Education Curator Katy Fitzpatrick and Professor in the Philosophy of Education Aislinn O’Donnell brought their exciting Art & Philosophy programme to the exhibition Human Being and Human Becoming at Galway Arts Centre. This exhibition features work by artist Siobhan McGibbon and collaborating artist-students from Scoil Chroi Iosa.

For the Art & Philosophy programme, Aislinn and Katy joined Siobhan and children from Scoil Chroi Iosa to work with 2nd and 5th Class students from another local Galway school - Claddagh NS. The Art & Philosophy programme ‘introduces students and their teachers to both philosophical enquiry and contemporary art practice. Centred on the voice, ideas, experiences, and imagination of children, it aims to cultivate and support their aesthetic responses, their imaginations, and their desire and curiosity to explore big questions about identity, becoming and what it means to be human.’

The artwork in this exhibition and the Art & Philosophy programme together provided participating students with an enquiring and fun platform to think about the future, the nature of existence, bio-technology, the body, art and more…

#ouranimalcousins #bigquestions #prolongedlooking #art+philosophy #art+philosophy+science

Students were given time to look at the artwork in the gallery, looking in silence for better concentration. Later questions included ‘How did wax turn into hands?’, ‘Why do they have no thumbs'?’

They discussed the work, making observations - noticing the ‘animal and animal’ hybrid creatures and ‘human and animal’ hybrid creatures. They wondered if they were looking at another galaxy or the future

Teachers and students explored the gallery together

As a way of exploring the movement of other animals, students first did their own choreography of everyday human gestures.

How would a crab draw? Exploring how other animals move through drawing

Children invented hybrid creatures and considered what life would be like for their creatures. They used different methods to express these ideas - storytelling, writing, drawing

During the philosophical enquiry, students discuss what ‘big ideas’ they might have after looking at the artwork.

Some big ideas being generated…

A question

Students presented their hybrids to each other.