The Living Art Project: Wexford County Council

The Living Art Project: Wexford County Council

The Living Arts Project is a long-term visual arts educational scheme which intends to make engagement with, and understanding of, the fundamentals of contemporary visual art even more attainable for local audiences. In order to facilitate this development, the scheme is comprised of an artist in residence programme, open to all interested primary schools in County Wexford and all practicing artists resident in County Wexford.

Following a review of each schools expression of interest; four artists are selected and appointed to four relevant schools to create a body of work over the school year. This residency prioritises the development of the artist’s work within the project and uses this development to in turn encourage competent engaging work from the participating pupils while also offering teachers an opportunity to observe and learn creative practices.

It is the implicit intention of the programme to consider visual artists working in all and every mode of artistic practice in order to provide schools with the opportunity to access as wide a variety of art making approaches as possible so as to encourage better understanding of contemporary practice in addition to more established methods of creating art.

The programme culminates in an exhibition of works by artists and pupils from all participating schools at Wexford Arts Centre in Spring. This is of particular importance as not only do pupils have the opportunity to benefit from the detailed guidance of such a programme, they also will see their work exhibited in an art gallery context for their friends, family and community to view.

The project consolidates the existing partnership between the Arts Department of Wexford County Council, Wexford Arts Centre and the Arts Council.