Saints & Scholars, Inc. goes to Ireland!
Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars.
During the summer of 2022, Saints & Scholars, Inc. will be in Dublin and Tipperary, Ireland for a 2 week immersion service trip. Young adults, ages 18+, will be working with the Irish Traveller community, who are the indigenous, nomadic peoples of Ireland. Our project will incorporate themes of culture, heritage and bringing awareness about the social determinants faced by this community. The large panel piece will be permanently installed at a local university, which will serve as a welcome sign, encouraging young Irish Travellers to pursue an education beyond their leaving certificates.
Service members will engage in cultural immersion programming through Saints & Scholars, Inc. This will include an Irish language class, touring the Cliffs of Moher, museums, evening social events including music, sports and the craic (meaning = fun and enjoyable conversation). Participants will also have time to explore Ireland independently.
Watch For Details:
Our Next Service Trip is February 2023
Dublin, Ireland
Young adults ages 18 - 22
February 19 - 26, 2023
Applications will be available in August 2022
Examples of Past Projects in Ireland:
For close to a decade, art projects have taken place with underrepresented communities throughout Ireland. These communities include refugees, political asylum seekers and the Irish Travellers, who are the indigenous and nomadic peoples of Ireland. These projects have served many purposes. Most often, these art projects and programs became opportunities for healing and allowing a people to share their story. Some of the projects are described below:
Irish Traveller Ethnicity Tapestry (2018):
After years of advocacy, the Irish Traveller community acquired ethnic minority status in 2018. That summer, we created a large tapestry to commemorate this successful event and celebrate their culture. We used their traditional symbol of a wagon wheel given horses are a large part of their culture. In the negative space of each wheel is a different symbol of Traveller culture: religion, pride, Traveller men, Traveller women, family, language, community, the road on which they have traveled (not only due to living a nomadic lifestyle but also the long road to achieving civil rights). In the center is a piece of tin which is also a traditional metal/material used within the Irish Traveller culture.
Below you see the making of the art piece to completion and on the far right is the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, standing in front of the tapestry while speaking at a press conference.
Unpacking Traveller Mental Health (2019):
In preparation for World Mental Health Day 2019, the Irish Traveller community and their human rights organization, Pavee Point, worked with Saints & Scholars, Inc. to create a large-scale art exhibit focused on unpacking Traveller mental health and exploring how social determinants impact different groups within this community very differently. (Traveller youth, older Travellers, men, women, those with disabilities). This project allowed the many groups of Travellers involved to express themselves and bring public awareness about the alarming suicide rate. 1 in 10 Travellers die by suicide. This is a serious a public health crisis that requires much more attention. Please find the video below describing this important project.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness”
Mark Twain
The Garda Síochána (Gardaí) & Irish Traveller Project (2020):
The Gardaí (police force in Ireland) agreed to take part in a project with the Traveller community during the winter of 2022.
Saints and Scholars, Inc. facilitated a one week program between these two groups to create a dialogue and identify positive solutions moving forward.
These are two groups who have a challenging history with one another, but 12 volunteers (6 Travellers and 6 Garda) agreed to give a week of their lives to their project.
The arts served to process implicit bias, our experiences, our values and to create a bridge that encouraged sharing and connection with one another.
We created a permanent installation made out of plaster casting our arms, which symbolized the healing that needs to happen. Participants worked together and powerful conversations were exchanged throughout.
The personalized art pieces were assembled and into a frame that was used to process how we can ‘frame’ challenging conversations. The art is now permanently installed at a central Garda site. The Gardaí filmed this project and now use pieces as part of their sensitivity training throughout Ireland.
This art program then symbolized the launching of a commitment and new initiative called G.A.T.E.: Gardaí and Traveller Engagement.
