Installation Image of WTTN Exhibition in IMMA’s Artist Studios

Welcome to the Neighbourhood - A Point in Time Exhibition in IMMA Artist Studios.

An exhibition by students of Mercy Secondary School, Inchicore, Drimnagh Castle Secondary School and Clogher Road Community College.

The key to making things happen isn’t waiting for the perfect moment; it’s starting with what you have, where you are. Big goals can feel overwhelming when viewed all at once, but momentum builds through small, consistent action. Whether you’re working toward a personal milestone or a professional dream, progress comes from showing up — not perfectly, but persistently. Action creates clarity, and over time, those steps forward add up to something real.

From November 2024-May 2025, Liadh engaged transition year students in a visual exploration of Dublin 12 and Dublin 8 through photography. The ultimate outcome of this process will be an exhibition that will be housed in a gallery space that will be part of the concourse of the new children’s hospital. This has been made possible by a partnership between the CHI Arts in Health Programme and the NPHDB/CHI’s Community Benefit Programme with funding from the BAM’s Community Benefit Fund for the new children’s hospital and the Children’s Health Foundation.

The creative process behind this was very much directed by the students. Although born and bred in Dublin myself, I wasn't familiar with Dublin 8 and Dublin 12, so this was an area I had very little connection to, and had a lot to learn about. No better way than from the local teenagers. We began the sessions by brainstorming about the local area, where they hang out, eat, walk past on route to and from school and where they have made memories in the past, then we took the cameras to these places and the students documented visually from their own unique perspectives.

It was so unique what all the different schools have in their immediate area, similar yet so different to one another. I feel this has come across in the welcome to the neighbourhood project and it was really important for me that it came from the students from the beginning.

Each session we would return back to the title - Welcome to the Neighbourhood and remind ourselves that we want our exhibition to be an uplifting space, to bring positivity and colour to a possibly difficult time in hospital. I think the students achieved this through their photography..

Video of students involved.

A focussed group of students interested from each school came from there. Our engagement then continued on through an intensive period between March - May 2025 where I visited their schools weekly for 2-3 hour blocks. We focussed then on visiting areas driven by the students, explored more of their schools’ areas, they made portraits of one another, they interviewed each other on themes such as ‘home’ ‘belonging’ and ‘sense of place’. Each school taught me something new, each perspective valued. I met people who’ve moved to this area from many different parts of the world. I think it will be really positive to showcase this perspective through the final piece in the new children’s hospital.

Photographs made by students involved. Exhibited as part of the WTTN show in IMMA’s Artist Studios, May 2025.

Our engagement continued through an intensive period between March - May 2025 where I visited their schools weekly for 2-3 hour blocks. We focussed then on visiting areas driven by the students, explored more of their schools’ areas, they made portraits of one another, they interviewed each other on themes such as ‘home’ ‘belonging’ and ‘sense of place’. Each school taught me something new, each perspective valued. I met people who’ve moved to this area from many different parts of the world. I think it will be really positive to showcase this perspective through the final piece in the new children’s hospital.

This has culminated in the exhibition seen here at IMMA Artist Studios, showing the process behind our time together. Following this, I will further develop the body of work into the final piece which will be the inaugural exhibition of the CHI gallery in the new children’s hospital in 2026.

Portraits of the 24 Students involved, taken by the students.

These students are all digital natives, they have grown up with digital media from the time they were born. Not only this, they have had interaction with social media and digital platforms most of their childhood and teen years. As social media holds its own language for them, a generation of digitally literate students communicating through images daily, it was important for me to incorporate tangible forms of image-making. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy the concept of film photography, as you will see from the polaroids and the 35mm film photos dotted around. This brought a spark of joy to them, having a tactile item in hand. It slowed down the process of the immediacy they are so used to with image making. It reminded me of the importance of printing, how different our own reflection becomes when something is real and tactile in front of us.

Although the groups never met, I made sure to continue to show each schools' work to one another through photographic prints. It was important that this was a collaborative project. We had creative reflection sessions where students would have the opportunity to select their own choices of images, evaluating what they felt meets the brief and would suit the hospital walls. Their inputs have informed the work seen here today and will inform the final output.

For me it’s not solely about trying to inspire these young people in pursuing a career in art or photography, it is about encouraging the creativity within them and allowing them a space to be expressive at this pivotal time in their lives, coming to the end of school. As the hospital is taking over a large skyline of their local area, it is important to include the community in, giving the students and young people a voice in this new space. A bonus for me is leaving knowing that I have sparked an interest in even one individuals' life and possibly inspire their own future creative endeavors. As well as bringing hope and joy to the individuals visiting in the hospital that will get to experience this special body of work.

Welcome to the Neighbourhood

You, Me, Us.