MCAC

Mayfield Community Arts Centre

WHERE? Mayfield Community Arts Centre is a

unique, purposebuilt arts space based in Newbury House Family Resource Centre in Mayfield in the north of Cork City.

Photo: Participants of GlobalFest 2008, a youth arts project that brings together young people from Ireland, Nicaragua, Colombia and Guatemala

WHAT?

Mayfield Community Arts Centre develops, manages and delivers community arts programmes in consultation with the local community.

Currently our two main programmes are our Global Education Programme and our Arts and Integration Programme. We also offer training, run out of schools activities, support youth in initiating their own projects through the European Youth in Action programme and coordinate a European Voluntary Service programme.

In our Global Education Programme we use the arts as a tool to connect local and global issues and to enable local young people to show solidarity with young people in the Global South.

Projects have been developed and delivered in formal and nonformal educational contexts. We also support a core group of teenagers who are very active in participating, shaping and developing the programmes. Our creative and colourful projects not only create space for personal learning, reflection and action but also create spaces for interaction with the public and various sectors of the community.

We have a long history of co-operation and partnership with community development organisations using arts methodologies in Central America. This has both contributed to the wealth of the programme’s methodologies and also has enabled our programme to maintain a balance of southern perspectives in its global education work. The contribution of international volunteers who are regularly hosted here also enriches our programmes.

?

O H W

The Centre is managed by the voluntary Board

of Management of Newbury House Family Resource Centre. An Arts Committee on the Board oversees the strategic development of the Centre.

The Centre is co-ordinated by a full-time coordinator and there are 12 staff, mostly part-time or employed on a project basis. Many volunteers, community employment workers and freelance workers contribute to the Centre’s 2 main programmes: Arts for Integration and the Global Education Programme.

The main target group for the Centre’s activities are the residents of the local community. The Global Education programme seeks to enage Mayfield’s young people in particular.

Click here to see our website. (www.mayfieldarts.org)

Mayfield Community Arts Centre

WHY?

?

W HO

Arts and Development: A Human Rights Based Approach.

We understand development to be the achievement of rights for all people and that arts can play a role in development when it is foundation is human rights based approach. Our work with young people is based on the following principles: Empowerment and participation The methodology allows youth to be empowered through their selection of topics, development of ideas and opinions on the topics as well as their active participation creating art express their opinions to the public and to stake holders.

Accountability It is crucial to our projects that the relevant people hear the message. There is also an important impact in increasing general public awareness of the topics important to youth, as the public can also take action on the topics and can be involved in democratic processes to promote change.

Non-discrimination and prioritisation of vulnerable groups Art made by underrepresented young people is vital. We live in a society that leaves economically disadvantaged people without a voice. The result is a society that does not understand or embrace diverse experiences and, as a result, forms one-sided and inherently limited concepts of the world.

Art (including media) is the most powerful way to make new voices accessible and palatable to mainstream society.

It is this pathway to learning and experiencing something new that enables us as a society to find new solutions to old problems.

Local and Global Citizenship and solidarity Our programmes encourage young people to feel part and to be active within their local community but also to think beyond it and to think and act as Global citizens. Through creative non-formal learning methodologies we enable young people to connect with young people from the Global South, to understand other realities and to create shared responses to issues of importance to them.

Our strong partnerships with creative organizations from Central America underpin our approach to Global Citizenship education.

FUNARTE

www.funarte.org.ni

La Cambalacha www.lacambalacha.org

Our philosophy of Art Action is a creative learning and exploration process that strives to embolden community members to articulate their point of view on issues that matter to them, to raise awareness in others and to inspire new action.

Art Action projects bring the young people through three phases: • Experiential Education. We use non-formal learning methods as creatively as possible with group discussions, debates, critical reflection, and creative exploration of topics. This facilitates people to deeply explore the issues, define their perspectives and create a process and product that impacts others. AT the end of this phase the group has formulated a perspective on the issue that they have been exploring and they begin to plan how they will use art as a way to express this.

• Art Action. The art-making process helps to solidify the knowledge they’ve gained, think about who they want to impact with their art, what medium will best reach the intended audience and what message is going to be most powerful. Once these elements have been explored, the group begins the art-making process. Young people learn and practice visual communication skills and skills associated with specific techniques, e.g. digital photography.

• Civic Engagement. Civic Engagement is the process of enabling young people to influence decision-makers and/or the public. The focus is on making change. They explore how they think change happens, how they as a group can effect change and then practice the leadership and communication skills needed to convey their message. This phase may consist of a show of their work, a protest, a presentation made to a target audience, a celebration or any other method that students can think of to spread the word about their vision.

Corporacion Renovacion www.corporacionrenovacion.blogspot.com

Click on one of our partners above, to see a leaflet about the work they do.

Desearte Paz www.deseartepaz.org