Blog 1: Liz McMahon, Visual Artist with Creativity in the Classroom

Liz McMahon is a visual art facilitator and Forest School leader.

She graduated in Fine Art from Limerick School of Art and Design in 1981.

In 2018 she received Level 3 Forest School Leadership, Open Network College, Wast Midlands, U.K.

She moved to Co. Wicklow in 1986.

She was Children’s Programme Co-ordinator at the Irish Museum of Modern Art from 1991- 2000.

She has been working with children in and out of school on creative long-term programmes such as Mus-e created by Yehudi Menuhin, a three-year programme in primary schools, Mapping- a six-year programme with children in Bluebell Youth Project, Creativity in the Classroom – for twenty-seven years, she retired from being a facilitator in 2004 and continues to be on the steering group.

She has been facilitating Forest School on Killiney Hill with the students of Dalkey School Project for the past eleven years and continues to do.

She is currently on a team for ‘The Scaip Project’. The aim of this project is to use the experience of Forest School in Dalkey School Project to promote and support nature-based learning in primary schools.

Since 2006 through the Per Cent for Art Scheme and other commissions she has made large-scale works in collaboration with artist Fiona Coffey and the pupils in many schools across Ireland.

In the first post of a new guest blog series, visual art facilitator Liz McMahon reflects on her 27 years of experience working on the Creativity in the Classroom arts in education programme.

Creativity in the Classroom is an artist – teacher collaborative programme involving five primary schools in Dublin 8 and 12. Established in 1997, this innovative school-based arts programme was set up in the belief that the arts could actively and positively support the emotional and social wellbeing of the children in the area.

The success and longevity of Creativity in the Classroom (CIC) is due to a total commitment from the participant schools. Due to this strong belief in the CIC process, each participating school contributes €3,000 from its DEIS grant, totalling €15,000. The vibrant CIC steering committee consists of a member from each school and one of the artists. The committee raise the remaining amount of €15,000 each year via a variety of grant applications. The CIC programme engages approximately 875 pupils annually, with each taking part in at least six sessions.

The CIC committee continually reflect and plan throughout the project, which keeps it up to date on the needs of the children. Wellbeing has now been recognised as a necessity for learning, and it’s been at the heart of CIC since it’s inception.

Twenty nine years ago CIC realised that the visual arts helped children to express and make sense of their emotions, in particular when they might not always have the words to describe what they’re feeling.

It’s easy to lose the original principles of a project over time however the results of the steering committee meetings are fed back to the teachers and artists who participate in the schools. Time is always given to the artist and class teacher to meet throughout the sessions. Every teacher and artist’s relationship differs but all have the children’s wellbeing at heart.

Visual Artist Liz McMahon and a student working together for Creativity in the Classroom programme.

Rather than instructing, the adults scaffold the learning/playing by asking open-ended questions, extending creativity, and introducing new ideas through story, materials, techniques, exploring and wondering. The teacher and artist share their observations and reflect on each session to plan for the next.

During my time working on CIC I experienced extraordinary changes in children, the relationships between children with each other and with the teacher. Towards the end of a series of sessions the children invited their parents to work with them. Some parents who did not have a relationship with the school and had not come in for any other meetings came to these sessions.

Creativity in the Classroom was a recipient of an Arts in Education Portal 2025 Documentation Award.  You can watch the Documentation video below: