AIC Scheme 2024 Round Two: Successful Recipients

Congratulations to all successful applicants to the AIC Scheme (Round Two) in 2024, who come from a range of art forms and contexts.

Read more about each recipient, and their planned course of work, below.

Research and Development Award

Brenda Kearney will work in collaboration with Cranmore Community Co-op, and their dedicated community garden and cafe space in Sligo to research and develop unique creative ways in which communities can come together through growing food and cooking, sharing and hosting meals together.

Oonagh Murphy and Tinteán Housing Association will use this award to facilitate a series of creative workshops with mothers who have experienced homelessness. The workshops will explore how artistic expression can challenge stigma, both internally and societally, and reduce isolation for women facing multiple disadvantages.

Research and Development Award with Mentoring Support

Owen Boss will collaborate with The Irish Wheelchair Association to design and deliver a series of collaborative inquiries for their members. The aim of the inquiries is to creatively engage with the idea of public space for people with disabilities focusing specifically on the intersection between bus stops and cycle lanes on the recently completed Clontarf to City Centre Cycleway.

Evelyn Broderick and Hannah Rooney will work with Housing Action Now to research and develop Act II of the Multistory project, a collaboration which brings together distinct yet complementary methodologies of activists and artists to address one of Ireland’s urgent challenges, housing justice. Dawn Weleski will mentor the artists on testing performative approaches to the work.

Justyna Doherty will engage Ukrainian refugees in Co. Kildare, exploring diverse artistic practices with the intention to reflect their personal experiences. From the outset, participants will co-create the workshops, choosing themes and mediums that resonate with their stories. By fostering collaboration, this project strengthens community bonds and cultural connections. Justyna will receive mentorship from Eamon O’Kane.

George Higgs and the Hands in Harmony Irish Signing Choir intend to research a collaborative multisensory compositional project involving both gestural and aural musical expression. Mentoring will be provided from dancer Angie Smalis on coordinating movement with non-professional participants.

Jessica Patterson and Dunkineely Community CLG will creatively explore & visually represent the shared narratives of locals and minority groups. The objective is to counteract divisive rhetoric within the community, blending ancestral and modern stories and visuals to create a narrative emphasizing inclusion & diversity in our communities. Jessica will receive mentorship support from artist Kate O’Shea.

Monica Spencer working with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, will engage migrants living in Limerick, Galway, Dublin and Castlebar, exploring how they might begin to share their stories through writing and the performing arts. Monica will be supported by mentorship by documentary theatre artist Helena Enright.

Project Realisation Award

Arts Alive Galway and Jane Cassidy will collaborate on creating interactive, multi-sensory musical artworks using microcontrollers & sound recordings. They aim to create instruments that foster opportunities for performances by audiences of all ages and abilities. This will culminate in a collaborative group installation for public exhibition.

Creative Siblings Network and Tess Leak will collaborate on the creation of a co-authored book of illustrated poems exploring the unique and complex experiences of people who grew up with a Sibling with a disability or chronic illness. The project will bring together, both online and in-person, the new Creative Siblings Network to develop connections, gather support and harness creativity as a compassionate force in the world.

Fighting Blindness and Laura Dowdall will create a supportive space for people with visual impairments to engage in activities typically inaccessible to them, where they can explore and express themselves through dance, mindful, and somatic movement. These workshops are designed to help participants attune to their bodies and minds, learning to ground themselves, process emotions, face difficulties, and heal through movement.

Revolutionary Stage, Orla Devlin and Jonathan Dos Santos will use this award to collaboratively write and perform a Forum Theatre play surrounding the experiences of immigrants in Ireland. Through workshops each aspect of the play i.e. the script, music, costume, and set design will be co-created. This work will encourage meaningful conversations about broader societal issues and examining the root causes of growing anti-immigration sentiment in Ireland.

Women Flower Sellers of Grafton St and Patricia McCann will build on previous work, deepening research that reflects women’s stories, that otherwise would not be told. They intend to conclude writing of a film script which explores inter-generational connections of flower-sellers on Grafton Street, rehearse and film on Grafton Street, and showcase the film via film festivals.