How Mosaic the City-Ireland Got Started

Fri 9/26/2003 4:38 PM

IRELAND CALLING

Hi Shylene,
I read the article on your visit to South Africa and the childrens mosaic project you facilitated there.

I am South African and work in Ireland as the Arts Director of a Community Arts Centre in a fairly poor and troubled area of South Dublin County. Always looking for project ideas and always looking for funding!

Would you ever be interested in facilitating workshops in Ireland? We work a lot with marginalised groups who live in rather dismal and despressing high density urban areas, groups are:

Drug Rehabilitation groups
Young Travellers (Gypsies)
Refugees and asylum seekers
Youth at risk
Lone parents
children in disadvantaged siturations
Schools in the above mentioned areas.

We are planning our programme for the next 2 years : 2004 / 2005. If you are interested or know any Canadian artists who would be interested in working in a community context, please drop me a line.

I think your work is wonderful.
sincerely
Deborah Moon
Director
Tallaght Community Arts Centre

And so the story goes... for the next year Deborah and I began to plan how we could bring Mosaic the City to Tallaght...

Pre-workshop.
Pre-workshop.

We arrived in Tallaght after a long trip from the mainland. That day we had taken, cab, plane, bus and train through the rain and wind to be met by Catherine Bowe from the TCAC at the Square. Her and Ruth picked us up with all our luggage in tow. What a sight we must have been with all that baggage. Then we went to our hotel the Abberley Court, who generously donated two hotel rooms for the duration of the project. We met up with our Mosaic the City partners from Canada, John and Yvonne, who arrived a day earlier. Then we all went to the pub to enjoy our first Irish Guinness and get to know our new Irish friends.

It was going to be a great two weeks.