PlaySpaces announced as second recipient of the 2026 Documentation Award

The Portal team is delighted to announce PlaySpaces, a collaborative arts project with St Vincent’s Convent Primary School and Múin Afterschool in Cork, led by visual artist Chris Finnegan as the second recipient of an Arts in Education Portal Documentation Award.

We’re excited to begin working with the recipients of the 2026 Documentation Awards over the coming months. As their projects develop, we’ll be visiting Orpheus in the Garden in Dublin and PlaySpaces in Cork to capture the creative processes and experiences behind the work.

PlaySpaces – about the project

PlaySpaces is a multi-year participatory arts project demonstrating genuine child collaboration in civic design.

Beginning in early 2025 with creative workshops at St. Vincent’s Convent Primary School, Blackpool, children imagined child-only spaces through drawing, collage, storytelling and model-making.

The collaboration emerged from Cork Child Friendly City consultancy revealing children’s desire for spaces authentically designed for them. Led by artist Chris Finnegan in partnership with Cork Midsummer Festival, the project expanded in late 2025 to include three Múin Afterschool centres across Cork City, with accessibility consultation from the Crann Centre.

The process is iterative and collaborative: children’s ideas are translated into plans and prototypes, then returned for further consultation. St. Vincent’s pupils have continued testing design proposals, exploring materials, providing feedback, and shaping the project’s public-facing visual identity.

PlaySpaces aims to demonstrate that participatory arts can fundamentally shift children’s relationship with public space and civic life – not through symbolic consultation but through sustained collaboration where young voices genuinely shape outcomes. A public trail of play spaces launches in summer 2026 across Cork Opera House, The Everyman, St. Peters, Cork City Library and The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion.

A Cork Midsummer Festival production, the project is supported by the Arts Council’s Arts in Early Learning and Childcare Scheme and Cork City Council through Creative Communities Scheme. With support from Sample Studios.

Lead Artist – Chris Finnegan

Chris Finnegan is an award-winning Cork-based visual artist specialising in participatory practice with children and young people. A trained post-primary art teacher with over 10 years’ experience, he creates exhibitions, interactive installations and playful experiences that centre young voices.

Recent work includes the this/OUR Project (Arts Council Arts Participation Project Award 2025), mapping children’s play in Glenbower Wood, East Cork. An Arts Council Children and Young People Arts Bursary is supporting research into early-years play, mentored by playworker Penny Wilson, with outcomes showcased as Play This Way – an interactive early-years playscape at Cork Midsummer Festival 2026.

Chris is an Associate Artist with Helium Arts and has collaborated with Cork County Council, SpaceFest, and KID FUTURE LAB (USA). He holds a BA in Fine Art from TU Dublin and an MA in Photography from Falmouth University.

St Vincent’s Convent Primary School

St Vincent’s Convent Primary School is a school where creativity and the arts are at the heart of learning and school life. They enjoy taking part in creative projects that inspire the pupils to think imaginatively and make a real change in the world. As part of the Playspaces Project, they are very proud to contribute to the cultural landscape of Cork City.

Marie O’ Shea is a teacher at St Vincent’s Convent Primary School with a strong passion for creativity, and collaboration with artists. Marie encourages her pupils to use their voices with confidence, fostering a classroom environment where creativity and self-expression are valued and celebrated.

Michelle Singleton is an Autism Class Teacher who is passionate about creating an inclusive, creative, and supportive learning environment. Her pupils are greatly enjoying their involvement in the Playspaces Project, exploring imagination, communication, and self-expression through the arts.

Donna Keeney – Accessibility Support

Donna is an artist, facilitator and experienced drama practitioner with a background spanning over a decade in creative education and participatory arts. Her work foregrounds access, care and playful creativity, ensuring every young person can participate meaningfully and feel seen within the work.

As Inclusion Officer at Graffiti Theatre Company Donna devises and delivers a wide range of Creative Learning programmes and works across multiple youth theatre settings, leading dedicated programmes for young people with disabilities and complex needs.

Susan Holland – Producer (Cork Midsummer)

Susan is a curator and cultural producer with over 20 years’ experience across visual arts, craft and design. She has been Head of Participation and Engagement at Cork Midsummer Festival since 2022. Prior to this she led the curatorial and engagement programme at the National Design & Craft Gallery. She was Engagement Curator with Irish Design 2015 and Outreach Officer with Design & Crafts Council of Ireland. She has served as Acting Curator at VISUAL Carlow, and has worked with EVA International, Limerick Arts Office, Occupy Space, Ireland @ Venice, and Limerick City Gallery of Art.