Spirasi Art Project

Spirasi, in collaboration with CREATE, a leading national arts support organization providing services for arts development and practice in Ireland and IMMA ran an art project from August to October 2005 with a group of aged-out minors living in Dublin hostels. Artists, Louise Walsh (sculptor) and Christopher Harrington (photographer) worked with the group. The group used various media in a project aimed at allowing the young people express something of their lives in Ireland.

Bars “This piece with bars shows that’s you can be really institutionalised as an asylum seeker. It is a self-portrait of me before I did this project – stuck in a hostel, getting depressed with nothing to do. But with the Spirasi phone number between my hands it symbolises a way out of the bars of solitude and hopelessness”

One “This piece is about the boxes that people put you in to. I see that there are two people in the box. See the person – not the stereotype. Seeing two different colours and people in the one box starts to equal one. When people come to Ireland they are expected to change and conform to the society they have moved into. But we shouldn’t have to lose ourselves completely. It shouldn’t be like that – the best form both cultures should be used, and they should become one.”

Unity “I stood in front of a lot of flags and got my picture taken. What I was feeling as I did it was that I am a citizen of the world – based in Sweet Ireland. But I am also proud to be Ugandan so I changed one the flags with Photoshop to make it represent the Ugandan flag - because I am proud to be Ugandan. It’s on the right side.”

My Shadow “No matter what people say, no matter what you are going through, with God everything is possible. Trust in Him.”

Picture Gallery

Other images (click on the thumbnails for a larger image)

Testimonies from participants on the art projects

“I wanted this work to be an advert for Spirasi as they have helped me so much. You can come to Spirasi and get support, have a chat and learn loads on art projects like this.”

“The art project was great fun – working loads on art and stuff. It helps to show another side of us – to give our side of the story. Art can be fun, it can communicate a lot of stuff that is hard to say – loads more than words.

It also builds up my confidence by giving me ways to express what I have in me. I also learned more about computers and what they can do – like Photoshop and the web. We can put pictures on the website and then view our work.”

“The art project I did was interesting and fun. I learned how to draw and to do difficult things like Photoshop and web design. I enjoyed the filming and video work and being shown around IMMA and looking at all the art work.”

“Back in Africa we only have painting and drawing but now I’m using different media like scanning pictures into the computer and putting them up on the web. I would like to work more on video – editing the video we have taken already and shooting more in the future.”

“These workshops are great because they can reach out more to the public and let them know what we are doing. It is a good way to improve communication.”

Last updated: 1st December 2005