Out of the Blue - A Little Book of Inspiration

 

It was a very dark, wet November in 2009 when the application for this project was being prepared.Members of uachtarARTS were on the phone in Clann Resource Centre to Anne O’Shaughnessy, the co-ordinator, who was stuck in her home in the midst of the worst flooding that Ireland had experieced in years. This was the setting in which this project was born. Its focus was to bring attention, raise awareness and engage with the Oughterard Community in a meaningful way about very difficult subjects, poverty and social exclusion.

The work on this little book started in May 2010 in the loft room in Clann, and a plan was made to engage as many people as possible.

Workshops were held in Clann Resource Centre to brainstorm and visually capture what is meant by poverty and social exclusion. On July 6th 2010 a focus group discussing this theme was broadcast in Commemara Community Radio. A DVD was created focusing on the Nearly New Shop in Oughterard using the focus group recording to highlight that poverty and social exclusion are community issues. Through posters and handouts people were asked to contribute to the book, to capture their experience and wisdom on the subject.

The next step was to present the wonderful wisdom gathered in an accessible and creative way to keep with the ethos of the project. Each submitted piece is individual and yet connected to the whole. The creative process is as important as its finished pages.

We hope you get as much enjoyment out of its wisdom as we did putting it together.

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