Over the last two years, Selina Thompson Ltd have been thinking about adoption, connecting with foster parents, adopters, social workers, academics, artists & activists, resonating reflections on a Global scale.
Canopy is an emerging visual installation using the notion of ‘a national family home’ to create a ‘neighbourhood of houses’ that form a global map of the ways in which adoption moves people, money and national values across the world. To date the research has taken us to Dublin, Cork, Berlin, Hannover, Beijing, Birmingham and beyond, as we seek to build a collaborative, global community of adult adoptees who are also artists, researchers, social scientists, architects and valued partners.
An Englishman’s Home is His Castle, But We Are Not English Men is our first public-facing step in Ireland, joining these conversations together.
If we expressed Irish national identity through the architecture of a family home, what would it look like? What spaces would it need and what function would they serve?
Will love and pride find themselves wedged between floorboards, rattling around in the attic, behind the cooker where nobody goes? What histories need to be hidden? What does this home show to the world – and keep in private? Who is welcome and who must never darken the doorstep?
What will it look like in the future?
And what would make it Irish?
Join us for a one day symposium featuring presentations, participatory workshops & talks with contributions from theatre maker Louise Lowe (co-founder, Anu Productions), Dr Claire McGettrick born Lorraine Hughes (co-founder of Justice for Magdalenes Research and Adoption Rights Alliance), Gary Keegan (Brokentalkers) and award winning narrative environments designer Claire Healy.
The day invites Artists, Activists, Architects & Adoptees, Adopters and Foster Carers or those more widely working within the care system to join us for a day of provocation, debate & reflection – sharing our own stories and lived experiences.
Thursday 11th July 2024 , 11am – 4pm
Axis
Main Street
Ballymun Dublin 9
D09 Y9W0
For booking details and more information on our guest speakers please visit the Axis Ballymum Website.
This event is suitable for all adults age 16+
If you’d like to do some further reading, we’ve put together a list.
Credits
Selina Thompson Ltd and Axis Arts Centre Ballymun presents “Canopy: A Short Symposium on the Irish Family Home” funded by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grant.
Canopy (Ireland) research has been supported by Project Arts Centre, Cork Midsummer Festival and the Adoptees, Foster Parents, Adopters, Guardians, Social Workers, Academics, Artists & Activists that have shared their stories.
