Ruairi Quinn TD Minister for Education and Skills speaks at the closing of the EU conference on Teacher Education and Entrepreneurship

The National College of Art & Design hosted 80 representatives from EU Member States, Pre-Accession Countries and countries participating in the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) to discuss entrepreneurship in education on May 2-4 in Dublin. Organised by the European Commission Directorates General for Enterprise and Industry and for Education and Culture, the conference aims to progress even further in preparing teachers for entrepreneurship education.

Ruairi Quinn TD Minister for Education and Skills speaking at the closing of the EU conference on Teacher Education and Entrepreneurship, hosted by the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), Friday 4 May 2012:

“The quality of the teacher remains the most important factor in ensuring a high quality education system. This is consistently reiterated in the findings of international research. The crucial role of the teacher highlights the significance not only of recruiting the highest calibre entrants to the teaching profession, but of ensuring that the initial and continuing education of teachers is itself of the highest quality.

Critical thinking, problem-solving and innovation are regularly cited as essential characteristics of citizens in contemporary society. Our education systems are perhaps the most significant social structures in the social formation of young people. Yet, it can be argued that our schools and particularly our high-stakes public examination systems have failed to foster these qualities in students, rewarding instead formulaic and ‘learned-off’ responses rather than imaginative and risk-taking approaches. In that context, I greatly welcome the thinking that lies behind this conference on teacher education and entrepreneurship. The concept of entrepreneurship is best understood as a personal characteristic, not just a business-oriented disposition.

I think it is especially significant to see this conference taking place in NCAD. An art and design school is inherently entrepreneurial. The development of capacities to innovate, to imagine, to create is at the heart of such a college. These are the qualities that should infuse all teaching and learning, however, not just within the creative arts.

This conference is very timely. I am please to note that in Ireland, we have recently announced a review of teacher education, under the auspices of the Higher Education Authority. The insights and findings of the EU initiative that has generated this and related events can influence and inform this review significantly, ensuring that teacher education becomes an environment of creativity and innovation, which in turn can illuminate teaching and learning in our schools.”

In today’s society, entrepreneurial attitudes and skills are needed by everyone: entrepreneurship is the ability to turn ideas into action. Education for entrepreneurship is not necessarily a specific subject or a topic; it is a different way of teaching and learning based on project work and on experiential learning. The teacher becomes thus a facilitator, helping students to take the initiative in their education.

The European Commission is committed to encouraging the widest audience participation to develop these attitudes and skills. This workshop builds on the results of previous EU-activities such as the High Level Reflection Panels organised by the Commission in 2009/2010 and the Symposia on Teacher Education in Entrepreneurship held in Budapest and Istanbul in 2011.

The workshop, facilitated by ICF GHK and associates, was attended by professionals involved in initial teacher education, including Heads of department or faculty of Education; lecturers / academic staff in Higher Education who are teachers of education; and entrepreneurs and teachers demonstrating good practice in entrepreneurship education.

First Year Core Studies End of year show

Work from the final module of the course
Mon 14th to Wed 16th May 10.00am – 8.00pm

Opening Monday 14th 6pm, light refreshments
National College of Art & Design, 100 Thomas St

Click here to download the invitation (PDF 1.9MB)

Fri. 11th May (2012), 5pm

Harry Clark Lecture Theatre
National College of Art and Design, Dublin

NCAD’s MA Art in the Contemporary World is delighted to host a talk and discussion with Simon Fujiwara (Chair: Francis Halsall) on the occasion of his show The Museum of Incest at the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork.

Simon Fujiwara was born in London in 1982 and grew up in Cornwall and Japan. He currently lives and works in Berlin. Fujiwara’s work has been met with critical acclaim both in the UK and Internationally, and his first major solo show opened in January 2012 at Tate St Ives. Notable achievements include winning The Cartier Award to produce a work for the Frieze Art Fair in the UK and The Baloise Art Prize at Art Statements, Basel 41 both in 2010. He has participated in several biennials including the 53rd Venice Biennale 2009, Manifesta 8, the 29th Sao Paulo Biennial in 2010, and Performa 11 in 2011.

