Siamsa Tíre has always been a place of creative collaboration. Ever since our foundation, the young members of our National Training Academy and the members of our Community Cast have played an important part in our decision making and planning.
This is something we are hoping to build upon with our Futures Council.
Our aim is to invite local primary and secondary school children to engage with our creative team and contribute to the process of deciding what events, activities, and performances Siamsa Tíre should offer to the wider community.
We also want the members of our Futures Council to have a say in the development of our new Strategic Plan, especially in relation to maintaining our major Greening Initiative. We began this in 2017 when we realised it was imperative for us to play our part in protecting what is precious for future generations.
Our Academy ensemble will be at the heart of our Futures Council. These young people have long been at the centre of creating new ways of presenting folk theatre on stage here at Siamsa Tíre. We encourage them to research and develop their own ideas for productions and to develop themselves as members of a community that is connected across generations.
As part of our Futures Council, we will provide a structure for them to integrate and interact with our wider programmes.
They will work with local secondary school students who are involved in creative school programmes in the region, all coordinated by Siamsa Tíre’s Creative Learning Assistant along with Siamsa Tíre’s Artistic Director.
Our Creative Learning Assistant will also reach out to primary schools by facilitating student workshops to collect children’s ideas and attitudes about the future of folk, theatre, and Siamsa Tíre.
These ideas will then be brought back to the Futures Council meetings, which will take place three times a year.
Our folk tradition is rooted in the past. Children and young people represent its future. We want to hear what they’ve got to say in the present.
