EVA International is delighted to announce Better Words, a new educational initiative which seeks to empower children’s access and understanding of contemporary art through creative language.
EVA is partnering with five primary schools across the Limerick region to deliver an innovative programme which will include the production of a children’s glossary of new contemporary art terms, developed by school children through a series of guided workshops and artistic encounters at leading artists’ studios, museums and galleries across Ireland.
The selected schools are: Corpus Christi Primary School (Limerick City), Knockainey National School (Hospital), Limerick School Project (Limerick City), Our Lady Queen of Peace (Limerick City), and St. Senan’s National School (Foynes). Pupils from each of these schools will take part in a five week programme of workshops, taking place between March and May 2019.
Director of EVA International, Matt Packer says, "On behalf of EVA International, I’m delighted to announce the participating Limerick schools of our Better Words programme. The innovative programme is designed to provide a child-led approach to the way that contemporary visual art is seen and understood, overcoming the access barriers that can so often limit the broader engagement with the best of contemporary art in Ireland. We look forward to working with classes in each of the participating schools, drawing on their creativity, curiosity and insight, that will eventually lead to the publication of a unique glossary of contemporary art."
Better Words Workshop Coordinator, Maeve Mulrennan says, "It's an honour to work with five great Limerick Schools on Better Words: it's an innovative, interdisciplinary project that will engage young people in a new way. Every child will have an opportunity to contribute to Better Words in their own unique way; and the entire process will be child-led. I'm also really looking forward to working with the teachers and school staff in such an experimental and child-centred way; creativity, play and imagination are embedded in their curricula."
A publication of new art terms developed by the participating school pupils through the workshop process will be published by EVA International in Autumn 2019 for national and international distribution. The publication will be designed by Piquant and will also feature a foreword by prize-winning author Kevin Barry.
The Better Words programme is supported by Creative Ireland’s National Creativity Fund.
