Schools Programme
May 2021
As part of the 2021 edition, the Mother Tongues Festival offers these unique workshops to schools in Fingal County thanks to Draiocht.
D15 Primary Schools can book ANY OF THE WORKSHOPS with Draiocht: Monday-Friday 10am-6pm: 083-084 7249 / 083-028 9771
Philippa & Cliona are at the end of the phones, happy to assist or you can email boxoffice@draiocht.ie
A trip to Nigeria
with Nana Nubi
Duration
60 minutes
Age group
Primary
Nigeria is a country with over 200 million people based home and abroad. It is believed that you can find a Nigerian in every country of the world including Ireland! Nigeria is a country filled with rich history and culture that have gained a global reputation for its food including Jollof, for Afrobeat music, Ankara fashion prints, and even writers like Nobel Prize Laurette, Wole Soyinka, and Chimamanda Adichie. This workshop takes you to explore Nigeria through an interactive colouring book, Nigerian Heritage, created by Nana Nubi.
About the facilitator
Nana Nubi is currently undertaking a PhD with the Hate and Hostility Research Group, The School of Law and Sociology at the University of Limerick.
Nana Nubi holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from University College Dublin and an LL.M in International and Comparative Law from Trinity College Dublin. She is training at the Honorable Society of the King’s Inns to become a Barrister.
Nana is currently a presenter at the Institute of Anti-racism & Black Studies (IABS), teaching on topics to decolonise the negative euro-centric narratives about people of African descent. She was selected by the Department of Justice and Equality to serve on the Anti-Racism Committee in Ireland.
Persian finger puppet workshop
with Roxana Manouchehri
Fascinating for people at any age, this storytelling and finger puppet workshop is based on the gods and goddesses of Persian mythology from Shahnameh شاه نامه, (the Book of Kings). The book is written by poet Ferdowsi and set in the 10th century in old Persia. The zoom workshop will focus on a few main characters, Rostam (رستم), Rakhsh (رخش), Simorgh (سیمرغ) and Tahmina (تهمینه). You will see how to make these superheroes by using safe and non-toxic materials, step by step.
Material needed: paper, PVA glue, pencil, scissors, markers and some decorating paper.
About the facilitator
Roxana Manouchehri is a professional visual artist based in Dublin, Ireland. She has received an MFA in fine art from the Tehran University of Art. She has been teaching art and giving talks and workshops since 1995 in different universities in Tehran, Seoul and Dublin, including Trinity College, the Chester Beatty collection, and Open House Dublin. She trained and mentored art teachers at ESCI, Dublin, organised by Chester Beatty collection in 2012.
Caoillte - Zine Workshop
with Gemma Crowe
Duration
90 minutes
Age group
1st to 6th class, primary
Zines were made popular by the different alternative cultural movements from the ’70s right up to today. Named after the Dublin based artist, Gemma’s latest children’s book Caoilte Caillte sa Mhuséam, follows a young boy through his adventure in the Natural History Museum in Dublin. In the workshop, each participant will make a zine – becoming the storyteller and illustrator with Gemma’s help, the author of this book!
This workshop is bilingual – Irish and English with an emphasis on welcoming everyone whether or not they speak Irish and there is a section where children can fill the book out in any language they want.
About the facilitator
Gemma is a Dublin based artist who’s passionate about art, culture and community development. After studying architecture, she went on to study illustration and art; now, she enjoys creating workshops for young people. After completing a postgraduate degree in Sociology – Youth and Community, Gemma ran a youth art workshop on Cuffe Street in the community centre until the Covid-19 crisis began. She also worked with the Rialto Youth Project before this.
No French? No Problem!
with Juliette Saumande
Duration
60 minutes
Age group
4th, 5th and 6th class, Primary
This fun workshop makes French accessible to everyone. It shows people who DON’T have French as their mother tongue that they, too, can understand and translate French text into English (or any other language) using what they already know of both languages and discovering how languages work.
About the facilitator
Juliette Saumande is a children’s writer, translator and professional bookworm living in Dublin. She has over 40 books published in English and her native French, most recently My Little Album of Dublin with Tarsila Kruse. Juliette loves running workshops and events for kids and babies to help them paint their little universe with words, stories and language.
Ag Dul Ar Strae- Getting Lost
with Super Paua
Duration
90 minutes
Age group
2nd-6th class
Bilingual Workshop through Irish and English.
In this workshop we’ll be playing with idioms and proverbs to create stories together, and to celebrate different languages (Irish, English and the other languages in your class!). We’ll use drama, images and conversation to create imaginative stories from unique poetic phrases in our native languages, chosen by the children.
This workshop is based on Lara ar Strae from Scéalta Super Paua, a bilingual podcast for children. This story, and many more, are free online on Itunes, Spotify, Podbean, etc.
About Super Paua
Super Paua is an Irish artist-led collective that makes work for all ages in a variety of languages, places, and forms. Humour, social relevance, and respect define our work (www.superpaua.org).
Recent projects include: Super Paua Stories, a free podcast for children 5-12 in Irish and English (currently in production for Opowiadania Super Paua, a Polish language and culture series); Science Week workshops with Riverbank Arts Centre for over 400 primary school students; development of Knapsack, a digital theatre project, at the Civic Theatre (December 2020); The Lonsdale Project, a co-production with Riverbank Arts Centre (March 2020).
Mark Ball, Facilitator
Mark is a theatre-maker (facilitation, directing and writing), and the Engagement Director of Super Paua. He is currently a participant on You, Fin, and the Play between, a playwriting programme for young audiences presented by Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, Graffiti Theatre Company and Theatre for Young Audiences Ireland. Awards and bursaries include: Exploring & Thinking Early Years Bursary 2021; Riverbank’s MOMENTUM award 2020; and the Young People, Children and Education Bursary from the Arts Council in 2019.
Echo
by Claudia Lamantea
Age group
Junior and Senior Infants
Echo is a shadow-puppet show that incorporates sign language to tell the story of Echo, a young creature that sets off on a journey to overcome personal fears and save the stolen voices of its people, exploring the unlimited possibilities of language, communication and expression. Echo by Claudia Lamantea and Tj Lynn is a show of shadows and signs, noises and silences; enchanting for all ages.
This 20 minute experience includes a short tutorial on how to make a shadow puppet, as well as some sneak peaks backstage.
About the facilitator
Claudia Lamantea is an Italian artist based in Dublin since 2011. In 2018, after ascertaining a First-Class Honours Degree in Stage Management and Technical theatre at The Lir Academy, she has been working in mostly theatre and film as a scenic artist, designer and maker. She is the co-founder and co- artistic Director of ClaudiKat, a creative collaboration which uses Puppetry, captivating visuals and physical theatre as the main storytelling tools to create atmospheric multi- sensorial experiences for a wide range of audiences. Claudia is currently completing a Master Certificate in Art Direction for Film and Tv at Limerick School of Art and Design.
These workshops are brought to you by Mother Tongues and supported by
