Growing a Future there's only so much time
GROWING A FUTURE, is year-long participatory arts project that will grow a Living Willow Giantess called the Cailleach, a Celtic female ancestor divinity associated with landscape and weather.
The growing Cailleach will form the focus of a programme of events and engagements with the public to explore and demonstrate how responding creatively to the climate emergency and care for the environment can be nurtured at a local level.
A team of artists and environmentalists from Tallaght Community Arts will work with community participants on the project to plant and grow the Cailleach in a specially created ‘wild meadow’ next to the walled garden at the OPW/Pearse Museum, St Endas Park Rathfarnham.
We will be holding regular weekly sessions with participants and other park users bringing people together in constructive conversations, new relationships and networks as we grow the giant figure.
Public events will coincide with marking the four seasons. These will include music, debates, spoken word, a ‘dressing' of the Cailleach in August and a special performance in December 2022. We believe that Growing a Future will inspire the wider public and demonstrate that the arts can be at the front of social, environmental and political change in Ireland.
What's New!
The hot weather and lots of watering has seen An Cailleach put on more growth and produce willow wands for weaving into the structure.
We began a series of Saturday Family Workshops - Things We Need To Talk About. On Saturday 3 August we were joined by Environmentalist Dale Treadwell who took us on a whirlwind introduction to the biodiversity around the An Cailleach site.
The interest and support of park users continues to delight us. They regularly bring overseas visitors to see An Cailleach . Over the last weeks we've had visitors from Australia, USA, Netherlands and today from Tibilisi, Georgia. Conversations about climate change have gained an increased urgency against the backdrop of the drought and forest fires this hot dry summer. Three local children turned up on their own today to 'have a look before we go back to school on Monday'.
How to get involved
If you would like to get involved as an individual, a family, friendship group, community group, youth group or school.
Contact Sharon Doyle at:
M: +353 (0)86 2706581
E: sharon@tallaght-arts.ie
We look forward to hearing from you and working to GROWING A FUTURE together!
Growing A Future Set Up & Planting
Growing A Future
Project Team
Sharon Doyle, Tony Fegan, Tadashi Kato, Brandon Finnegan, Cian Laffey, Eilya Lavine, Gary O'Connor, Martin Dunne, Andrew Siddall
Planters
Litter Mugs - Tallaght/ Stepping Stone Forest Project
Jacqueline Carr, Phillipa Carr, Caragh Coote, Frances Fitzgerald, Clare Hamilton, Katie Hamilton, John Kilbert, Mark McCrystal, Rosanna McCrystal, Stella McCrystal, Marion Kelly, Reg Miller, Margaret Morrisey Richardson, Bernie Roche, Phil Timmins
Documentation
Annette Barnaville (fink), David Barnaville (fink), Jonathan Stokes
Thanks to all the Staff at the Pearse Museum for their ongoing support.
GROWING A FUTURE is produced by Tallaght Community Arts in partnership with OPW/Pearse Museum, Alternative Entertainments, South Dublin County Council. We thank the Local Live Performers Support Scheme (LLPSS) for their support for the 21 December Winter Solstice Event
GROWING A FUTURE is financially supported by a Climate Action Award from South Dublin Council Environmental Awareness Office
