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Arts & Music
Youth arts can broadly be defined as young people taking part in creative, cultural or expressive activity outside of the formal education process. It can encompass participation and appreciation, as well as engagement with arts work specifically created by, with or for young people.
Bradóg has been using youth art forms as sustainable youth work practices for over many years now. The experiences and skills we have built up in this area greatly enhance our work with young people and have provided many young Dubliners with the opportunities to express their own creativity and document their own personal and local experience in new and exciting ways. The following activities were significant projects that have helped shape Bradóg's youth arts development:
Aontas Youth Arts Initiative- Carnival Arts
- Bradog Music Collective
- Artist-in-Residency Schemes
- Summer Arts Projects
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” Sophia Loren quotes (Italian film Actress).
The Aontas Youth Arts Initiative was founded in 2004. Its purpose was to facilitate a collaborative approach in youth arts activities among youth workers, young people and artists. It was particularly focused on developing a tradition in the north west inner city to coincide with the young peoples cultural Halloween traditions. Festivals included:
- 2005: Burning the Demons
- 2006: Carnival of Odd
- 2007: Pookahs Labyrinth
- 2008: Frightantic
- 2009: Spare Parts Arts Day
Membership of committee:
Carnival Arts
Bradóg have organised several parade events dedicated to young peoples participation. Bradóg youth carnivals typically involve a public celebration or parade combining some elements of circus, mask and public street party. The public and prominent display of young people displaying their talents is important to challenge the negative stereotypes associated with teenagers from Dublin's inner city. Bradóg work with other artists, arts organisations and the local Authority, to provide carnival arts opportunities to young people. Carnival events over the last few years have included:
- Streets of Sun
- Finland on the Liffey
- All Aontas Halloween Parades
- Samhain Pumpkin Parade
- Fesitval of light
- Templebar Chocolate Festival
- All St. Patrick Day Parades
Bradóg have been developing a music resource for some years now. We now have a dedicated music room with a selection of musical instruments and recording equipment. The facility is open to all young people who would like to rehearse, record, perform or just hang around with other young musicians.
Live mike events and music sessions regularly take place in the Bradog Centre's multi-media room.
In 2010 Bradóg partnered with Finglas Youth Resource Centre to host a european youth exchange called 'eurojam'.
Residency schemes for artists provide greaat opportunites for young people to develop their artistic skills and awareness. The schemes provide the funding for an artist to work with a group of young people for an extended period of time. Bradóg has facilitated two residencies in the past both with artist Kieran Mc Nulty.
The first residency 'Kindle' provided an opportunity for a group to engage in a project which developed their skills at desigining and culminated in the design and fabrication of a large prominent mural in the Markets area.
The second residency, focused on designing a piece of art that interacted with the general public. The piece was called R.O.F.L (Roll on the floor laughing) and sought to document people's memorys of funny moments that had them 'rolling on the floor laughing'.
A wide variety of progammes are provided in Bradóg throughout the year but in Summer there is a focus on arts, sports and residential camping. The long empty days of Summer provide great scope to engage young people in large scale ambitious arts activites. Over an eight week period Bradóg provides activities in music, visual art, video making, drama, sculpture and design.