Kids' Own 2018 Activity Report

Kids’ Own

Annual Activity Report

2018

Kids’ Own is a children’s arts organisation and publishing house and Ireland’s only dedicated publisher of books by children, for children.

Kids’ Own works in defence of children’s right to culture and supports their individual creative expression through publishing and the arts.

Company number: 508465 Charity number: 20639 Charity registration number: 20082109 Image: Children at Naíonra Aras Chrónáin, Clondalkin engaging with artist Maree Hensey as part of To Be, To Wallow, To Wonder.

A participant of the I Hope You Grow project with artist Maree Hensey and writer Mary Branley

Who we are Kids’ Own was formed in 1997 and since then has firmly established itself as a leading organisation within the cultural sector, supporting children’s engagement with professional artists through high-quality arts and publishing experiences. Kids’ Own is Ireland’s only dedicated publisher of books by children and works in defence of children’s right to culture, supporting children’s inclusion and recognition as active cultural citizens within their communities and society as a whole.

Kids’ Own also strives to support and strategically develop the sector of arts practice with children through training, mentoring and supports for professional artists who work in this field and whose practice is deeply rooted in respect for reciprocal processes of enquiry and making between artists and children. Through professional development and national strategic initiatives, the impact of our work extends beyond our own programmes of engagement.

Kids’ Own works through a model of social change, blending strong social justice goals with artistic excellence. Through publishing and the arts, Kids’ Own advocates for a society where children are valued and listened to, and where their voices, opinions, experiences and creative expression are given visibility, credence and status.

Kids’ Own is based in Sligo, a gateway town to the northwest and a key cultural community within Ireland. Kids’ Own works nationally, but is also committed to supporting and enriching the economic and community development of our local and regional communities through family initiatives and educational programmes in the northwest.

As part of a strong social inclusion agenda, Kids’ Own particularly strives to support children who are experiencing marginalisation or social disadvantage. Our activities in 2018 offered a very pertinent response to this agenda through projects that engaged children experiencing homelessness, children from migrant families and children from minority cultures, in particular, the Traveller community.

Kids’ Own takes a holistic view of childhood and works in partnership with many organisations and agencies from across all sectors of society to champion children as active cultural citizens and change-makers within their communities and within society as a whole.

Who we are

Kids’ Own is currently midway through a three-year strategy, which sets out a strong vision to continue challenging attitudes towards children and their role within the arts; to raise awareness among families, teachers and policy makers as to the value of creative experiences for children across all stages of their lives; to foster influential champions through professional development and strategic initiatives; and to support the practice of artists who work with children.

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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Children at Scoil �osa, Ballina taking part in the Travellers’ Journey project with writer Mary Branley and artist Cass McCarthy

Kids’ Own vision Our vision is for a society that recognises children as independent writers, thinkers and creators and that truly values the arts in the lives of all children.

Kids’ Own mission Our mission is to develop, publish and promote artwork and writing created by children for children and their communities through meaningful engagement with professional artists.

Our Strategic Aims 2017–2020 Aim 1: Engagement and co-creation Increase opportunities for children to develop artwork and writing through meaningful engagement with professional artists.

Aim 2: Visibility of children’s work Increase the visibility to children’s artwork and writing through publishing, exhibition and dissemination.

Aim 4: Research and advocacy Strive to build evidence and lead change towards children’s inclusion as active creators.

Aim 5: Building internal capacity Ensure that Kids’ Own has the capacity to achieve its strategic aims.

Aim 3: Professional arts practice with children Strengthen the practice of artists and other professionals who work with children.

Our strategic aims

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Organisation and governance Legal structure Kids’ Own is a non-for-profit company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

Company number: 508465

Tax registration number: 9822769G (not VAT registered) Charity number: 20639

Charity registration number: 20082190

Board members Kids’ Own has five board members, two of whom were co-opted in 2018.

Organisation and governence

Election of board members Kids’ Own’s Constitution sets out the following rules for election/ appointment of board members: To qualify for appointment, a director must be nominated and seconded for the position by existing directors. Nominations must be in writing, received at the registered office at least two weeks before the board meeting at which the appointment is to be made And for terms of directors: Directors shall be appointed for a term of three years and shall thereafter be eligible for reappointment for a further period of three years, but shall then retire

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About the board Carmel Brennan

Tenure: 13 June 2018–present Field of expertise: Early childhood development and learning Dr. Carmel Brennan recently retired as Head of Training and Practice with Early Childhood Ireland, where she had responsibility for the organisation’s work in developing curriculum, improving practice and supporting services to work with the national frameworks. She now works as a part time lecturer in Maynooth University on the degree and masters in early childhood education programmes. Her research interests are in the areas of curriculum and particularly children’s play – the subject of her PhD thesis. More recently, she focuses on children’s co-construction of stories through play and the relationship between play and artistic enquiry in children’s lives.

