TULCA 2019 Education Programme
TULCA Festival of Visual Arts announces its education programme designed to complement the 17th edition of the festival TACTICAL MAGIC, curated by Kerry Guinan. TULCA is a multi-venue, artist-centred Festival of Contemporary Visual Arts taking place in Galway city and county since 2002. It is the only festival in Ireland to specifically commission Irish curators who develop a theme unique to the event.
This year’s theme TACTICAL MAGIC invites audiences to reflect on the magical effects of art, probing the division between truth and reality. The exhibited works draw on intuition, historical beliefs and customs as well as challenging us to consider the historical in contemporary society. The variety of work exhibited offers audiences the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of media including video, performance, installation, printmaking and sculpture to name but a few. There really is something for everyone!
As always, the education programme welcomes inquiring viewers of all ages to think and talk about visual art together. Audiences are encouraged to follow our website and social media for details on events, venues, dates and times. We aim to encourage people to get out, feed their curiosity and visit venues across the city, some of which are temporarily transformed into exhibition spaces. All types of conversations are sparked through the shared experience of looking together!
The TULCA Ed programme offers educational tours of the Festival for Primary, Secondary and Third Level Institutions. Last year we welcomed over nine hundred students to the Festival through these tours. Will your school be joining us this year?
Education Programme Highlights
Make A Day of It Tuesdays
Make A Day of It Tuesdays, in partnership with Galway Public Libraries, returns for the sixth year running. Designed to offer a full-day cultural excursion for students from our county primary schools it combines a guided visit to the TULCA exhibition with a workshop at the city library. Animal Magic and Yoga workshops will be facilitated by artist and yoga teacher Ruby Wallis. This year the Irish language is at the forefront of the festival and Irish language schools will experience their gallery tours ‘as gaeilge’ with Dr. Eilís Ní Dhúill of NUIG. Another exciting workshop will be delivered through Irish at the city library where students will be guided through a Charm Making workshop facilitated by Lelia Ní Chathmhaoil and Aine Doherty.
Galway City Museum
As part of this years programme, TULCA Ed is excited to announce a new partnership with Galway City Museum. The museum will partner with us for the Make A Day of It Tuesday events and Damian Donnellan (Education & Exhibitions Assistant) will host Galway Folklore and Folktale tours for students to enjoy. Our partnership with the Galway City Museum will also bring another new element to this years education programme. On Saturday 16th November there will be a very special workshop for children facilitated by acclaimed storyteller and writer Rab Fulton in collaboration with visual artist Aine Doherty. The Tall Tales workshop will focus on imaginative storytelling through drawing. Please check online for more information and booking details.
County Schools Project
As part of our County Schools Project, two artists will deliver a ‘Magical Creatures’ project within two primary schools that draw on the theme of this year’s festival. The workshops will be facilitated by Noel Arrigan in Furbo National School and Jennifer Cunningham in Cregmore National School, Claregalway. Students will explore the concept of hybrids through drawing, printmaking, use of found objects and recycled materials to create their own modern-day magical creatures that could inform future myths and legends. The work created by students as part of this project will be exhibited at the Galway City Library.
Second Level Schools Tours and Workshops
Second Level Schools are invited to visit TULCA and join us on a specially devised gallery tour that meets a core element of the Leaving Certificate Art Curriculum - visit to an exhibition/gallery. Second Level Tours are not exclusively for L.C. students and TULCA welcomes and encourages visits from students in other years and all tours will be adapted accordingly. Upon completion of the guided tour, time is allowed for response and reflection and teachers are provided with a digital resource that can be used either on-site or back in the classroom. These tours focus on looking at and responding to contemporary art. Students are encouraged to form and express their own opinions and interpretations through direct engagement. The guide will offer an insight into elements such as the theme of the festival and how the artists responded to this in a variety of ways.
A highlight of the programme for secondary schools is a series of philosophy and art workshops facilitated by CURO. The CURO team use world-renowned Philosophy for Children (P4C) techniques to lead a philosophical enquiry and develop a community of critical thinkers. It’s really all about big questions! This year we have a group of Transition Year students from St. Mary’s College participating in the programme.
Speaking about this year’s programme, Education Coordinator Dee Deegan said “This year’s festival invites us all to embrace the wonderment of magic and allow it to ignite curiosity through looking. The artists offer us alternative views with a common thread, and we are challenged to consider their meaning. I invite you all to engage with our education programme, consider what assumptions you may have had about contemporary art and with an open mind be prepared to rethink them.”
Talks
A series of Artist and Curator talks will take place in various locations including the Centre for Creative Arts and Media (GMIT), Tartare Café and Wine Bar, and O’Donoghue Centre (NUIG). The Festival runs in various locations around Galway from November 1st – November 17th. The education programme runs throughout the festival. All events are free unless otherwise stated. Bookings and further enquiries can be made by contacting Dee Deegan directly at education@tulca.ie or on 087 6730732. Full details can be found online at www.tulca.ie
TULCA Festival of Visual Arts
TACTICAL MAGIC curated by Kerry Guinan
1-17 November 2019
www.tulca.ie