayo County Council and their Culture and Creativity Team.