'...the lives we live' Grangegorman Public Art Book

TO BE. TO WALLOW. TO WONDER. 176–177
Biographies
Maree Hensey is a visual
artist. Her practice
encompasses drawing, sculpture
and installation. Material
is an integral component in
her practice. Maree uses
materials that are rich in
associations and investigates
ways to transform them, often
projecting new identities and
layers of meaning onto the
work in doing so. Over the
past number of years Maree has
completed several public art
commissions, site-specific
Installations and communitybased
participatory art
projects. Her interest is in
responding to context, where
all of the cues for a works
development evolve from the
social and physical aspects
of a particular place. This
responsive and process-led
approach stimulates ideas and
generates content through
dialogue and creative exchange
with people who her work will
affect. Maree continually
expands the premise from which
she works and re-assesses her
processes and methods.
Kids’ Own Publishing
Partnership was formed in
1997 and since then has
firmly established itself as
a leading organisation within
the cultural sector, supporting
children’s engagement
with professional artists
through high-quality arts
and publishing experiences.
Kids’ Own works in defence
of children’s right to
culture, supporting children’s
inclusion and recognition
as active cultural citizens
within their communities and
society as a whole. Kids’
Own works through a model of
social change, blending strong
social justice goals with
artistic excellence. Through
publishing and the arts, Kids’
Own advocates for a society
where children are valued and
listened to, and where their
voices, opinions, experiences
and creative expression are
given visibility, credence
and status. An integral part
of Kids’ Own’s work is the
I am a visual artist. My artistic practice has spanned
painting, drawing, sculpture, film, printmaking, installation,
and public art. Ritual, repetitive action, alchemy and
substrate are integral components in my practice. I use
materials that are rich in associations and investigate
ways to transform them, often projecting new identities
and layers of meaning onto the work in doing so.
In 2017, I began an action-based collaboration with Kid’s Own Publishing
Partnership and TU Dublin’s Early Childhood Education Programme. I wanted to
explore how children engage all their senses in the development of individual language
and expression. As an artist, my approach was to present a sensory, paired
back environment for the participants to explore, feel and investigate using natural
open-ended materials such as sand, feathers and water.
In preparation for the placements, I led a collective of second year Bachelor
of Arts (Hons) Early Childhood Education students through a process-based
experience. These experiences were documented, and through discussion, each student
then began to develop methodologies that could be used with young people.
Our aim was to create a socially safe and emotionally supportive environment, which
would offer children immersive opportunities to actively explore, question, enquire,
come up with ideas and make their own decisions. Each student prepared a shared
ethos and approach for working with young children in readiness for their placement
work in the communities.
Both as an artist and in a supervisory capacity, I followed students in their
placements and the collective regrouped for a closing shared discussion to review
experiences. The participatory nature of this provided students with raw and real
evidence of how engaging with the arts gives energy to children’s natural capacity for
creativity, communicating, thinking and exploring. A blog documenting the processes
can be found in the Links section overleaf.
This online presence gives an insight into the sensitivity towards the
aesthetic and the ethos of nurturing individuality and self-expression. The students
engagement and motivation became the key criteria to the documentation. Kids Own
put together short process videos that capture the perspectives of the partners and
participants in all phases of the project. The videos and sound recording footage are
very insightful and offer a valuable testimony to the project. They highlight how the
students could plan and implement aspects of the work into each of their care settings.
This is an essential part of project’s legacy.
strategic development of the
sector of arts practice with
children, supporting and
mentoring professional artists
who work in this field and
whose practice is deeply rooted
in respect for reciprocal
processes of enquiry and making
between artists and children.
The following is a quote from
Leslie Cassells:
‘Although perhaps sometimes
hidden, the child-centred
approach is at the heart of all
the work we carry out in the
Arts in Education Module, as
well as all reading material
our students are asked to carry
out. The work from this project
is refreshing and embodies
this way of working. My hope
is that bringing this work into
placements in such a focused
way will cause ripples and
reverberations long after
the work.’
Leslie Cassells, School of
Languages, Law and Social
Sciences TU Dublin is the
longest established provider
of Early Childhood Education
in Ireland. The BA in Early
Childhood Care and Education
was introduced in September
1999. In September 2005, First
Year intake on a new 3-year
BA (Hons.) took place. There
is a work placement for 30
days in Year 1 and 60 days in
both Years 2 and 3. Practice
in the Early Years, Child
Health and Nutrition, Art in
Early Education, Drama in
Education, Sociology and Social
Policy, Skills Development,
Child Development in Context,
Mental Health during the Early
Years, Language, Literacy and
Numeracy, Aistear and Early
Years Curricula, Outdoor
Learning, Pedagogy and
Curriculum, Digital Childhoods,
Working with Families and
Communities, Child protection,
Business and Management Skills,
and Sociology of Education and
Inequality.
Links
www.tobetowallowtowonder.
wordpress.com
www.vimeo.com/256061757
Early years residency with
artist Maree Hensey and
TU Dublin Early Childhood
Education
www.vimeo.com/282830334
To be. To wallow. To wonder.
Phase Two
www.mareehensey.com
www.kidsown.ie
TU Dublin BA (Hons) Early Childhood Education Art Department,
Mountjoy Square S, Mountjoy, Dublin 1. Photo: Maree Hensey, 2018
The process involved introducing the
students to ways of abstract mark making using
a range of exploratory techniques, processes and
experimental materials, large and small scale. They
gained a confidence in experimental and expressive
mark-making. Each mark made was considered,
thoughtful and meaningful. They listened to their own
rhythms and made work that was sensitive, thought
provoking and individual.