Irish Exhibition of Living Art scrapbook, 1943-1957. Collection National Irish Visual Arts Library, 2001.

DOCUMENT! is a chronological exploration of the materials used to document the arts providing a window into developments across the visual arts in Ireland from 1890 to 2010. The exhibition features selected works from the collections at the National Irish Visual Arts Library that are representative of the physical and intellectual content of the library’s extensive holdings including printed ephemera, books and journals, exhibition catalogues, archives, Special Collections, audio-visual material and digital ephemera. NIVAL is an initiative of the Library of the National College of Art and Design in partnership with the Arts Council.

The National Irish Visual Arts Library is a national public resource dedicated to the collection of information on 20th century and contemporary Irish visual art and design. NIVAL’s collection policy covers visual art from the whole island as well as Irish art abroad and non-Irish artists working in Ireland. Information is acquired on artists, designers, galleries, arts organisations, critics and other related subjects.

EXHIBITION

The exhibition is designed to promote the collections and services of NIVAL and to highlight the importance of producing and preserving documentation on the visual arts. The items on display have been selected to encourage new ways of exploring and exploiting information resources in the service of art, design and history, reflecting the growing awareness, in art practice and understanding, of the importance of archives and archiving.

Contemporary and historic collections featured in the exhibition include the Artists and Galleries Files, Earley & Company Archives (1852-1974), the Friends of the National Collections (1924-present), the Mainie Jellett Collection, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art (1947-1971), Kilkenny Design Workshops Archive (1963-1989), the Rosc Collection, the Graphic Studio Dublin Archive (1960-present), the Records of the Sculptors’ Society of Ireland/Visual Artists Ireland (1983-present), the Records of the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios (1986-2000), Illustrated Books, Artists’ Books, and the Poster Collection.

PERFORMANCE

Artist Jennie Guy has worked with the librarians at NIVAL on the third iteration of her Reading Ensemble series. This new work involves both a video and a performance that will be staged within DOCUMENT! at the NCAD Gallery. The performance will take place at the exhibition’s opening view on Thursday, April 26th.

WEBSITE LAUNCH

At the opening view, NIVAL will be marking the 15th anniversary of its establishment with the launch of a new website at www.nival.ie, developed by Fluid Rock. This project has been generously supported by a grant from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION

Current Investigations into Irish Visual Culture: NIVAL resources in support of contemporary art and design research

Friday, 11th May, 1:30 – 5:00pm

A public seminar delivered by a panel of academics, artists and curators highlighting the contribution of the NIVAL collections to their research practice during the past ten years. The seminar will take the form of a series of 15-20 minute presentations followed by Q&A. Confirmed speakers include MaryAnn Bolger, Michelle Browne, Ciara Healy, Dr. Roisin Kennedy and Megs Morley. The event will be chaired by Valerie Connor.

Discussion document: A specially commissioned leaflet with text by Valerie Connor and Dr. Catherine Morris will be launched at this event.

A Walk through the File with…

A series of public interviews between an artist and a cultural commentator, exploring the collection of artists’ documentation held in the NIVAL collection. The commentator will present to the artist items from the library collection to stimulate dialogue around both the art work documented and the process behind the documentation.

Tuesday, 15th May, 12:45 to 1:30pm A walk through the file with… Alice Maher, moderated by Dr. Catherine Morris

Tuesday, 22nd May, 12:45 to 1:30pm A walk through the file with… John Byrne, moderated by Declan Long

For further information contact: Anne Kelly, Curatorial Coordinator, NCAD Gallery, 01.636.4390/ kellya@ncad.ie Donna Romano, Library Administrator, NIVAL, 01.636.4347/ romanod@ncad.ie

The National College of Art and Design Gallery, 100 Thomas Street, Dublin 8.
NCAD Gallery opening hours are 10am-5pm, Monday-Saturday.