Maria Corbett (Chair)

Tenure: 29 July 2016–present Field of expertise: Children’s rights/ child and family law Maria Corbett has twenty years’ experience as a children’s rights advocate, policy analyst and researcher. Maria is currently a doctoral researcher with the School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway researching best practice internationally in child protection proceedings. From 2001 to 2016, Maria led the legal and policy work of the Children’s Rights Alliance which unites over 100 members working together to promote and protect the rights of children and young people in Ireland. She also served as the organisation’s Deputy Chief Executive from 2005 to 2016. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ark Cultural Centre, Dublin and the Child Care Law Reporting Project.

About the board

Jennifer Hennessy (Treasurer)

Tenure: 19 August 2016–present Field of expertise: Finance Jennifer is Social Finance Executive at Clann Credo – The Social Investment Fund. Jennifer has a background in finance and banking. In her role with Clann Credo she has worked with hundreds of non-profit organisations.

Irene Lawlor

Tenure: 15 May 2015–14 May 2018, Term renewed from 15 May 2018 for another three years.

Field of expertise: Marketing and communications Irene has been Communications Manager at GSK since November 2016.

Previously, she was Communications Manager at Barnardos, Ireland and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Media Specialist with O2 Ireland, and Instructional Designer with Riverdeep.

Mark O’Brien

Tenure: 9 Feb 2018–present Field of expertise: Arts and cultural management Mark is Director of axis, Ballymun, an organisation at the heart of Ballymun on the northside of Dublin. Axis is an arts centre, production company, arts development organisation & resource centre. Mark also practices as a theatre director and as a composer/sound designer and has facilitated theatre workshops nationally and internationally.

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The role of the Kids’ Own board The key role of the board of Kids’ Own is to provide leadership to the organisation by setting strategic direction and ensuring policies are in place that supports this direction. The board also: ▸ Approves, monitors and reviews the work programme to ensure it is effectively meeting the agreed objectives and performance indicators. ▸ Protects and represents the interests of Kids’ Own and is accountable to the membership. ▸ Ensures a framework of prudent and effective controls are in place for the work of Kids’ Own.

Governance standards

As a registered charity and publicly funded non-for-profit organisation, Kids’ Own is wholly committed to fulfilling best practice requirements in relation to the governance of our organisation. We were among the first 100 organisations in Ireland to sign up to the Governance Code for community, voluntary and charitable organisations (2012) and have been working to ensure ongoing compliance by keeping this as a standing item on our board meeting agendas.

With the new Governance Code issued by the Charities Regulator in November 2018, Kids’ Own is now committed to achieving full compliance with this code and has set the groundwork for this through our ongoing attendance to this piece of work.

▸ Discharges its responsibilities in accordance with the defining rules of the organisation.

The role of the Kids’ Own board

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AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation Increase opportunities for children to develop artwork and writing through meaningful engagement with professional artists.

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

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Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation At the core of our work is the desire to provide opportunities for children of all backgrounds in Ireland to participate in meaningful creative processes alongside professional artists; to freely and creatively express themselves; and for their artwork and voices to be seen and heard, valued and given credence, through publishing and exhibition – both online and offline.

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Drawing from A Strong Heart: A book of stories and dreams for the future by Syrian and Palestinian children living in County Mayo

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Virtually There

Dates: Jan–June 2018/ Sept–Dec 2018 One of Kids’ Own’s flagship projects, Virtually There is a pioneering model of collaborative arts practice within sites of learning. This project has been running since 2007 and began with one collaborative partnership between artist Ann Henderson, teachers Julie Orr and Judith White and children from classes P2 and P5 at Ballydown Primary School in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. Eleven years on, and with generous grant funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (UK), through its Arts-based Learning Fund (awarded in 2016), the project now supports eight collaborative partnerships between artists in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Spain, and schools in Northern Ireland.

Kids’ Own is currently developing independent qualitative research, conducted by Dr Bryonie Reid to explore the impact of the project on all participants. The research is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Virtually There was also generously funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through Lottery Project Funding from 2007 to 2018.

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Pixelated drawings by children from St Colman’s Primary School, Lisburn working with artist John D’Arcy and teacher Chris McCambridge as part of Virtually There.

Artists: Lisa Cahill, John D’Arcy, Naomi Draper, Ann Donnelly, Julie

Children from Donaghey Primary School working with teacher Marcella Wilson and artist Ann Donnelly as part of Virtually There.

A unique feature of the Virtually There project is its pioneering use of virtual technologies to connect the artists from their studio with the children in the classroom. This has resulted in very defined modes of communication and innovative approaches to collaboration with the whiteboard platform offering a shared canvas for dialogue and visibility of process.

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Forrester, Ann Henderson, Sharon Kelly, Andrew Livingstone.

Teachers: Paula Courtenay, Stella Cross, Wendy Davey, Fionnuala Hughes, Leanne Kyle, Chris McCambridge, Julie Orr, Judith White, Marcella Wilson.

Schools: Aughnacloy PS, Aughnacloy, Ballydown PS, Banbridge, Donaghey PS, Dungannon, St James’s PS, Newtownabbey, Killard House, Donaghadee (post-primary), St Colman’s PS, Lisburn, St Patrick’s PS, Crossmaglen, Strandtown PS, Belfast.

Participants: 472 school children in Northern Ireland; 8 artists; 9 teachers.

