The Artful Classroom was a one-week summer course for primary school teachers at Draíocht Arts Centre and The Irish Museum of Modern Art. Coordinated by Fingal Arts Office and Superprojects, sessions were delivered by artists Clare Breen, Catriona Leahy, Beth O’Halloran, and teachers Anne Bradley and Aoife Banim.

1 – 5 July 2019

The Artful Classroom facilitated primary school teachers to enrich their work in the classroom by exploring contemporary art and architecture, as fascinating resources ripe for use as inspiration and departure points for creative enquiry. Together, the group explored the national and international practices of artists and architects, through imagery and discussion, and playfully considered how they can be applied to the primary school classroom. Workshop sessions were in Draíocht Arts Centre, Blanchardstown and The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham, where participants had the opportunity to explore the gallery’s exhibitions (such as Janet Mullarney’s Then and Now). The learning focus was on process and creative thinking; rather than producing fixed outcomes. Facilitated by Clare Breen, Catriona Leahy, Beth O’Halloran, Anne Bradley and Aoife Banim, the course drew on the expertise of both teachers (with experience of art/architecture) and artists (with experience of education). Each day was led by a different course facilitator. The Artful Classroom was Drumcondra Education Centre approved.

The Artful Classroom was funded by Fingal County Council and The Arts Council.

Catriona Leahy
Print
Friday 5th July, Draíocht Arts Centre

Catriona looked at the Bauhaus, in relation to art and architecture

Caitriona looked at the work of some contemporary artists, both in Ireland and abroad, in relation to their connection to the Bauhuas traditions

Pattern and texture in the urban environment

Anne Bradley
Drawing, Looking & Responding
Thursday 4th July, Draíocht Arts Centre

Responding to work of artist Yayoi Kusama, using line to draw across the classroom and in doing so transforming the space of the classroom

Looking at the practice of artist Nick Miller and his focus on drawing and painting plants from life

Anne shared some of her favourite resource books

Clare Breen
Clay, with ICT
Wednesday 3rd July, IMMA

How comfortable are you working with contemporary art in the classroom, where one end of the line is extremely uncomfortable and one end is extremely comfortable?

Looking at Janet Mullarney’s work in exhibition The and Now

A technique to engage children with an exhibition - give each one a question to consider…

Exploring the work through drawing

Clare shared her process, including the use of maps for planning

Beth O’Halloran
Paint and Colour
Tuesday 2nd July, IMMA

Beth’s session focused on creating abstract paintings from real life. Her introduction included a presentation of selected abstract works by artists based in Ireland (mostly).

Tonal painting

Exploring colour and perception and optical illusion by looking at certain colours juxtaposed.

Participants were asked to draw anything within IMMA’s exhibitions and grounds

Participants created frames to isolate details on their drawings, these details were then blown up into an abstract composition in a second artwork

Beth asked the participants to transform their abstract paintings into pictorial forms, through the addition of elements to create a story (in this case the abstract drawing became a street scene).

Aoife Banim
Construction
Monday 1st July, Draíocht Arts Centre

A game of match the building to the time period…

Participants asked to draw a space within the building.

Drawing a space within the building

Participants took part in a ‘crit’ of buildings by important Irish architects such as Grafton Architects

Aoife had brought in everyday objects for the group to draw - a cup, a hammer, a plant. After they had drawn these objects they were asked to transform them into a character…

Thinking about their characters, the group were asked to work together in small groups to design a home for one of their characters (mirroring the task of an architect designing a space for a client)