An Englishman’s Home is His Castle, But We Are Not English Men is our first public-facing step in Ireland, joining conversations we have held under Canopy.
This one-day symposium featured 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), Sarah O’Brien (Oral Historian), and award winning narrative environments designer Claire Healy.
The space invited Artists, Activists, Architects & Adoptees, Adopters and Foster Carers or those more widely working within the care system for a day of provocation, debate & reflection. We shared our own stories and lived experiences.
For more information on our guest speakers please visit the Axis Ballymum Website.
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?
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.