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Artwork developed by children at Ballydown Primary School as part of Virtually There with artist Ann Henderson.

Our Map

Early Years Residency project In partnership with Roscommon Arts Centre Dates: 3, 10 Feb, 3, 10 March 2018 This was a new partnership with Roscommon Arts Centre, exploring models of engagement for very young children and their parents. Young children were building spaces, marking boundaries and mapping enclosures with artists Naomi Draper and Maree Hensey.

Artists: Maree Hensey and Naomi Draper Participants: 12 children and their parents.

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Children engaging with artists Maree Hensey and Naomi Draper at Roscommon Arts Centre as part of the Our Map project.

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

A Strong Heart

(Collaborative book project) Dates: February–June 2018 This project represented a strong response to Kids’ Own’s social inclusion and social justice agenda. Building on existing partnerships and connections within County Mayo, Kids’ Own became part of an interagency conversation around supporting the resettlement of newly arrived refugees through programmes of meaningful cultural and civic engagement. We worked in partnership with the Refugee Resettlement Project (South West Mayo Development Company) and Mayo County Council to develop a programme of engagement that would result in the creation of a brand-new book by children, sharing their voices and experiences with a wider audience.

Kids’ Own was also grateful for the support of the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar, who supported the project through in-kind use of their workroom for the creative sessions.

Artists: Mary Branley and Vanya Lambrecht Ward Venue: Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar Partners/Funders: Mayo County Council, South West Mayo

Over a period of eight weeks, a group of 8–12-year-old children from Syria and Palestine worked with writer Mary Branley and artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward to develop artwork and personal stories, which would then be collated by Kids’ Own and published in a brand-new book. The book was titled A Strong Heart and was launched in Mayo in June 2018.

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Development Company (Refugee Resettlement Project), St Stephen’s Green Trust.

Participants: 16 children Launch attendees: 62 children, parents, artists and community/ arts sector professionals

Participants of the A Strong Heart project working with artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward and writer Mary Branley

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A Strong Heart makes it to the UN! July 2018 The book was presented by Minister Katherine Zappone to Louise Arbour, UN Special Representative for International Migration, following a discussion on child migrants. The voices of these children were placed on record during the Minister’s address to the UN Security Council.

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone TD with Louise Arbour, UN Special Representative for International Migration at the UN Security Council meeting in New York.

I Hope You Grow (Collaborative book project) Dates: July–November 2018

Another collaborative book project with strong social justice themes, this was a partnership with Focus Ireland and engaged children living in temporary accommodation. The project had multiple aims; among them the need to develop a child-led response to the homelessness crisis, and to put children’s voices and real experiences at the centre of this emergency. The project also provided a wonderful opportunity to develop an immersive, creative and reflective space alongside professional artists, for children in this unique situation.

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The project was guided by writer Mary Branley and visual artist Maree Hensey and workshops took place in the Carmelite Community Centre, Aungier Street, Dublin.

The artwork and words of the young people involved were brought together into a new book, titled I Hope You Grow, which was launched at the Mansion House in Dublin in November 2018.

Artists: Mary Branley and Maree Hensey Venue: Carmelite Community Centre, Dublin Partners: Focus Ireland Funding partner: Bord Gaís Energy Participants: 15 children Launch attendees: 100 children, parents, artists and sector

professionals

Process images and artwork from the I Hope You Grow project with artist Maree Hensey and writer Mary Branley

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Young Writers

Cross-border creative writing programme Dates: Sept–Dec 2018 Building on a long history of cross-border initiatives, many funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund, Kids’ Own developed this new programme, which aimed to give young writers a framework of developmental support, under the guidance and mentorship of writer and poet Mary Branley, and to give status and recognition to their writing through a professionally published output and a launch event. With a strong cross-border dynamic, the project also sought to connect young people from their separate communities in Derry and Donegal and bring them together through the shared focus of their creative writing interests.

Young Writers Project

In our contemporary society, the realities and lived experiences of young people often go unnoticed or are misrep resented within our mainstream culture.

This project offered a developmental framework for two groups of young people from Derry/Londonderry and Donegal to develop authentic and meaningful stories and youth narratives through poetry, prose and spoken word. Throu gh a series of workshops with writer Mary Branley, the young people were encouraged to develo p their individual voices in response to their cultural landscape and as a reflection of their own ideas and interests.

This broadsheet conta ins a selection of the young people’s work, which draws on strong social concerns as well as imagined narratives that sometimes delve into science fiction or futuristic possibilities .

The project culminated in a special performance and launch event in November 2018, at which both groups of young people came together to share their work with a public audience.

This project was manage d and developed by Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership, a children’s arts organisation and publishing house, in collaboration with Donega l County Council Library Service and Libraries NI. Kids’ Own is proud to be funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. This project was generously supported by the Departm ent of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund.

Acknowledgements

Project writer Mary Branley .

Project partners Donega l County Council Library Service and Libraries NI. Special thanks to Donna Cavanagh, Senior Executi ve Librarian, Donegal County Council Library Service; Maura Craig, Area Manager, Librarie Rory Gallagher, Executi s NI; ve Librarian, Donegal County Council Library Diane Thomson, Branch Service; Library Manager, Strathf oyle Library; Eamonn O’Donnell and Helena McAuley from Enagh Youth Forum.

