Part 2 – Announcing the 2021 Arts in Education Portal Documentation Award Recipients
Image credit: The Dock, graphic scores by Natalia
The Portal Team are delighted to announce the second recipient of the 2021 Arts in Education Portal Documentation Award. We are very excited to be working with each recipient in the coming months to document their projects. These projects will be showcased on the portal as the documentation progresses.
About the recipients….
Project Title: Songs of Ourselves
Songs of Ourselves is a participative song programme led by The Dock Composer in Residence, George Higgs with Scoil Mhuire, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
Songs of Ourselves will explore the nature of communal song forms and result in the composition of a new song. The song’s composition will involve using words, music and gestures to make a multi-sensory composition that will be showcased in a digital song scrapbook. The song scrapbook will reflect the diversity in the school’s makeup, with well over half the students originating from countries such as Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia and India. The song’s lyrics will therefore have a rich, multi-lingual character.
The Dock
The Dock is a flagship arts centre in the North West of Ireland offering an annual programme of contemporary visual art, performances, residencies and workshops in three beautiful gallery spaces, residency spaces and an intimate performance space. This programme is augmented by arts education and outreach projects that provide people of all ages and interests the opportunity to engage with contemporary arts practice.
Teacher: Noelle Igoe
Noelle has a degree is in Early Childhood Education from DIT and a postgraduate diploma in primary education from Brunel University in London. She taught in the UK for 3 years and is teaching in Ireland nearly 10 years. At present Noelle is teaching 4th class in Scoil Mhuire Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
Being a primary school teacher, Noelle (Igoe) has always been interested in teaching the visual arts with a specific interest in art and music education. She enjoys using a cross curricular approach to education. The children in her class have really benefitted from tours and workshop at The Dock. The Dock is a great local resource for the school, Scoil Mhuire. The children have also worked with some artists/musicians in conjunction with the Creative Ireland initiative.
Teacher: Orla Kenny
Trained in St. Pat’s in Dublin and is currently teaching 6th in Scoil Mhuire, Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
As a primary teacher, Orla (Kenny) has always been interested and involved in arts education, particularly music. Aspiring to provide a broader and richer experience for pupils in the area of visual arts, she has developed links with local arts theatre, The Dock, initially through musical collaboration, followed by workshops in visual arts and participation in the Creative Schools initiative. This included also gallery visits for both staff and pupils of Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Shannon. Involvement with the arts in education has enriched her teaching experience, and has enabled both professional and personal development.
Composer, George Higgs
George Higgs is a composer and an Artist in Residence at The Dock in 2021. His approach to arts in education focusses on a balanced collaboration between artist and student: encouraging each to listen to the other as all skilled musicians should. George’s work comprises opera, film music, songs, chamber work, experimental electronics and music for instruments of his own making.