The Kilkenny County Council Arts Office is delighted to announce that they have recently appointed Aoife Doherty as Artist in Residence as part of a new Youth Residency Programme. This programme will enable Aoife to gain direct experience in the field of developing and facilitating an 8 week art group for young people from 12 to 18 years of age. Aoife will be working with two city-based youth centres: Foróige Drum Youth Centre and Ossory Youth where these 2 groups of young people will be led in a programme that focuses on creating a safe space for young people to explore their creativity by experimenting and developing new and alternative ways of art making.
Aoife has devised a programme that focuses on the creative process more so than the end product. She will guide young people into making their own art works that focus on the value of art making, taking inspiration from various Modern art movements like Cubism, Surrealism and more. By experimenting with new ways of making, Aoife hopes that the young people will not only enjoy the creative space but utilise these new methods of making in their future art making.
The residency is currently underway with week 3 and 4 recently concluded, young people at The Drum Youth centre explored automatic drawing, drawing feelings and drawing music. The Ossory youth young people were led in an art group inspired by the 1910’s Art movement Dada where they created visual poetry from old magazines (dating back to the 1970’s) and chance collage, a method used by dada artist Jean Arp to create an artwork inspired by sheets of colour paper falling, an artwork made from chance and the laws of physics.
Both groups on the first week got to create self-portraits, but without looking at the page or lifting the pen from the page. They made their own drawing tools and drew each other or a still life. the following week saw the young people of both groups learn about cubism by drawing a guitar in various ways, including the famous cube like style of cubist artists. They were also introduced to collage, a method of combining previously made drawings, magazines cuttings to new drawings and paintings to create a new piece of art, much like Pablo Picasso and George Braque.
While the Youth Residency enables young people to explore and experiment new ways of making, it also enables artist Aoife Doherty to gain experience in devising and facilitating these art groups while under the mentorship and support of the Kilkenny Arts Office. This Residency acts as professional developed for the selected artist with that this opportunity will enable Aoife with the skills and knowledge to continue similar work.
In a statement about this residency Aoife has stated “I am so excited about this opportunity, it really does feel like an incredible opportunity to gain more experience in this area and share what I am passionate about. I’m just really looking forward to being a part of this new creative space for young people in Kilkenny”
A bit about the Artist:
Aoife Doherty is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Kilkenny having graduated in Printmaking Contemporary Practice from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2022. Aoife uses artmaking to explore, deconstruct and understand an array of different personal and collective themes primarily using artmaking methods including printmaking, painting, bookmaking and papermaking. Her work often involves combining individual art practices with those that are more participatory and community centred. Her recent project titled ‘Connection // Disconnection’ was awarded the Limerick Printmakers Bursary (2022-23) and the Cork Printmakers Education Bursary (2022-23).
Aoife is currently on the Kilkenny Arts Office Youth Residency (2022) as well as working in Butler Gallery, Kilkenny. Aoife has recently had an exhibition at Waterford City Library (September 2022) and has showed in several group shows including Halftone Print Fair at The Library Project (2022) Dublin Artbook Fair 2022, Maximalism, Spacecraft (2022), Artform 44 Quay’s, Waterford (2021) and Ed-smART, The Hunt Museum, Limerick (2022).
To keep up to date with what Aoife and the young people have been exploring and other news from the Arts Office please join us on the Arts Office Facebook page here! and Instagram @kilkennyartsoffice and @aoifedohertyart
This programme is funded by Kilkenny County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland.