Kids’ Own team Jo Holmw ood, Acting Director; Emma Kavanagh, Project Manager; Alice Lyons, Project Manage r; Ciara Gallagher, Office Administrator.

Broadsheet design Martin Corr.

Sound production Anthon y McManus.

www.kidsown.ie

Young Participants

Letterkenny

Aaliyah Mullen Aoibhe McCaffrey Evie Sandilands Alex Bond Kayla Canavan Samantha-Rose Bradle y Sarah King Sinéad McHugh Síofra McGarrigle Victoria Adeogun

Strathfoyle Cora Wong Darragh O’Brien Ellie Dixon Emily Ross Kaelin Pyper Katie Crossan Kyra ????

Milly Hull Riona McGlinchey Sarah Doherty Seanan Brown

young Writers

Broadsheet

A selection of works by young writers from Letterkenny and Strathfo yle published by Kids’ Own Publishing Parnership, in collabora tion with Donegal County Council Library Service and Libr aries NI

Participants of the Young Writers project, led by writer Mary Branley

Over a period of eight weeks, Mary Branley met with the young people in Donegal Central Library, Letterkenny and Strathfoyle Library in County Derry to support them to develop their process as writers, poets, journalists and activists for social change through the spoken and written word. The groups also had cross-border meetings during the project. The project culminated in the launch of a broadsheet publication, which took place at An Grianán Hotel, Burt in November 2018.

Writer: Mary Branley Venues: Donegal Central Library, Letterkenny; Strathfoyle Library Partners: Libraries NI; Donegal County Council Library Service Funded by: The Department of Foreign Affairs, Reconciliation Fund.

Participants: 24 young people Launch attendees: 100 children, parents and partner organisation representatives

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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Travellers’ Journey Collaborative book project Dates: Sept–Dec 2018

This project emerged from a brand-new interagency collaboration in County Mayo, initiated by the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life. The project was devised as a meaningful, child-centred response to the Travellers’ Journey/Mincéir Misli’d exhibition, which opened at the museum in July 2018. Working with 6th class children at Scoil Íosa in Ballina, and young people from Involve Youth Group, Kids’ Own developed an eight-week programme through which the young people engaged with the exhibition, and developed creative responses through artwork and writing, with writer Mary Branley and visual artist Cass McCarthy.

The young people’s work has been collated by Kids’ Own and is due to published as a brand-new book in spring 2019.

Central to the book are themes of cultural diversity and social inclusion.

Scoil Íosa is proud to count 52% of its school-going population as being from a Traveller background, and it also has a culturally diverse population with children from Burma, Brazil and Poland, to name just some.

Artists: Mary Branley and Cass McCarthy Workshop locations: Scoil Íosa, Ballina; Involve Youth Group,

Ballina; The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life Partners: The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life; Scoil Íosa, Ballina; Involve Youth Group, Balina; Mayo Interagency Traveller Support Group Funders: The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Department of Justice and Equality, Community Foundation for Ireland, SICAP, Mayo North East.

Participants: 30 children from Scoil Íosa, Ballina and Involve Youth Group Launch attendees: 100 children, families and members of the local community Children from Scoil Íosa, Ballina developing artwork with artist Cass McCarthy and writer Mary Branley as part of the Travellers’ Journey project.

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

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Temple Bar Art Book Fair (Public Engagement) Dates: 24 November 2018

A workshop looking at books and buildings. Through explorations of folding techniques and the combination of balancing, stacking and leaning, children explored what wonderful structures books and buildings can be. Our books were available to buy at the Art Book Fair, Ireland’s only art book fair which showcases books from creative and innovative publishers from across the world.

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Artist: Vanya Lambrecht Ward Venue: Temple Bar Gallery and Studios Participants: 17 children and parents

Folding images by artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward documenting her workshop as part of Temple Bar Art Book Fair

AIM 1 Engagement and Co-creation

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work Increase visibility of children’s artwork and writing through publishing, exhibition and dissemination

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AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work As Ireland’s only dedicated publisher of books by children, Kids’ Own seeks to address the systematic dismissal of children’s voices within our society. Kids’ Own works in defence of children’s right to culture and has fought over many years to increase the status given to children as artists and writers and to champion their status in society as culturally literate and active citizens.

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Through professional publishing with children, Kids’ Own seeks to develop a niche canon of books by children, for children that speak to children’s real lives and experiences as citizens of Ireland today.

In 2018, we took significant steps to increase our own public presence and visibility as an organisation in order to, by extension, bring more visibility to the work of children. We moved to new premises in Sligo town – giving us a physical street-fronting presence in our local area.

And we also worked on developing our archive with a view to creating an online space that could give a national platform to our extensive body of work developed by children over more than twenty years.

Mark-making as part of the I Hope You Grow project with writer Mary Branley and artist Maree Hensey

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Book publications and launches

The following publications were launched in 2018 with the young people involved, their families and other members of the public. The launches provide a special opportunity to mark the culmination of a project, to celebrate the young people’s work and to consolidate our commitment to giving a public platform for children’s voices and raise the status and visibility of their artwork, opinions, stories and experiences through professional publishing.

