AIC Summer School
About the Summer/ Autumn School on Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Practice
In our consideration of “Cutural Diversity”, we recognise the benefits that many different cultures bring to our society. What might ‘cultural diversity’ mean in practice: in people’s intimate lives, in neighbourhoods and within communities of place and interest?
How might ‘cultural diversity’ form an intrinsic part of the artistic, socially engaged process and act as a powerful driver for social change? A key aim of the AIC Scheme summer school is to create a peer-to-peer space in which to explore the concept of ‘cultural diversity’ and its various applications through the lens of the AIC Scheme which has resulted in rich cultural ecosystems and cross-sector methodologies.
The summer school is interdisciplinary both in curriculum and composition of participants, presenters and facilitators. The summer school takes the form of a five-day residential learning space, enabling a ‘think and do’ collaborative approach, utilizing creative workshops, critical and comparative case studies, one-to-one mentoring, international guest speakers including curators, policymakers and activists.
The inaugural Summer School on Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Practice was held in Carlingford in July 2018. A partnership between Create and Counterpoints Arts, this four-day residential summer school welcomed fourteen artists, thinkers, activists and practitioners with a shared goal to explore the concept of cultural diversity and its applications, through the lens of the AIC Scheme. The Summer School was directed by Aine O’Brien and co-facilitated by Mary Ann DeVlieg and Khaled Barakeh. The second Summer School took place in Killary in July 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the School moved online in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
The Summer School is an initiative of The Arts Council’s Artist in the Community (AIC) Scheme, managed by Create. Read the School Publications, Field Notes, on our resources page.
