We Are Part of the Wonder | 2023 - 2024
We Are Part of the Wonder is a programme curated by artist, writer, and curator Diana Bamimeke, the Inaugural Curatorial Fellow with Superprojects (2023-24). It is an initiative delivered in partnership with SIRIUS Arts Centre and the National College of Art & Design – Access.
The programme empowered participants to critically and artistically engage with their sense of self and the external world. It focused on cultivating a sense of wonder among the young people involved and encouraged them to recognise the potential of art to build equitable futures in their lives and society at large.
The title of the programme is taken from a song by American visual artist Lonnie Holley, called I Am A Part of the Wonder. Diana changed the name to We Are Part of the Wonder to emphasise the importance of collectivity as a tool for social change, which is a crucial aspect of this project.
Between September and December 2024, Diana worked with a group of transition-year students at Hartstown Community School in Dublin and teenagers from Cork Migrant Centre. Their activities included visits to exhibitions, conversations with artists, school workshops, self-directed research, and group discussions. This included a walkthrough of Anna Boghiguian’s exhibition Period of Change at The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art in Trinity College, as well as a theatre workshop with artist Gráinnemir. The programme in Dublin concluded with a show-and-tell group exhibition featuring works by the participants on the theme of Nostalgia at the Clancy Quay Studio in Kilmainham. In Cobh, Co. Cork, a group of teenagers from Cork Migrant Centre spent four weekends working with Diana, along with artists Alice Rekab and Gráinnemir, at SIRIUS Arts Centre. As a result of the workshop series, the group created a collective poem reflecting on their experience of the project.
On Friday, 31 January 2025 Diana presented their programme at the National College of Art and Design (Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre) in Dublin along Rayne Booth, Director of Superprojects, and Miguel Amado, Director of SIRIUS Arts Centre. The event was followed by a conversation between all speakers.
The Superprojects Curatorial Fellowship is organised by Rayne Booth (Superprojects), with Miguel Amado (SIRIUS Arts Centre) and Finola McTernan (NCAD – Access). It provides access to the Clancy Quay Studio in Dublin, residencies at Sirius Arts Centre, and opportunities for mentorship, critical exchange, training, and networking facilitated by Superprojects and the partnering organisations, as well as the development of programmes for children and young people in Dublin and Cobh.
The programme is supported by the Arts Council. Video by Giles Carey Visuals. Photographs by Giulia Berto, Giles Carey and John Beasley.
Diana Bamimeke is an early-career independent curator, art writer, and maker whose multidisciplinary practice explores belonging, identity, and access. They were the 2021/22 Curatorial Resident with Museum of Everyone and received the Incubation Space Award. Diana took part in Inward Eye with Sistren Space and presented at the 8th Biennial Afroeuropeans Conference. Their writing has featured with the Douglas Hyde Gallery, VISUAL Carlow, Origins Eile, RHA, VAI News Sheet, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, and TU Dublin. Diana holds a BA from University College Dublin and continues to centre underrepresented voices.