I Hope you Grow launch

A Strong Heart: 21 June 2018 Venue: Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar

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Number in attendance: 62

I Hope You Grow: 9 November 2018 Venue: Mansion House, Dublin

Number in attendance: 100

Young Writers’ Broadsheet: 22 November 2018 Venue: An Grianán Hotel, Burt

A Strong Heart launch

Number in attendance: 100

Young Writers launch

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Kids’ Own Archive and Website Development In 2017, Kids’ Own secured funding from Sligo LEADER Development Company to develop our 20-year archive and to improve and augment our online presence as a space where our archive could be made more visible and accessible.

Through a public procurement process, Kids’ Own engaged the services of Louisa Sloan to consolidate, catalogue and organise our archive. In the second stage of this project, we engaged the services of New Graphic to redesign and develop our website.

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Screen shots from our updated website

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

New Premises 40 Wolfe Tone Street

MOTAMO

Another significant development for Kids’ Own in terms of visibility and physical presence, was our move to new premises in Sligo town in July 2018.

Acting CEO, Jo Holmwood, travelled to Belgium in May 2018, at the invitation of biennial exhibition organiser Alain Regnier. The purpose of the trip was to meet with potential partners from Spain, Italy, France and Belgium to discuss a collaborative project. As part of this trip, Jo visited the Atheneum Secondary School in La Louvière to present the work of Kids’ Own and engage young English language students in a dialogue about the value of books made by children for children, as well as exploring some of the themes in Kids’ Own’s books. The trip also provided an opportunity for partners to learn about the history of printing and book-making in Belgium through organised visits to local cultural institutions.

The move was symbolic and strategic in terms of taking up a space that could better accommodate our expanding team, offer better storage for our archive and book stock, have a street-facing window to give us public profile in our local area, and give us the potential for a future workspace where we might engage with small, invited groups to deliver some of our creative programme on-site.

This latter point would be part of Kids’ Own delivering on a key strategic aim to build capacity and develop more sustained, long-term and developmental programmes of engagement for children and families in our local area and in-house. It builds on the findings from our Feasibility Study (developed by local company Meehan and Tully) and responds to sustainability objectives to minimise our carbon footprint – as well as venue rental costs – and to work more consistently at a local/ regional level

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work

International Biennial Exhibition of Children’s Books, Belgium: Partner planning meeting.

Dates: May 2018

Partner participants: 15 Student participants: 40

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Sligo Pregnancy and Family Wellness Day Date: 16 September 2018

Kids’ Own was invited to participate in Sligo Pregnancy and Family Wellness Day, a day designed to offer positive support to women, children, and families, through hosting an information and book stand. This was an important opportunity for Kids’ Own to meet with members of the local community and to introduce our books to a new readership.

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Attendees: c. 500

Alice Lyons at Sligo Pregnancy and Family Wellness day

AIM 2 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

AIM 3 Professional Arts Practice with Children Strengthen the practice of artists and other professionals who work with children and young people.

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AIM 3 Professional Arts Practice with Children The third strand of Kids’ Own’s strategic priorities responds to a commitment towards developing excellence of practice and supporting professionals who work with children and young people. Kids’ Own – as a leading national organisation – has a strategic role within the sector, and also seeks to lead out through exemplary practice; developing ground-level projects that have a strong framework of support and reflective processes embedded within them.

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In 2018, a number of initiatives developed or supported by Kids’ Own, aimed to extend the impact of our work into other sectors and across other organisations. Through the following projects, we supported artists and other professionals wishing to develop their practice with children and young people.

Travellers’ Journey project participant from Scoil Íosa, Ballina

AIM 3 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

To Be, To Wallow, To Wonder (Public art/ Student Training/ Early Years Engagement Programme) Dates: Spring 2018 (Phase II)

Led by artist Maree Hensey and funded by Grangegorman Development Agency, this project was a multi-layered initiative, designed to support Early Childhood Education students at DIT to have creative experiences that could be mirrored in ECCE settings.

The residency aimed to nurture a culture and community that supports very young children in the development of their own unique language and individual expression.

This was a three-phase programme, starting in autumn 2017, in which Maree engaged with second-year students on the Visual Arts module to explore process-based sensory approaches, using natural materials, and to support them to develop an understanding of immersive visual arts practice. In the second stage, in spring 2018, Maree worked closely with four students who expressed a strong interest in this way of working.

Maree engaged with young children in the students’ placement settings (four Dublin ECCE centres) to develop experiential and practice-based learning for the students.

Kids’ Own offered a support framework for Maree to undertake this project, in the form of mentorship and documentation supports. The project resulted in the creation of two videos, developed by Kids’ Own, which can be viewed at these links: https://vimeo.com/256061757 https://vimeo.com/282830334

Artist: Maree Hensey Participant ECCE settings: Goldenbridge Day Nursery,

Inchicore; Naíonra Aras Chrónáin, Clondalkin; Early Intervention Support Services, Donaghmede; St Vincent’s Day Nursery, Ballyfermot.

