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About

The People Leitrim School of Art

The Leitrim School of Art is run by Denise and Michael Corbett.

Denise is a professional artist qualified in arts education and facilitation.  Denise has been a teacher of Art and Design for 25 years and as well as being a registered teacher with the Teaching Council has vast experience working with young artists and designers and in using art to improve health across all age groups. Denise has an excellent  record of accomplishment of delivering art programmes that have seen many students  progressing to furthering their educational and career development.

Denise is a Teacher Artist Partnership (TAP) trained artist and is available throughout the academic year to provide school workshops/projects.  Denise also does BLAST School projects. Call 087 204 5577.

Denise has also worked with children and adults with autism for many years and has provided very flexible learning opportunities tailored to individual needs that have encouraged students to progress to further education or working as artists in the community.

All the art classes, programmes and other activities are open to all and will be taught guided or facilitated by Denise and by the employment of qualified and experienced teachers and facilitators.

Michael has had a long successful career in the creative sector,  he has practiced as a lighting designer for over 30 years working with major lighting companies and as a director of several lighting design, manufacturing, and distribution companies. Michael brings these skills and experience to the operational and administrative functions of the School.

Project Outline

Leitrim School of Art operates from a well equipped studio in Drumshanbo Enterprise Centre. We are pleased to announce that new flagship studios for the School of Art will form an integral part of the Ballinamore Junction Project. The project is located on the site of the former junction of the Cavan – Leitrim railway which closed in 1959. The restoration of the station site and its conversion for use as an enterprise centre, arts, and youth hub was identified in 2018 by the local community as one of the key priorities for the regeneration of the Ballinamore area, as published in the Ballinamore Area Strategy – One Vision , One Plan, Co-ordinated Action. The Ballinamore Area Strategy resulted from an in-depth community wide consultation and engagement.

The overall project which involves the restoration of an historic site and listed buildings will include a youth junction housed in the railway station building, a digital hub/co-working space for business start-ups and remote workers co-located with the Leitrim School of Art in the Coach House Building, formerly St Felim’s School.

Ballinamore Studio Space

The Leitrim School of Art new Ballinamore studio will have several teaching/learning spaces fully equipped for a diverse range of visual art activities.  As with the current programme, running in Drumshanbo, the new Ballinamore studio will provide creative educational programmes for all age groups. The range of classes and courses offered are designed to ensure that all participants can enjoy working towards reaching their creative potential. In addition the School of Art provides work space for artists in an environment where they can work on individual projects and where they can work collaboratively with the digital and creative sectors.

Ballinamore Studio Construction Programme

Great news. As at December 2021 the contractor is now on site and the construction phase of the Ballinamore Junction project has commenced.  It is hoped that our new Ballinamore studios will be up and running by January 2023. We will keep the progression updated here.

 

View our artist’s impressions and the Ballinamore site plans below:


Art in Ireland

Leitrim School of Art recognises and supports local and national art initiatives.

Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022

Creative Ireland is the Government’s Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016. It is a five-year all-of-government initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which at its core is a wellbeing strategy, which aims to improve access to cultural and creative activity in every county across the country.

It identifies the importance for young people to have access to expressive arts. It stresses the importance of provision of culture and creativity in every community. It recognises the need to support young artists by investing in cultural institutions. This will build into a global recognition of the broad creative talent Ireland can nurture.

Creativeireland.gov.ie/en/about

Leitrim County Council Culture and Creativity Strategy 2018-2022

Recognises the value and importance of the arts, creativity, cultural, and heritage. In partnership with the Arts Council, it aims to drive forward investment in the creative sector. This has a strong impact on lives of its citizens and promotes a sense of pride.

Leitrimcoco.ie/eng/Community-Culture/Creative-Ireland/LCC_CISTRATEGY_ENG_WEB.pdf

The five strategic priorities of Leitrim’s Culture and Creativity strategy are:

Creative Potential

To contribute to every child’s development by providing access to and engagement with creative activities and opportunities to explore different forms of creative expression.

Creative Community

To provide opportunities for communities throughout Leitrim to explore their own creativity through promoting greater access and inclusion to the wide range of creative activities and cultural infrastructure and resources across the county.

Creative Place

To recognise the value of our outstanding rich and diverse natural landscape, heritage, cultural infrastructure and the scale of our creative sector as vital resources and sources of inspiration for creative practitioners and the wider community.

Creative Connections

To support the creative sector in growing its national and global footprint through national and international linkages enhancing Leitrim’s reputation as a centre of creativity.

Creative Enterprise

To strengthen and develop Leitrim’s capacity as a creative hub and cultural cluster and enhance potential for economic development and sustainability in the Creative and Culture Sector

The Culture and Creative Strategy is a very ambitious initiative, but it hopes that developing creative platforms will ensure the wellbeing of communities, individuals as well as future generations.

A unique opportunity for the creative sector for the development of the creative sector.

The Leitrim Arts School takes its lead from these strategies and will engage with all ages of the community. It offers a broad range of opportunities across a abroad range of visual arts disciplines. It creates and nurtures opportunities for individual, groups and organisations to develop their creative potential.

Creative Ireland Youth Strategy

Artsineducation.ie/en/2017/12/18/creative-ireland-launches-the-creative-youth-plan/

Creative Youth sets out measures to deliver on one of the key goals of the extensive Creative Ireland Programme, to ensure that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, art and coding by 2022. At this plan’s core is a firm belief that creativity and culture should be at the heart of education for all our young people.

The Arts Council. ‘Making Great Art Work’

Artscouncil.ie (PDF)

The proposal for the Arts Platform is also In line with the remit and vision of the Arts Council. The Arts Council is inspired by an Ireland ‘where the arts are practiced and enjoyed widely in our communities, public spaces (real and virtual) and in dedicated venues and centres across the country’

The Arts Council Strategy 2016-2025, entitled ‘Making Great Art Work, Leading the Development of the Arts in Ireland’, sets out five priority areas, each with a distinct goal. Two policy areas identified as priorities ‘The Artist’ and ‘Public Engagement’. With regard to Public Engagement, the goal of the Council is that more people will enjoy high-quality arts experiences. To this end the Arts Council have committed to make public engagement a priority of their funding agreements with arts

The Leitrim Art School will enable people of all abilities and age to engage with a whole variety of arts including painting, photography, pottery and ceramics, observational drawing, art therapy, interior design and jewellery making.