The Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation has a long history of connection with Poetry Ireland, providing support for both Poetry Ireland’s ambitious project for the all-island ‘Poetry Ireland House’ at No 11 Parnell Square, and Poetry Ireland’s Poet-in-Residence programme. The Poet-in-Residence programme aims to dismantle the barriers to poetry, believing that the creative energy sparked by first-hand encounters with poetry can trigger an appreciation of language that lasts a lifetime.
“The alignment and partnership between Poetry Ireland and the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation allowed the Poet-in-Residence programme to flourish because both organisations share values, beliefs, and the understanding of how art touches on the profound values that bind society together while offering pleasure, entertainment, intellectual stimulation, and comfort,” says Liz Kelly, Director of Poetry Ireland.
In late 2019, Catherine Ann Cullen was chosen as Poetry Ireland’s Poet-in-Residence for a two-year position engaging with communities across Dublin’s North Inner City. Despite the pandemic, Catherine Ann forged ahead with her plans as Poet-in-Residence, adapting constantly to meet the needs of participants. On the first day of lockdown, March 13th, 2020, Catherine Ann Cullen began a daily #PoetryPrompt online via Twitter and Facebook. To date, there have been over 2,500 poems written in response to these prompts.
Kelly highlights the organisations given consistent access and support by the Poet in Residence over the past two years. “These include Fatima Poetry Vigilantes Group, the Pathways groups of former prisoners based in Granby Row (mentioned above); the SAOL group of writers based in Amiens Street; the Five Lamps Festival and Frank Harte Festival, Mud Island Community Garden, Larkin Community College, and Charleville Mall library, among others.” Working closely with the Poetry Ireland Education Team, Catherine Ann also forged solid relationships with schools across Dublin throughout her residency.
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For Awards judge Tony Lawless, Head of Strategy Europe for Canada Life (Irish Life), this collaboration stood out because of its impact on the community.
‘Poetry is sometimes seen as inaccessible, but despite the pandemic (or perhaps because of our need to connect during it), Catherine managed to engage over 90,000 people across all segments of Ireland and encouraged them to flex their creative muscles and get out of the day to day if even for a while. A great achievement, with a positive impact, at an important time for us all,’ he says.
For Poetry Ireland, incorporating reading poetry as part of daily life has well-documented benefits such as improved literacy skills and intellectual development. Furthermore, during such a period of upheaval in people’s lives, poetry can help us all to make sense of the world and understand the universality of human emotions.
The collaborative model of the partnership with the Adrian Brinkerhoff Foundation ensured a meaningful focus from both partners to support artists, developing, and promoting contemporary practice. Kelly explains, “our partnership has greatly assisted Poetry Ireland in strengthening its position as an important part of the cultural infrastructure, most notably engaging underserved communities in north inner-city Dublin, and engaging marginalised artists on a regional, national, and international level.”
Inspiring community pride
In 2017, Sample-Studios moved from its original home in Cork City to Churchfield on the city’s Northside. Keen to embed themselves in the local community and stimulate arts participation in a chronically under-resourced area, they approached the local Gurranabraher Credit Union to develop a partnership. For the Credit Union, this represented an opportunity to celebrate the local community, stimulating local pride and awareness of both the Credit Union and the new Sample-Studios artistic community nearby.
In 2019, the two organisations developed a project to celebrate their shared community of Knocknaheeny, Gurranbraher, Churchfield, and Holyhill - areas of significant socio-economic disadvantage - through creativity and the accessible medium of photography. ‘PhotoGo’ was established on Culture Night 2019 as a participative artist-led photography workshop for members of the public, with a public exhibition and competition.
“Partnering with Gurranabraher Credit Union offered Sample-Studios a meaningful connection with our surrounding community in Cork City’s Northside. Now, Gurranabraher Credit Union customers and the surrounding communities it serves in Gurranabraher, Knocknaheeny and Holyhill are aware of our community of more than 90 artists. Together, we celebrated our shared community through creativity,” says Aoibhie McCarthy, Artistic Director of Sample-Studios.
In 2021, this partnership presented a public competition that engaged over 4,000 public votes, a month-long window-based exhibition in The Lord Mayor’s Pavilion which welcomed thousands of visitors, an innovative schools photography programme for over 100 students led by Sample-Studios member Kate McElroy, 5,000 commemorative calendars and a digital exhibition.
For the Credit Union, it created a series of events and opportunities for Credit Union staff to engage existing and new members, and demonstrate its positive role in the community, to promote community pride in a socio-economically disadvantaged community. PhotoGo addresses a specific business need in terms of marketing support, visibility, and positive engagement platforms, which extend its reach in local media and the Northside beyond the Gurranabraher area, enhancing positive brand recognition and challenging user perceptions of the role of the Credit Union in the community.
PhotoGo successfully engaged the whole Sample-Studios team, and created multiple platforms and activations. The addition of free school workshops in the last two years has engaged hundreds of TY students creatively with both their local credit union and Sample-Studios.