Tipperary students escape reality of Covid through creative art project

In a pre-coronavirus world the students and teachers at Clonmel High School were embarking on a project with an Arts Council run initiative called Creative Schools.
Creative Schools is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme to enable the creative potential of every child.
It is a national initiative led by the Arts Council in partnership with both the Department of Education and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The aim of the initiative is to develop and celebrate the arts in schools across the country.
Schools that are chosen to become a Creative School are given additional funding to spend on their chosen art form and the time and expertise of a Creative Associate.
The role of the Creative Associate is to collaborate with the staff and pupils to explore the creative impulses within the school and match the needs of the school to the arts and creative opportunities in their locality.
Last year the High School art department, in conjunction with their Creative Associate Joanna Parkes, formed a student committee and put plans in place to develop podcasts, facilitate an opera workshop, create a large-scale outdoor mural and to hold a series of workshops, some of which were to be facilitated by past students.
Unfortunately all had to be postponed. This year, in Covid-restricted and difficult circumstances, the school is endeavouring to complete as many of the original plans as is safe to do so and hope to develop further ideas which include workshops on rap and digital art.
The first of the school’s major plans came to fruition on recently. Every student in the school was invited to digitally submit an idea or design for a mural on Google Classroom. These ideas were then sent to The Walls Project, the creative agency that manages the delivery of Waterford Walls International Street Art Festival and facilitates a comprehensive educational outreach program in Irish schools.
Artist Magda Karol was then commissioned to facilitate a workshop and realise a final design of the mural based on student ideas. Magda is an accomplished and successful illustrator, artist, educator and muralist. Over 20 students from 1st to 5th year got the opportunity to partake in a socially-distanced outdoor spray paint workshop with Magda and assist her in the completion of the final mural.
CREATIVE ASSOCIATE
The school’s Creative Associate, Joanna Parkes was delighted to be in the school while the mural was being created and to observe how the artist Magda worked with the boys to transform a grey section of wall in the yard into a vibrant and dynamic piece of street art.
“It was great to see how the boys who put forward ideas and suggestions for the mural were the ones who had the opportunity to work with Magda and be part of the process. I hope they enjoyed making their mark on the wall and knowing they all had a part in the creative process. We were pleased that despite the current restrictions, we were able to go ahead as it was an outdoor project and we were blessed with a warm, dry and sunny day which made the experience even more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the High School’s Creative Committee and to watch the rest of the creative plans for the school unfold.”
The Walls Project resident artist Magda Karol was also delighted with the overall collaboration and very aptly pointed out that “workshops allow you to forget for a moment the reality of the pandemic, developing the imagination we all need to create and design a better future”. The final result was a beautiful and contemporary spray-painted mural highlighting ideas of inclusion, teamwork and persistence. The central design was focused on the Irish name for Clonmel, Cluain Meala-Valley of the Honey. Most importantly, the students involved had fun, were inspired and felt part of a whole school collaborative and creative initiative that everyone can appreciate and enjoy.