Event
The tradition of bringing arts experiences to healthcare settings on Culture Night continues on Friday 17 September, with on-site and online events for health service users and staff taking place around the country. Plenty happening for public audiences too, from the Radio Play project, inspired by stories shared by nursing home residents in Co. Tipperary, to Pavee Roads Home, an online exploration of Traveller culture and heritage developed by Pavee Point’s Men’s Health team. Here’s a flavour of what’s in store.
Art In The Surgery
Temple Bar Medical Centre understands that there is more to health and care than tests and scans. Art can help to guide and maintain the atmosphere of any space as a place of healing and tranquillity. The National College of Art and Design is connecting TBMC with emerging artists in Ireland through an educational and practical student project. This is an ongoing partnership which showcases curated works by two to three students every four months. TBMC is opening its doors on Culture Night for visitors to enjoy the latest exhibition.
Pavee Roads Home
Pavee Roads Home is an online exploration of Traveller culture and heritage told through the lens of history and geography. It was developed by Pavee Point’s Men’s Health team as a way of promoting a positive sense of identity and culture. The exhibit combines the development of family trees with the mapping of traditional Traveller stopping places to create the story of the migration of Traveller families from Galway to Dublin over a number of generations. This project relied heavily on the Traveller traditions of oral histories and storytelling, and a process dependent on the contributions of many Travellers in sharing their memories.
Mountmellick Comhaltas at St Vincent’s Hospital, Mountmellick
In Laois, members of Mountmellick Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will perform through song, story and dance for residents and staff at St Vincent’s Hospital, Mountmellick. Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann is the largest group involved in the preservation and promotion of Irish traditional music. The concert will take place outdoors if weather permits and indoors using Covid levels of restrictions.
Celebrating culture at Tallaght University Hospital
Artists and musicians in residence will be providing a ‘non-invasive’ injection of culture for staff, patients and visitors on-site and online.
Creating a Culture of #NoStigma at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services
St Patrick’s Mental Health Services’ #NoStigma campaign will share special video messages from people in the Dublin 8 community about what a culture of no mental health stigma means to them. Visitors to the #NoStigma Culture Night experience will have an opportunity to join and build the #NoStigma campaign by sharing messages about what #NoStigma means to them; at home, at work or in the community. For more information about the campaign, visit www.nostigma.ie.
St Patrick’s will also explore the relationship between culture and mental health on Culture Night. Ireland’s rich culture of art and storytelling has had a powerful impact on breaking down the barriers that mental health stigma can create. Details of activities will be shared on the SPMHS website and will all take place online.
Radio Dramas – Volume Two
The Radio Play project is inspired by stories shared by nursing home residents in Co. Tipperary. Interviews were recorded remotely during lockdown three with residents sharing stories of difficult times and overcoming challenges during a long lifetime, offering us encouragement and inspiration to deal with our current very real challenges. Produced by the Tudor Artisan Hub in association with Margaret O’Brien, Writing Changes Lives, the second volume of radio plays includes The Value of an Education, written by Joe Whelan and directed by Suzanne Shine, and Keep your best side out, written by Lorna Grant and directed by Colm Power.
Traveller Creative Arts and Film Making Night
Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service is hosting a trilogy of films written, performed, and produced by Travellers, artistically exploring their stories to highlight the high rates of suicide in the Traveller Community, to reduce the stigma associated, and to promote services equipped to support the community.
The first film in the series, It Doesn’t Matter, was featured at First Fortnight Festival 2021. It involved the collaboration of Travellers from Ballyfermot, Finglas and Coolock, Ennis Mental Health Services, Exchange House Ireland, Turn 2 Me, film producer Pat Comer of Comer Productions, and performance artist and acting coach Sian Ní Mhuirí of Super Paua. The second film, John Boy, was screened at the Galway Film Fleadh this July.
