Walk in the Park: People Who Inspire

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The Smashing Times Walk in the Park series are an artistic celebration of Ireland’s rich cultural heritage, sharing stories of artists, human rights defenders and citizens.  Smashing Times have created two public performances as part of its Walk in the Park series – Walk in the Park: The Artist Speaks and Walk in the Park: People Who Inspired. While visiting the iconic setting of the grounds of Rathfarnham Castle, we invite you  to listen to stories about the thrilling lives and work of some of Ireland’s  and Europe’s unique artists and citizens.

People Who Inspire is an intimate portrayal bringing to life  stories of people who inspire us, people who lived lives of courage and resilience and who stood up for human rights.  Enjoy a walk-about performance, and chat, promenade style,  in the grounds of Rathfarnham Castle park.  Join artists and guest speakers to share stories and insights into a world of care and compassion. 

People Who Inspire celebrates the lives of ‘forgotten heroes’, sharing stories of men and women from history and today who stood up for the rights of others.  We are all formed and shaped by the people who pass through our lives, people who inspire.  Our  stories are about equality, compassion and rights, stories of people who carry us forward like a river lowing.  The public will be invited to interact and respond to these stories, with questions, comments, and maybe even a tale of their own!

Walk in the Park: The Artist Speaks is supported by the Creative Ireland South Dublin Programme.

The Art of W/Rights

A literary Carnival of Arts and Rights

Outdoor Site-Specific Shows, Live Projections, Pop-Up Installations and Creative Conversations

promoting equality, compassion + rights

Rathfarnham Dublin

In the Open – Faoin Spéir

Funded by The Arts Council

As part of The Art of W/Rights, two parks in Dublin – Rathfarnham Castle Park and St Enda’s Park -play host to a carnival-style performing arts spectacle by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality featuring site-specific outdoor shows of theatre, film, literary pop-up installations and creative conversations, promoting equality, compassion, and human rights in changing times.  

Live performances take place at Rathfarnham Castle Park from the 18 to the 24 October 2021 for the annual Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival and live performances and outdoor cinema screenings will take place at the Pearse Museum, St Enda’s Park in April 2022.

The Art of W/Rights is presented as part of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival 2021, organised by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders, in partnership with Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Fighting Words, Poetry Ireland, and Trocaire.

The festival promises 10 days of exciting events celebrating and promoting the extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, past and present, and the role of the arts and artists in promoting human rights today. The theme of this year’s festival is Hope, Courage and Resilience: The Story Continues. The festival  reached an international audience of over 10,000 in 2020 and links the  arts to civil society, active citizenship and politics through a series of inter-disciplinary performances, film screenings, documentaries, theatre, music, dance, visual and digital art, poetry, literature, historical memory, discussions and arts-based workshops, featuring Irish and international artists and guest speakers celebrating and promoting dignity and respect for all people equally.

The Art of W/Rights partners are Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, South Dublin County Council Arts Office, Rathfarnham Castle, Pearse Museum and the Office of Public Works – Rathfarnham Castle Park and St Enda’s Park.  The Art of W/Rights is funded by the Arts Council, South Dublin County Council Arts Office,  the Creative Ireland programme of South Dublin, Erasmus+ and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV). 

The programme generates a celebration of literature, visual and performing arts and discussion on key themes of equality, compassion and rights in a time of Covid.

Open call: Stories and Poems inspired by people who have helped shape our lives

We are all formed and shaped by the people who pass through our lives. As part of The Art of W/Rights Smashing Times conducted  an open call for stories and poems based on the theme ‘people who inspire or have shaped us in some way’.  A selection of 100 stories and poems will be displayed in a ‘digital book’ online via the Smashing Times Virtual Arts Gallery  telling stories of people who have inspired us, a person from the past or present who has inspired or shaped us in some way and who has promoted equality, compassion and rights in our lives and the lives of others.  The digital book containing the stories and poems will be projected onto the walls of Rathfarnham Castle in 2022 with a page of the book turning very slowly every few minutes.

In  keeping with our themes of equality, compassion and rights  and the metaphor of a river (both parks feature ponds and have strong connections with rivers) where we can create a flow of equality, compassion and rights in the wider society,  we are asking  citizens to tell us stories of the people who have helped carry you forward,.

The stories and poems collected are a celebration of all that is good and kind in the world, a reflection on life and a celebration of connections made, the interconnectedness of people as no person is an island.  They are stories of people in the past and today who shaped society in a positive way. Our aim is to create a ‘gathering space’ to celebrate stories of care and compassion and to act as a catalyst to generate creative conversations on visions for a better world.

Please submit using the online form.  Submission is free.

Why Walks in the Park – A Walk on the Wild Side!

Dublin is a city of incredible energy and excitement, with heritage and history around every corner.

The Smashing Times Walk in the Park series are an artistic celebration of Ireland’s rich cultural heritage, sharing stories of artists, human rights defenders, citizens and forgotten heroes, men and women from history and today who stood up for the rights of others.

Parks are freely used by members of the public for walking, running, chatting, meeting friends, enjoying nature, playing sport, walking with the family, walking the dog,  spending some ‘alone’ time, doing yoga and so on. Our aim is to utilise the park space as a centre for arts and creativity intersecting with sustainability  linked to equality, rights and diversity.  Smashing Times are committed to working in local settings and our aims for parks are:

• To build a co-creative space in the parks of Dublin
• To utilise the park space for positive exchanges and community-building linking the arts to community development, sustainability and equality, human rights and diversity
• To create an inspirational model for  community parks and gardens combining the arts with creativity for sustainability

As Ireland opens up once again, it is important to celebrate Dublin as a cultural and creative hub for the arts and human rights.  Storytelling is a key way to  share Dublin and Ireland’s rich heritage, while showcasing the talent of our local artists and performers, and also sharing knowledge about why promoting human rights is an important aspect of contemporary society.

Access

The Castle provides access for visitors who require universal access. In the Pay and Display car park, there is designated parking available. Wheelchair ramps provide full access to the Tearooms and Castle. There are accessible toilets available, as well as a lift inside the Castle.

Organisations and Funders

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