Jess Kavanagh, Grace McCluskey, and Elton Mulally
Photo by Pati Guimaraes
‘The Clock Won’t Wait’ films reflect life in Adamstown
“SO I am a member of Noise Dublin,” begins Jess Kavanagh when asked to explain her relationship with ‘The Clocks Won’t Wait’ programme, which consists of young people around the Adamstown area making five short films.
Noise Dublin is an organisation supported by South Dublin County Council, consisting of facilitators and music tutors who teach various skills, such as production, beatmaking, and lyric and songwriting.
The organisation collaborates with other groups, like Creative Connections and Dance for Change, to create multidisciplinary projects.
‘The Clocks Won’t Wait’ aims to show participants how to create multidisciplinary artwork, including songwriting and choreography.
“I wanted to take part in this programme because I really wanted to push myself creatively and learn more as a musician,” remarks participant Grace McCluskey.
The team receives funding, develops a concept, and commits to weekly sessions to create art reflecting life in Adamstown.
The project involves transforming feelings about living in a transient place into multidisciplinary art.
Facilitators and participants discuss the emotional impact of living in a place under construction and the sense of movement and transience it brings.
Challenges faced, according to Jess, include a difficulty in maintaining consistency due to participants’ summer commitments and holidays.
Grace states that one of the biggest challenges for her was self-doubt, but with the help and encouragement of her mentors, she focused on expressing how she felt through music, rather than trying to be “perfect”.
Despite the challenges, participants were committed and generous with their energy and ideas.
Jess remarks that her favourite part of working on the project has been writing songs and highlights the title song, ‘The Clocks Won’t Wait’, written by participants Grace and Sean.
Grace’s favourite part of the process has been watching the project come to life: “It started as a general idea of where we wanted it to go, and seeing it grow into a finished project has been such a rewarding experience.”
She points out that South Dublin County Council is currently hosting projects in Killinarden and Brookfield. Noise Music Dublin is active in various communities, and anyone interested can contact them through Instagram or through the SDCC.
Meanwhile, Grace is working on new songs and has started in SubSounds, a programme that has given her an opportunity to make and release an LP with a group of young people.
For help with the programme, Jess would like to thank Brian from Creative Connections, Dance for Change, her colleagues, the facilitators, and the young artists from Adamstown.
She would also like to thank Gerry Horan, the spearhead of Noise Music Dublin, and the Adamstown Community College for their support and accommodations.
Grace would like to thank the whole project team for facilitating the project and giving her such an “amazing place to grow”.
Specifically, she would like to thank Gerry, who ran the project; Jess, who pushed her to think differently and helped with vocals; Elton Mulally and Pati Guimaraes for filming and photography; and Ryan McCann and everyone involved with the sound and production to make this possible.
The five short films by young musicians, dancers, and spoken word artists will screen at the Adamstown Youth & Community Centre on November 21 at 7pm; anyone aged between 14 and 18 years old is entitled to free entry.
