To commemorate the 30th anniversary in a permanent way, BYAP undertook a public art project, resulting in the production of a large-scale piece of art. This project was developed and delivered in collaboration with axis Ballymun, an arts and community resource centre.
Paintings produced by participants in the public art project
An integral part of the public art project was the inclusion of BYAP clients: eight clients were involved in each step of the project, attending brainstorming sessions and art workshops over a month-long period and directly contributing to the final piece of art. These were: Linda Birch, Lisa Connolly, Paul Geoghegan, Ann Gilligan, David Kerwick, Tony Marshall, Sarah Murphy and Owen O’Grady. Two staff members from BYAP – Karl O’Brien and Catherine O’Hara – were also involved in each step of the project.
Participants in the public art project, with facilitator Dean Scurry on the far left and artist John Duffy on the far right
The public art project process was led by local artist John Duffy, who was also one of the curators of the ‘BYAP 30 Years’ exhibition. The workshops and planning sessions for the project were facilitated by Dean Scurry on behalf of axis Ballymun (Dean also contributed a piece of art to the ‘BYAP 30 Years’ exhibition and served as one of the MCs for the community festival event.).
The first workshop for the public art project involved a large group of BYAP clients, staff members, volunteers and people who had been involved with the Project down through the years. This workshop was a brainstorming session, aimed at generating ideas about how the final piece of art might look and be produced. Subsequent workshops refined these ideas, and participants were encouraged to express their creativity and experiment with various artistic styles and painting techniques.
This process was an important element of the public art project: the idea was not only to produce a permanent piece of art to commemorate BYAP’s anniversary, but also to give BYAP clients an opportunity to discover new talents; explore their creativity; and develop their interest in art.
On Tuesday, 8th March 2011, all project participants gathered for a day-long session to produce the final piece of art. This is comprised of three panels, centring on the symbol of a rose, a symbol inspired by BYAP’s logo. The words and images on the three panels reflect how the clients who took part in this project feel about BYAP and its 30 years of work with the community in Ballymun.
The artwork produced as a result of the public art project
Throughout the month of March, this artwork was displayed outdoors at the Horizons Centre, alongside a rose-bush planted as part of the anniversary activities to commemorate people with a link to BYAP who died in the past 30 years.
We worked with axis Ballymun on our public art project.