For the past four weeks BEd3 art and design students have been working with two Primary 7 classes from St Oliver Plunkett Primary School on an art project. The stimulus for the project was a visit to the MAC to view “MAC International”, an exhibition of work by eighteen artists from around the world, the largest art prize in Ireland and one of the few major art prizes in the United Kingdom.

The project required the student teachers to engage intellectually with highly conceptual and challenging artworks before considering how to make these accessible for the pupils.

In the gallery spaces the children encountered artworks in many forms including film, photography, installation, sculpture and painting. They discussed not only the media used by the artists but also many of the concepts explored by them. They recorded their own questions and responses, gathered information and documented their experiences in sketch books.





In the following weeks and under the guidance of the student teachers, the children reflected on the nature of the artworks on show. They were also given opportunities to explore personal ideas, while experimenting with a range of contemporary approaches and developing plans for their own art on topics such as identity, storytelling, personal dreams and aspirations.

In the final lesson which was in delivered in St Mary’s, the pupils were able to resolve their ideas and reach successful conclusions in their groups. They were fully engaged and committed and demonstrated high levels of thinking skills and creativity throughout the project.

The student teachers would like to thank Mr Muldoon and Mr McKenna and their P7 classes for participating in the project, as well as the staff at The MAC for all their help and support during our visits.