Cliodhna Noonan
I am an established Early Years Arts performer and event manager. I speak 7 languages and founded Acting Up! Arts in 2009 to advocate for early years arts as an art form within the Arts Council YPCE section. I founded Grasshoppers IEYF in 2019 and am chairperson today. We run weekly sessions free to the public at Millfield Shopping Centre in Balbriggan, along with an annual festival week and a summer programme.
I strongly believe in partnership, networking and collaboration. I am an active member of TYA Ireland, Assitej International and the Smallsize EU network. I have created three performances for Early Years audiences, Silver Tree (2010) Dreamtrain (2011) and Mora (2021) and I am Arts Council YPCE resident artist with the early childhood and school going age degree students in Castlebar and Galway campuses of the ATU.
As part of her residency, Cliodhna will collaborate with visual artist Akvile Simanskiene:
Akvile is 38 years old and from Lithuania. She was born in the small town of Raseiniai, surrounded by beautiful nature and rich artistic culture. The influence on her creative thinking and art making was from a childhood of free playing in nature. In 2019 Akvile joined the Balbriggan Murals Group and Balbriggan Tidy Towns voluntary organisations, where she continues to conduct research in mosaics, and commissioned pieces. Akvile is currently working with Grasshoppers Festival as a visual artist, as well as a volunteering artist at the Place Making Project with the Balbriggan Tidy Towns, creating mosaics for public spaces. Akvile is a graduate of the Fingal Women in Leadership programme 2021/2022. She is an active member of MAAI and Visual Artists Ireland 2023.
Residency Description
We are delighted to be resident in Axis for the next ten months to focus on all things early years! We have workshops, performances and exhibitions lined up to celebrate children of All abilities and backgrounds in the 0-6 age group. We hope to make connections with as many settings in the area as possible and to get the educators and carers to climb aboard our journey with us!
We are grassroots artists who believe that regular and affordable, accessible arts activity changes a young child's life forever.
As artists we are also always learning and a second strand of our residency is to develop new work inspired by the children we encounter and their worries, hopes and dreams. We hope to complete a brand-new piece called Shell Whisperer, tackling worries and resolutions. And to complete the beautiful Trolland, about leadership, inspired by the handmade puppets of Lithuanian master Vitalijus Mazuras.
We hope to cross paths with you soon!