All public events are held in the Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre and admission is free.

The Portfolio Submission Brief for entry into the NCAD 2013 is now available for download.

Click here to download the Portfolio Brief (PDF 785k)

Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre, NCAD, Sat. 31st March, 2012

What Do You Stand For Now? is a public seminar and discussion that looks at some artistic and curatorial practices from the last few decades in Ireland. In particular they all proposed methods and models of display and distribution as alternatives to established, mainstream and institutional practices. These are projects that unfolded and developed both distinct practices and audiences. They thus represent examples of different attitudes and strategies that can be taken in relation to organizing art both inside and out of institutions.

This public seminar follows on from last year’s successful What Do You Stand For? event. This was a day of short presentations and public discussion that identified and articulated the wide variety of emergent spaces, collectives, affiliations and initiatives that are sustaining a vibrant and dynamic arts scene across Ireland today.

What Do You Stand For Now? is part of a developing research project that aims to capture certain processes and practices of display and distribution of contemporary art in Ireland. It also coincides with a rolling exhibition of alternative curatorial projects at NCAD Gallery.

Contributors will include: Valerie Connor; Mark Garry; Garrett Phelan; Sarah Pierce; and others.

For more information contact the conveners: Vaari Claffey (curator/ Gracelands) (vaari[AT]ireland.com) or Francis Halsall (coordinator, MA ACW halsallf[AT]ncad.ie)

Congratulations to NCAD fashion student, Aisling Connell, who won the Vodafone Student Design Award 2012, at the Vodafone DIT Fashion Show at Vicar Street.

NCAD was well represented in the competition with second place winner Michael Power and finalists students Lisa Wynne, Victoria Gryznyk and Hannah Furlong showcasing the strength of NCAD’s Fashion Design Department.

Click here for more information

GradCAM presents Simon Critchley on Faith of the Faithless and Jamieson Webster on The Life and Death of Psychoanalysis
Somehow, the secular age seems to have been replaced by a new era, where political action flows directly from metaphysical conflict, and Simon Critchley asked how we might respond to this change. Should we defend a version of secularism, quietly accept the slide into a form of theism—or is there another way? From the paradox of politics and religion in Rousseau to the return to St. Paul in Taubes, Agamben and Badiou, via explorations of politics and original sin in the work of Schmitt and John Gray, Critchley examines whether there can a faith of the faithless, a belief for unbelievers.

Simon Critchley is Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, and a part-time professor of philosophy at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. His many books include Faith of the Faithless, Very Little…Almost Nothing, Infinitely Demanding; Ethics-Politics-Subjectivity; and The Book of Dead Philosophers.

This event is co-organized and chaired by Edia Connole and Tina Kinsella, and is from a series of events initiated by Connole, Kinsella and Clodagh Emoe to mark GradCAM’s fourth year of activity. Visit www.gradcam.ie for more information.

This is a free public event, however, spaces are limited, and booking is strongly recommended.
Please send an email to edia.connole[AT]gradcam.ie to reserve your place.

Thursday March 29, 2012, 6-9PM
Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen’s Green West.

The Centre for Continuing Education at NCAD, provides courses in art and design for adults who wish to explore their creative potential and learn new skills. CEAD courses offer access to facilities and professional tutorial guidance for individuals who choose to study on a part-time basis.

In an era of Lifelong Learning, CEAD aims to celebrate diversity and improve equity for adults who wish to access a visual arts education. It looks to achieve this through the provision of flexible learning opportunities that offer progression and transfer within third level education.

Summer courses are at different levels and are suited to beginners, as well as experienced and committed individuals interested in developing their professional practice. Read the course content carefully and consider the appropriate level to suit your skill, experience and learning needs.

Portfolio Preparation Courses take place from July 2-20.

The CEAD Summer Courses take place from 10-4pm from the 25th June -20 July 2012.

Students are advised to book as soon as possible as admission is on a first come first served basis.
Late bookings will be taken after 22nd June, however check with admin
(cead@ncad.ie) on course availability