Artists Denis and Anne to work with pupils at Marino School

PARIS-BASED artists Denis Connolly and Anne Cleary are coming to Marino Community Special School in Bray this autumn to work with the students to create an exciting new art work, funded through ‘Per Cent for Art’.

Working closely with Deirdre Murphy, a Dublin based choreographer and yoga teacher, Cleary and Connolly will be using colourful and dynamic interactive projections designed originally for an exhibition at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, to encour- age the children to express themselves through movement.

The final artwork will be a series of portraits of each child in the school, reflecting and echoing the child’s spirit by capturing their interactions with this media. The 40 portraits will be displayed as a large wall mounted installation in the entrance hall, called ‘In the Picture’. Each family will be given a personal copy of their child’s portrait.

Cleary and Connolly have previous- ly worked with children with special needs and have witnessed the power of this interactive media that uses colourful light projections to engage and intrigue this audience.

Often attracted to the technology initially, these children benefit from working with a team of artists who create a playful space for them to interact with colour and pattern through their own movement. This dynamic process becomes personal and meaningful.

‘Students and staff in Marino Community Special School are delighted to work with artists Denis Connolly and Anne Cleary in the development of our percent for art project 2018,’ said principal Oonagh Kenny.

‘This is a very exciting inclusive art project for our school community and one that will enable participation from all students at their own ability level. “In the Picture” will be a timeless piece of art, which represents all students attending our school. While each student is individual, we all belong to the vibrant school community which is Marino School.

‘We see this project as an opportunity for us to really focus on working with the children,’ said artist Anne Cleary, ‘and to learn from them as much as they learn from us, to help us more fully understand the role of art in education for all children.’

The project will be taking place throughout the autumn, with the final artworks installed in early 2019.