I Got an Award!

I am so humbled – Arts and Disability Ireland gave me a Mentorship Award.

I was delighted to hear good news this December – I asked & got help from a few people and a few teams! It has been a revelation to find out that sharing your dreams is not shameful. Just do it with like-minded folk.

Coming out as a disabled artist

Arts and Disability Ireland promote engagement with the arts at all levels – as professional artists, audience members and arts workers – for people of all ages with disabilities of all kinds. They work towards arts programmes and arts venues becoming fully accessible experiences for all audiences. As part of their work they offer mentoring for those of us who want to tweak aspects of their practice.

I applied for it as I found myself wanting resources and engagement with likeminded folk.

The proposal, evolved over several months in consultation with one of the mentors, Aisling. I met her at a consultation at the Arts Council and approached her with a request to work with her. She agreed and we spent the next few months devising a draft based on the needs and the expertise I needed. In those months we developed the goals submitted a project proposal with my big girl pants- with objectives, realistic schedule and engagements which are meaningful and sustainable. The plan? To test an idea and then come up with project proposal.

The Mentors

I am full of contradictions … And I lean to the impossible- I do not like to be told what to do. So I found two mentors. Now two people will be telling me exactly that- what to do. And I have committed to following their advice. Who, do you ask, will be brave enough to tell me what to do? Two amazing artists: Liz Nilsson and Aisling Byrne !

Lis Nilsson will be working with me on the visual aspect of my work. She is a visual artist who fabricates site specific projects investigating the connection between place, space and belonging.
Aisling Byrne will look into avenues to engage with communities and will help me to navigate my journey in community waters. She is an artist, educator, facilitator and lecturer with over 10 years experience in socially engaged theatre making, inclusive drama practice and community arts.

The Goal

The aim of the training is to find folk who would find value in working with me; an immigrant who calls Dublin her home. I want to find a way to develop work in a way that is good for those involved and leaves me in one piece at the end of the journey.

The mentoring process will include: chats, a small experiment and a showcase.

All these are will be used later to multiply and grow the idea into a meaningful community project in visual arts. Each stage will highlight the necessary tasks to be performed and provide insights into how to achieve them. The development of a project proposal that is ready for submission is a key output of this plan.

The developing of the proposal was a seriously valuable experience- I learned so much, I got help every time I asked for it. The developing of the application was growth in itself. The grant is under Arts Council Ireland funding. So grateful and full of joy. Looking forward to hearing from you – who would be interested to chat to me about their community?