Student participants: Sarah O’Donovan, Lisa Kearns, Diane Dempsey, Lynne Murray.

Funded by: Grangegorman Development Agency (Pathway 2 of ‘…the lives we live’, Grangegorman Public Art Programme).

Partners: Grangegorman Development Agency; Dublin Institute of Technology, Early Childhood Education, Kids’ Own. Participants: 44 early years children

Young participant at the Early Intervention Support Services, Donaghmede participating in To Be, To Wallow, To Wonder with artist Maree Hensey

AIM 3 Visibility of Children’s Work

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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Young Playwrights Programme, by Graffiti Theatre Company and Fighting Words was a recipient of the Documentation Award in 2018.

National Arts in Education Portal

Documentation Awardees

▸ Claire Breen, Breadfellows Chats https://vimeo.com/290640691 ▸ Young Playwrights Programme, Graffiti Theatre Company and Fighting Words, Cork https://vimeo.com/298209533

Since 2015, Kids’ Own has been leading the development and managing the content of the Arts in Education Portal – the key national digital resource of arts in education practice in Ireland. Working alongside an editorial committee, chaired by Dr Katie Sweeney – National Director of the Integration of the Arts in Education – Kids’ Own has a critical role in terms of supporting the development of the sector, and promoting excellence of practice through this resource. https://vimeo.com/264574107

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In 2018, an additional plan of commissioned content was developed

by Kids’ Own and included guest blogs, critical essays, documentation awards and the first Arts in Education Portal Regional Days, which took place in partnership with the Glucksman Gallery, Cork and LexIcon Library, Dun Laoghaire.

Portal statistics 2018 Total site visits: 19,562 Users: 12,525

Children from St Ibar’s National School, Castlebridge, Co. Wexford with artist Clare Breen, recipient of the Documentation Award in 2018.

Newsletter subscribers: 764

Facebook and Twitter followers: 3,215 Video views: 1,265

Regional/National Day attendees: 148 Breadfellows’ Chats, by visual artist Clare Breen, working with children from St Ibar’s National School, Co. Wexford. Recipient of the Documentation Award in 2018.

AIM 3 Visibility of Children’s Work

Participants at a workshop with artist Maree Hensey at the 2018 Arts in Education Portal National Day

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

National Arts in Education Portal Cont’d Glucksman Gallery, Cork

The first Arts in Education Portal event to connect with regional audiences in 2018 was held in the Glucksman, Cork on the 10th of March. This event encouraged practitioners including artists, teachers, and sector professionals, to learn more about the Portal and what it offers, to share and showcase their work, and to connect with the regional arts community. John McCarthy and participants in the Youth Playwrights Programme, Fighting Words, at the Graffiti Theatre, Cork presented their project, as did Tadhg Crowley and participants in the Blueprints Project at the Glucksman. As part of the Breadfellows’ Chats project, artist Clare Breen led a creative session for participants.

LexIcon Library, Dún Laoghaire

On Saturday the 6th of October, the second Arts in Education Portal Regional Day of 2018 was held in Dún Laoghaire, at the DLR LexIcon.

The day of networking and inspiration featured presentations by visual artist Helen Barry on her early years work with childcare facilities and visual artist Claire Halpin and Deirdre Gartland, Principal, Central Model Senior School on the Visual Thinking Strategies Project.

Liz McMahon facilitated a hands-on creative session using natural materials and approaches developed by Forest Schools.

AIM 3 Visibility of Children’s Work

Participant at a workshop with artist Maree Hensey at the 2018 Arts in Education Portal National Day

Arts in Education Portal National Day 2018 National University of Ireland, Maynooth, in partnership with Froebel On the 21st of April the third arts in education portal national day took place at Maynooth University in partnership with Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education. The Portal National Day is building momentum as a very significant event in the arts and education calendar in Ireland. With over 100 artists, teachers and arts in education professionals in attendance with 22 workshops and lectures across the day by a range of presenters from the sector and inspirational insights from our guest speakers Professor Gary Granville and Paul Collard.

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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AIM 4 Research and Advocacy Strive to build evidence and lead change towards children’s inclusion as active creators Kids’ Own recognises the value of continuing to build evidence and interrogate the impact of our work, through research and selfevaluation.

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Qualitative research into the impact of the Virtually There project Ongoing

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Dr Bryonie Reid was engaged in 2017 to develop this qualitative study of the impact of Kids’ Own’s Virtually There project. The research was made possible with thanks to a four-year grant fund from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation (awarded in 2016), which also funded an expansion of the project itself.

During 2018, the research deepened and Dr Reid developed a comprehensive literature review which would form a critical theoretical and contextual framework within which to site her analysis of the Virtually There project. She also continued extensive conversations with artists and teachers involved in the project and, in autumn 2018, began more in-depth case studies, to explore how the project was developing within two of the collaborative partnerships.

The research is due to be published in spring 2020.

AIM 4 Research and Advocacy

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Feasibility Study for a Children’s Cultural Centre in Sligo In 2017, Kids’ Own commissioned a feasibility study for a children’s cultural centre in Sligo, which was funded by Sligo LEADER Development Company. Through a public procurement process, this piece of work was awarded to management and community development consultancy, Meehan Tully and Associates, based in Sligo town.

