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Over the course of five in person session, the artists delivered an art workshop in Kilcoole, Wicklow, engaging circa 30 local residents in creative activities per event, creatively considering the Little Tern colony in Kilcoole. Events were advertised locally, with flyer drops, facebook posts and announcements through local radio (Eastcoast.fm).
The workshop design included expert talks, creative exercises inspired by nature and the Little Tern, a site visit to the colony and a creative Citizen Science element where the participants painted little tern decoys to aid BirdWatch Ireland in their conservation work.
These engagements were designed to foster and cultivate deeper awareness and connection to the broader issues of our shared biodiversity and climate crises, including actively engaging in taking a clear climate action (making the decoys) as part of the process. High-level details of each engagement as follows;
Week 1: Mark Making - Saturday 8th June
A talk was given by Brian Burke from BirdWatch Ireland,
followed by a creative ‘Mark Making’ exercise.
Week 2: Beach Walk to Colony - Saturday 15th June
During a visit to Kilcoole beach, BirdWatch Ireland
explained their conservation work on site, and the artist’s
led creative exercises in consideration of the Little Terns
and their chicks.
Week 3: Decoys - Saturday 22nd June
Participants were led through a creative exercise in making
decoys together to donate to BirdWatch Ireland, followed by a 3D exercise involving the making of a maquette.
Week 4: Zine Making - Saturday 15th June
The group learned about the art of zine making for creative expression and gathered their ideas about the birds to make their own.
Artist Field Trip - Friday 26th July
At an additional session, the group took the train from Kilcoole to Connolly while working on a ‘Reframing Your View’ zine that invited the makers to notice wildlife outside the train window. This was followed by a visit to Fire Station Artists’ Studios to see the progress made on the Little Tern sculpture and listen to talks from Irish Rail and Creative Ireland.
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