Transition Year Students from St Seton’s Secondary School and Maryfield Nursing Home residents at the exhibition
Unique art ‘Together in Colour’
Transition Year students at St Setons Secondary School collaborated with residents at Maryfield Nursing Home to create a unique art exhibition, titled ‘Together in Colour’.
Visitors to the event, which was held in Ballyfermot Library on Friday, May 8, witnessed eight months of meaningful work that was completed by 50 artists.
A group of 35 students first visited Maryfield in August last year, where they met regularly with 15 residents to work together on a range of artworks.
Whilst working on colourful mosaic tiles and intricate needle-felted pieces, the students and residents bonded over stories about life, community and memories.
At the event, one student spoke about the overall class experience during the eight-month project.
“This project is about connection between generations. It helps young people and older adults to get to know each other, learn from each other, and build friendships. It also shows that nursing homes are creative and lively places, full of experience, stories and talent.”
Residents from Maryfield Nursing Home
Both the TY students and nursing home residents learned valuable skills from their time spent together and made great memories during the experience.
“For students, the project builds skills like empathy, patience, and understanding others’ experiences. For residents, it offers creativity, enjoyment and meaningful time with younger people.” One student said.
The art show was visited by fellow St Seton’s students and other Maryfield Residents, as well as Councillor Daithí Doolan.
The idea for the exhibition came from their art teacher, Aisling Flood, who was inspired to the establish the collaboration after having worked in nursing homes for eight and a half years.
Ms Flood reflected on her mindset before she started teaching art in schools: “If I ever go into teaching, one of my goals is to bring the kids to the nursing home and get them to do stuff with the residents, to actually make art.”
This year’s exhibition is only the second ever, but has grown in numbers since last year, as more students showed interest in working with the nursing home residents.
One student described the meaning behind the exhibition name, saying:
“The title Together in Colour represents both the bright, colourful artwork and the strong sense of community created through this project.”
Ms Flood emphasised the importance of community, especially in areas such as Ballyfermot, and how sense of place tied directly into the project
“Everybody knows everybody in Ballyfermot, and so it’s nice to connect the dots between generations and share stories and life experiences.”