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The study was completed in summer 2018 and feeds into Kids’ Own’s strategic vision for more consistent and sustained provision of arts practice with children in the region of the northwest.

The study presented several models for the development of a children’s cultural centre, based on different scales of funding and stakeholder control. While a large-scale capital investment with multiple stakeholders was deemed unachievable in the short-term, some pertinent recommendations were made towards a more self-sustaining model, based more closely on Kids’ Own’s current operations and our local partnership network. Our move to new premises with a potential workspace on site was a positive step in this direction.

Participants of the A Strong Heart project with writer Mary Branley and artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward

AIM 4 Research and Advocacy

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

International Teaching Artists Conference (ITAC4), New York Dates: 13–15 September 2018

Acting CEO, Jo Holmwood, attended this important conference in New York, with thanks to funding from the Arts Council of Ireland. The conference had a strong social justice angle, with the theme ‘Artist as Activist’ at its core.

Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Dreamyard joined together to co-host the fourth ITAC conference in New York City. The conference brought together over 300 teaching artists along with organizations, funders, researchers, and other leaders from more than 28 countries, to explore key issues of participatory arts practice in a dynamic mix of practical workshops, keynote speeches, site-specific observations, and roundtable discussions.

Participating in the ‘Our Senses Revived’ pre-conference workshop at Groundswell, Brooklyn.

ITAC4, September 2018.

ITAC4 investigated:

▸ What is the role of teaching artists as contributors to social justice? ▸ What is the responsibility of 21st century artists as they engage in different communities? ▸ How can artists transform schools and institutions of learning in radical ways?

Participants of the A Strong Heart project with writer Mary Branley and artist Vanya Lambrecht Ward

AIM 4 Research and Advocacy

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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AIM 5 Building Capacity Ensure Kids’ Own has the capacity to achieve its strategic aims

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Executive Team Long-serving Kids’ Own Creative Director, Orla Kenny, sadly resigned due to illness in June 2018. Orla’s role had been occupied in an acting capacity by Jo Holmwood since December 2016 and the post was opened to a competitive recruitment process at the end of 2018.

During the year, Kids’ Own was delighted to welcome Alice Lyons as Project Manager (February 2018) and Ciara Gallagher as Administrator (September 2018).

Kids’ Own Executive Acting Creative Director/CEO – Jo Holmwood

Jo is a writer and editor and trained in Drama and Theatre Studies/ Spanish Language and Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. She has 15 years’ experience working in the children’s cultural sector. During her time with Kids’ Own, she has devised and managed an extensive range of collaborative projects with children and artists and has edited and published dozens of book titles with and by children and young people.

In her role as Creative Director, she is responsible for the successful delivery of Kids’ Own’s strategic plan, sound governance and financial stability of the organisation, fundraising, HR, sustainability and creative planning.

AIM 5 Building Capacity

Project Manager – Emma Kavanagh

Emma graduated from NCAD in 2004 with a Bachelor of Design specialising in Metalwork. In 2009 she earned an Honours Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Policy & Practice at the National University of Ireland, Galway and since then has been working in the professional arts and cultural sector. Through her work in community and educational arts practise Emma developed a keen interest in digital media and technology which led to her work as a Digital Supports Consultant.

During her time with Kids’ Own Emma has managed a number of collaborative projects and has continued to utilise her skills in digital media as editor of the Arts in Education Portal, the national digital resource for arts in education and creative practise in Ireland.

Project Manager – Alice Lyons

Alice Lyons, a poet and cross-disciplinary artist, holds a Ph.D. from the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, Queen’s University, Belfast, and postgraduate degrees in Sociolinguistics and Fine Art from the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University, respectively. Her third collection of poetry is The Breadbasket of Europe (Veer Books, London, 2016). Among the honours she has received are a Radcliffe Fellowship in Poetry & New Media, Harvard University (2015/16) and the Patrick Kavanagh Award for Poetry (2002). Alice has worked for many years as a lecturer in English and Fine Art and as a literary and fine arts curator. She was visual arts curator at The Dock, Carrick-onShannon, County Leitrim (2008-2015), Assistant Commissioner for Ireland at the 2009 Venice Biennale and Curator of Poetry Now, Dublin’s international poetry festival (2014-2017). In her role at Kids’ Own, Alice is project manager with responsibility for Virtually There and is excited about bringing to bear her passion for the literary arts in all aspects of the company’s work.

Cont’d »

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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Executive Team Cont‘d Administrator – Ciara Gallagher

Ciara has worked as researcher on children’s books projects including the National Collection of Children’s Books at Trinity College Dublin, and “Gender Identity: Child Readers and Library Collections” at the Centre for Children’s Literature and Culture, Dublin City University.

She is the co-editor of the volume Constructions of the Irish Child in the Independence Period 1910-1940 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). Ciara has worked with the Museum of Childhood project, and helps to run a small charity, Providence Education, which supports Providence school in north-east India. She has also taught in a number of universities in Ireland and has worked in various administrative positions in the nonprofit and public sector.

