Talented St Anne’s artists enjoy their new space

AT a recently opened exhibition at St Anne’s School, it was not just the artworks on display that showcased the talent of the school’s pupils. The art space itself has been developed by the school’s Leaving Certificate Applied students. Their efforts were used to fantastic effect as the space highlighed the art, workwork and textiles of pupils at the school going back to 2008.

The exhibition opened last Wednesday, with the works continuing to be prominently displayed in the school’s concourse through the coming months. The launch of the exhibition was attended by pupils, parents, staff and friends of St Anne’s, with Alan Shoosmith, co-ordinator of the Embrance Arts Programme in Clare performing the official opening.

David Bell, Leaving Certificate Applied co-ordinator at the school explained, “The initial concept for the art space was first developed by the Leaving Certificate Applied class of 2008. And this year’s students decided to further develop and revamp the space as part of their first-year general education task. They redecorated and repainted it and had been working on it since before Christmas.

“We have display boards outside of classrooms but we thought it was a good idea to have a designated art exhibition area. Something that anybody coming to the school can see, it’s very prominent in the concourse and visitors can see for themselves the great art work that is being done. And for the students themselves, it’s great for their self-esteem to see their works on display and to have people talking about it.  There was quite a lot of work involved in the art space and getting the exhibition ready but everyone really enjoyed the experience.

“The exhibition itself is a retrospective of art works, going from 2008 to the present Junior Certificate, Leaving Certificate Applied and FETAC examinations and it features art, woodwork and textiles. It’s wonderful work, lots of different styles of art.”

The current exhibition is expected to remain in place for the next few months, however it is expected that more exhibitions will be held in the space in the future. “We will certainly have more exhibitions, we just have to gather up more works of art as they are created. All kinds of works can be showcased in the exhibition space, it doesn’t have to be exam work and we have lots of talent here.