Abbey Road Artists’ Studios Team Up with St Vincents Day Care Centre
On Thursday this week, 31st May 2012 at 1.30p.m. Abbey Road Artists’ Studios are hosting St. Vincent’s Day Care Centres annual art exhibition. The exhibition will be displayed Upstairs@studio5 which most recently exhibited the hugely successful ‘In Orbit’, Athlone Institute of Technology’s first and second year B.A. in Design.
The St. Vincent’s project was funded by Westmeath County Council which enabled the Day Care Centre to have the assistance and skills of an artist in residence for a total of 20 hours. The project was facilitated by Tonnta Community Arts Group. Sandy Hughes and her staff worked every Thursday morning assisted by Bernie Cravin from the Day Care Centre to make this project a success. Funding for the materials for the project was obtained from St Vincent’s Care Centre patient’s comfort fund.
The chosen theme was a depiction of the four seasons of the year. A total of sixteen clients participated in the project which had very positive outcomes, allowing clients to learn new skills and to interact with each other and with facilitators. Clients feedback was that the project was enjoyable, relaxing and as well as having a fun element.
Athlone Art and Heritage Coordinator Catherine Yorke says “There’s a huge amount of creative talent across a rich variety of community groups, many of whom have fascinatic stories to tell and are doing it in exciting ways. We want to encourage people to enjoy the visual arts and give them an opportunity to showcase their work to the local community. The space in Abbey Road allows us to do just that.”
Manager of the Day Care Centre Tessa Guinan tells us “We at the Day Care Centre had an unveiling celebration on May 17th which all participants and facilitators attended. A great afternoon was had by all involved. Each participant received a certificate. We in the Day Care Centre wish to thank Westmeath County Council for making this valuable project possible and also to Tonnta Community Arts Group, Sandy Hughes and Bernie Cravin for all their help. As a manager of Day Care Centre I am very proud to be associated with such a venture which gives the clients such a sense of achievement and pleasure.”
