Minister of State for Housing, Local Government & Heritage, Malcolm Noonan TD, visited Killarney House and Gardens to raise the Green Flag and view the international children’s voices exhibition in the grounds of Killarney House, Project 2020 Le Chéile from the Museum of Childhood Ireland. From left, Lisa Ronan, Saphire Signs, Majella McAllister, Museum of Childhood Ireland, and Bríd Colhoun, Supervisor, Killarney House and Gardens. Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan. FREE PIC

“Project 2020 / TOGETHER, LE CHÉILE”

Children’s Voices at home and abroad during the pandemic from the Museum of Childhood Ireland Project team. https://museumofchildhood.ie/project2020/

Tarraingíonn scéal scéal eile. One story begets another.

In this strange and unsettling time of Pandemic, the well-being and mental health of all our children is of paramount importance.

Project 2020 Together, Le Chéile from the Museum of Childhood Ireland Project, aimed to provide a platform for children of all ages to express their hopes, fears, thoughts and observations, as they navigated life during a global pandemic.

At lockdown, they reached out to children and invited them to share their thoughts and feelings regarding this time, using art, drawing, poems, or short stories, hoping it might help them as they tried to make some sort of sense of Covid-19, from their perspective.

The collected works formed the basis of an online exhibition.

The museum felt the online exhibition and physical exhibitions in themselves would further provide a sense of community and togetherness.

The museum is delighted that the planned exhibitions range from home / school exhibitions using a small number of images, to Gallery / Museum exhibitions of all the images. When limited to choosing just a few works, they endeavour to select work representative of all the themes submitted: Fear, Anger, Loneliness, guilt, joy… and always provide a link to the online exhibition. It’s important that the children’s work is shared and contemplated, and that we all try to understand the effect this pandemic has had and continues to have on them.

Children of the world: We see you, we hear you. We understand. Leanaí an Domhain: Feicimid sibh, cloisimid sibh, tuigimid.

The project was devised and implemented by the Museum of Childhood Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day 2020. As entries from children around the world poured in, they curated and launched it online on June 4th 2020. It was introduced by author Myra Zepf, with bespoke frames for the children’s work designed by author/ illustrator Carol Ann Treacy.

The first physical indoor exhibition of the project (with workshops) is at the Art Center, Illinois, USA (Sept-Dec 2020) and the first outdoor physical exhibition at Killarney House and Gardens, Killarney National Park, Killarney, Co Kerry. (from Dec 2020). It will be an online exhibition in December with INACS, the Istituto Nazionale Arte Cultura Spettacolo, Italy; on ViMuseo from January 2021, and at the Udaaya Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal as an outdoor physical exhibition / workshop from January 2021. They will be announcing new exhibitions /workshop venues at home and abroad throughout 2021.

With grateful thanks to Sapphire Signs Killarney, Co Kerry for sponsoring the Corriboard printing of the children’s work for the exhibition, and to Killarney House and Gardens for the spectacular setting for our first physical outdoor exhibition.

Ronan Casey.

Killarney House & Gardens

The Museum of Childhood Ireland Project

Email info@museumofchildhood.ie

Telephone: +353 87 681 6760

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuseumOfChildhoodIrel andProject/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/museumofci

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museumchildhoodireproject

Fax +353 64 7758823

Email: info@sapphiresigns.com

Main St., Rathmore, Co. Kerry Telephone: +353 64 77 585 77

December 2020

“Project 2020 Together, Le Chéile”

Children’s Voices at home and abroad during the pandemic from the Museum of Childhood Ireland Project team.

Children’s Voices Project 2020 & 2021 Together, Le Chéile

‘Planted’ outdoors in at Killarney House and Gardens, Killarney, Kerry, Ireland, December 2020

Launched by Minister Malcolm Noonan.

Tarraingíonn scéal scéal eile. One story begets another.

In this strange and unsettling time of Pandemic, the well-being and mental health of all our children is of paramount importance.

At lockdown, they reached out to children and invited them to share their thoughts and feelings regarding this time, using art, drawing, poems, or short stories, hoping it might might be of help to them as they tried to make some sort of sense of Covid-19, from their perspective.

The collected works formed the basis of an online exhibition.

Now it is hoped that these further physical exhibitions will help amplify children’s voices, and provide inspiration to others to attempt their own versions of the exhibition.

The museum felt the online exhibition and physical exhibitions in themselves would further provide a sense of community and togetherness.

The museum is delighted that the planned exhibitions range from home / school exhibitions using a small number of images, to Gallery / Museum exhibitions of all the images. When limited to choosing just a few works, they endeavour to select work representative of all the themes submitted: Fear, Anger, Loneliness, guilt, joy… and always provide a link to the online exhibition. It’s important to us that the children’s work is shared and contemplated, and that we all try to understand the effect this pandemic has had and continues to have on them.

Children of the world: We see you, we hear you. We understand. Leanaí an Domhain: Feicimid sibh, cloisimid sibh, thuigimid.

The first physical indoor exhibition of the project (with workshops) is at the Art Center, Illinois, USA (Sept-Dec 2020) and the first outdoor physical exhibition at Killarney House and Gardens, Killarney National Park, Killarney, Co Kerry. (from Dec 2020). It will be an online exhibition in December with INACS, the Istituto Nazionale Arte Cultura Spettacolo, Italy; on ViMuseo from January 2021, and at the Udaaya Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal as an outdoor physical exhibition / workshop in January 2021. We will be announcing new exhibition /workshop venues at home and abroad throughout 2021.

With grateful thanks to Sapphire Signs Killarney, Co Kerry for sponsoring the Corriboard printing of the children’s work for the Killarney exhibition and to Killarney House and Gardens for the spectacular setting for our first physical outdoor exhibition.

The Museum of Childhood Ireland.