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In her role as Administrator, Ciara is the first point of contact for the organisation, is responsible for the organisation’s social media, website content and newsletters, and provides administrative support for projects as well as carrying out general administrative duties.

Board Development

Kids’ Own design meeting

New members, Mark O’Brien and Carmel Brennan, were also co-opted to the Kids’ Own board, while Síofra Kilcullen stepped down.

New premises

As mentioned earlier, the new Kids’ Own premises represented an important step in terms of capacity-building and sustainability for the organisation.

AIM 5 Building Capacity

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Project participants with Kids’ Own Creative Director Jo Holmwood, writer Mary Branley and artist Maree Hensey at the launch of I Hope You Grow.

Testimonials “The things you’ve got to say to us about who we are as a country, who we are as a society, about your lives and about what we need to pay attention to are really important things for all of us… As writers, as artists, you’ve managed to communicate it all with just extraordinary insight the devastation of the things you face on a daily basis, and how difficult it is to cope without the security you are entitled to”.

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, speaking at the launch of I Hope You Grow, November 2018.

“I personally really enjoyed doing the writing club.

It gave me a chance to work on my writing with a group of people who actually understand and I can relate to. I felt comfortable sharing my writing with the group because I knew they would never judge me.”

Young Writers project participant Letterkenny

Testimonials

“It was a wonderful job and all the children were talking and their dreams were innocent and the love was clear among them. Thanks to the team.

Well done.”

Parent of participant in A Strong Heart County Mayo We sat on the floor with the children. We were a part of it as well. We were experiencing what they were experiencing. It wasn’t just about them. I got so much out of it as well. For myself, I’ll take away that art is anything that you can do creatively with freedom and expression… The art can be brought outside onto a bigger canvas. The art can be brought indoors to even something as little as throwing feathers up in the air and watching how gracefully they fall down. You can see the thought process in the children’s minds. I’ll definitely look at that differently and take their input more seriously as well.

Lynne Murray, Early Childhood Education Student, DIT Working on To Be, To Wallow, To Wonder, with artist Maree Hensey

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Summary In summary, 2018 was a very fruitful year for Kids’ Own in terms of creative activity and financially. Many of the partnerships and plans that we were developing in 2017 came to fruition, and we were particularly delighted to forge new partnerships with:

Focus Ireland Bord Gáis Energy The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life Involve Youth Group, Ballina Scoíl Íosa, Ballina Southwest Mayo Development Company (Refugee Resettlement Project) Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar Grangegorman Development Agency DIT (Early Childhood Education) Roscommon Arts Centre Glucksman Gallery, Cork LexIcon Library, Dun Laoghaire NUI Maynooth, in partnership with Froebel Temple Bar Art Book Fair/ Temple Bar Gallery and Studios

Summary

And to continue with established partnerships, including:

Libraries NI Donegal County Library Service Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Paul Hamlyn Foundation Department of Foreign Affairs Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Department of Education Primary and Secondary Schools in Northern Ireland: Aughnacloy, Ballydown, Donaghey, Killard House, St Colman’s, St James’s, St Patrick’s and Strandtown.

We delivered strongly across all strands of our strategy and made significant symbolic and strategic steps forward, in terms of our office relocation, expansion of staff team and board and meeting strong social justice goals.

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Future plans In 2019, Kids’ Own will continue with key flagship projects, as well as developing a range of new opportunities for engagement with children locally and nationally. A core area of focus in 2019 will be Dissemination and Visibility. We have devised a range of initiatives that will aim to: ▸ Disseminate our books to a wider audience;

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▸ Consolidate our process and way of working, and the artistic knowledge and expertise of our associate artists; ▸ Continue building on the development of our 20+ year archive through exhibition online and offline; ▸ Repurpose and disseminate the content from our Practice.ie archive;

Top opposite: Project participants at the launch of A Strong Heart Bottom opposite: Artworks from the Travellers’ Journey project

Future plans

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

Financial summary

Audience figures

Gross total income in 2018

€339,153

In 2018, Kids’ Own engaged with:

Gross total expenditure in 2018

€326,111

Key sources of income in 2018

Arts Council of Ireland Arts Council of Northern Ireland Paul Hamlyn Foundation (UK) Department of Education/PDST Department of Foregin Affairs St Stephen’s Green Trust Bord Gáis Energy Mayo County Council National Museum of Ireland – Country Life Value of net assets at year end

▸ 658 children through direction engagement and co-creation; I

▸ 700 children and parents as public audiences for our work; ▸ 300 sector professionals;

▸ Online audience of 5244 + 12,525 Portal users

▸ Book audience of 1502 readers* (*Conservative estimate based on book sale figures) ▸ Kids’ Own video views: 3651

€19,777

2018 accounts were audited by Casey Kavanagh & Company, Chartered Accountants & Statutory Audit Firm, 44 John Street, Sligo

Financial summary and audience figures

Kids’ Own Annual Activity Report 2018

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Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership CLG 40 Wolfe Tone Street, Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland, F91 R231

www.kidsown.ie

Children at Naíonra Aras Chrónáin, Clondalkin engaging with artist Maree Hensey as part of To Be, To Wallow, To Wonder.