Fionnuala Doherty
Since launching our Education Programme in May 2023, we’ve sought to enable access to the art collection and history of Dublin Castle. It’s all been a learning process, and one that we’re excited to be involved in.
Prior to the design and build of the Education Room in September 2023, our social media platforms needed to disseminate information in a way that was accessible and engaging. We chose specific paintings, textiles and sculptures to discuss art terminology like chiaroscuro, stuccowork, memento mori and contrapposto in a way that was user-friendly. We grouped specific artworks together under themes like Birds in the Collection, Art Inspired Recipes and L’Influence Française to capture varying audience demographics. We created a Quiz Time highlight on our Instagram page encouraging users to test their understanding of Dublin Castle’s art collection and history. In January 2024, we announced Astrology as the theme of the Education Programme and this has anchored our decisions regarding family-friendly workshops and social media posts throughout the year. The theme has been an enjoyable way to explore the history of the site, encouraging new links to be made between artworks.
Since May 2023, the Education Team has designed and delivered over 100 individual events as part of our Education Programme. In this year alone, we delivered over 70 free educational events on site, including talks, tours, workshops and demonstrations. In August, we hosted 13 educational events, 11 of which took place during National Heritage Week 2024. It was a wonderfully diverse programme made possible by the talents of the Guiding Team and external collaborators. From Apollo Marks inspired by the stuccowork ceiling of the Apollo Room to Origami Skull Bookmarks inspired by painterly depictions of St. Jerome, we had lots of fun and engaging activities to offer members of the public. We ended theweek on a high, celebrating Wild Child Day with the delivery of a Bird-Box Workshop inspired by those hanging in the trees of the Dubh Linn Gardens. Following the success of the Focal an Lae social media posts and our Turais Trí Ghaeilge, we launched our very first Caint agus Comhrá session in October
2024. This drop-in session will be a monthly event in the Education Room of Dublin Castle. The purpose is to provide a space and framework to speak Irish in a comfortable, relaxed and historically rich setting. It’s another mode of engagement and one that we’re excited to offer as part of our Education Programme. Based on the popularity of our Respond to the Artwork workshops, we’re continuing to adopt ‘slow-looking’ strategies in leading our family-friendly and dementia-inclusive sessions at Dublin Castle. These workshops offer participants space, time and guidance in discussing the art elements as
they relate to chosen artworks in the collection, before completing an appropriate art activity. It’s a format that captures active learning across all age groups, and one that we’re keen to develop in upcoming years. Currently in development is our Educational Video Series, which will provide insights into selected artworks in the collection. These short videos will assist teachers, students and members of the public in learning about the collection in a way that is art-specific and student friendly. We’d like these videos to be part of an ongoing project that complements the Art History curriculum at post-primary level. We recently launched our Painting Pursuit Educational Resource, a trail
that celebrates the artwork of the State Apartments and challenges detectives of all ages to decipher clues hidden in the paintings. It’s been a fun project to lead, and will complement both the ‘Death in the Collection’ tour and ‘Secret Agent’ tour at Dublin Castle. Moving forward, we’re excited about the inclusion of a Portfolio Preparation Course and regular drawing sessions within our Education Programme.
This interest stems from personal experience studying and teaching observational drawing in the classroom setting. Given how fortunate we are to have life-sized plaster cast statues in the collection, there is lots of scope for developing Bargue and Cast Drawing classes in upcoming years. On a final note, I’d like to extend my thanks to the staff at Dublin Castle for their ongoing support towards the work of the Education Team. Since establishing our Programme in 2023, progress has been accelerated through the build of the Education Room, the expertise of the Guiding Team and the contributions of external historians and artists. It’s all been in the pursuit of an engaging programme of events, and we look forward to developing more learning opportunities for people in the future.
