The students of Gort an Choirce Youthreach will host a photography exhibition in An tSean Bheairic in Falcarragh from 9-13 May.
The work is the culmination of their efforts over the last two years, funded through the Creative Schools initiative which saw two facilitators from Artlink, Martha McCullough and Rebecca Strain, work with the students to develop their photography skills around the theme of ‘Self’.
Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child.
Creative Schools is led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
Speaking ahead of the exhibition, Donegal ETB Chief Executive Anne McHugh said, “I’m looking forward to this exhibition. I’ve had a sneak peak at the work and our Youthreach students should be very proud of what they have produced. The support of the Creative Schools initiative is so important for allowing children and young people to develop their artistic and creative skills and I would like to thank the Creative Ireland Programme for their support.”
The exhibition starts at 7.00pm on 9 Monday and coincides with national Creative Schools week.
Gort an Choirce Youthreach Coordinator Caitriona Cullen, speaking about this exciting event said, “Our students have produced some fantastic photography work through their involvement in this project. Working with Creative Schools has greatly benefitted my Centre community – all of our students, and also staff, were involved and it unleashed a phenomenal level of creativity.”
One of the students involved in the project, Vicki Ferry, highlighted the positive benefits of the project to them.
She said “Before this project, I’d never done anything with photography other than taking selfies! This was a fun project to be involved in. It was really enjoyable and inspiring.”
Youthreach is the Department of Further and Higher Education’s education, training and work experience programme for young people aged 16-20 years who have left school early. It is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union. The Gort an Choirce Youthreach centre is one of six around the county managed by Donegal ETB’S Further Education and Training (FET) Service. Young people who are interested in joining the programme should call Caitriona on 074 9135218.
Further information on the Donegal Youthreach programme can be found on Donegal ETB’s website (https://www.donegaletb.ie/feature/programmes/youthreach-programme/) or follow Donegal Youthreach on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
