Welcome

Welcome to Sticky Fingers Early Years Arts! Here you will find lots of information about who we are and what we do. If there's something that you can't find, do get in touch - we will be more than happy to help. You can visit us on  www.facebook.com/earlyyearsarts, www.twitter.com/earlyyearsart, email us on info@stickyfingersarts.co.uk, telephone us on +44 (0)28 3025 7885 or just pop into our office in Newry - Granite House, 31-35 Mary Street, Newry, Co. Down, BT34 2AA, Northern Ireland. Thank you!

Best wishes, the Sticky Fingers Team. 

February News

The Hill Street Public Art Project: Our City

Our City: Mullaglass PS. Image © Maree Hensey 2012

The Hill Street Public Art Project: Our City is now under way and we are delighted to welcome artists Alan Cargo, Betty Newman Maguire, Barry Linnane, Maree Hensey and Mark Ryan to the Sticky Fingers team for the next few months. Each artist has been selected to develop and deliver a public art piece to be permanently sited along Hill Street in Newry. The artists have just started working in four schools (Mullaglass PS, Ballyholland PS, St Peter's PS Cloughreagh and Bunscoil an Iuír), collaborating with hundreds of local children to create something really special for one of the city's main streets. To follow the project as it progresses see our new project page. For further details contact the Sticky Fingers Programme Manager Elaine on elaine@stickyfingersarts.co.uk.  

Our City is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Lottery Fund, The Ireland Funds and Newry and Mourne District Council. 

Little Voices

Sticky Fingers are delighted to announce that the Little Voices music programme is now kindly supported by the Victoria Homes Trust. With our funders' support, 2012 looks set to be a very musical year with Little Voices already up and singing with new friends and old. We are pleased to be back with the HomeStart family group in Newry after the winter break and are looking forward to meeting lots of new little singers at the HomeStart family group in Kilkeel after Easter. Little Voices is also back making plenty of noise with the children at St Colman's Abbey EPCD in Newry and we'll be making monthly visits to the families attending Little Ones toddler group in Armaghbreague from February. We are also very pleased to have returned to Women's Aid in Newry, singing along with the children accessing their services. Finally, a Little Voices programme will also soon be starting at Orana SureStart - we're going to be kept busy! For more information on the music programme, email claire@stickyfingersarts.co.uk.

Visual Arts Programme Update

  Sticky Fingers Artist Jim Russell working with students at a recent Eco-schools NI 2012 Event

Sticky Fingers artists have been working on several visual arts projects this past month, including an environmental themed project with Eco-schools NI on February 2nd, which saw over 120 primary and secondary school children take part in visual arts workshops using recycled materials at an event in the Canal Court Hotel in Newry. Sticky Fingers artist Ciara O'Hara has also been working with over 100 art students at three Newry secondary schools (The Abbey Grammar, St Mary's High School and Newry High School) to create a series of theatre masks for exhibition as part of this year's Newry Drama Festival. The masks are set to be exhibited in shops and other public places throughout March in celebration of the Drama Festival's 60th year. Finally, three visual and carnival artists have also been working with three youth and community groups (Derrybeg Community Association, John Bosco Youth Centre and the Magnet Centre) to develop and produce a carnival spectacular for the Newry St Patrick's Festival parade taking place on March 17th.  

For further details on these and other visual arts programmes contact the Sticky Fingers Programme Manager Elaine on elaine@stickyfingersarts.co.uk.  

Visioni di Futuro, Visioni di Teatro...

February 25th to March 4th 2012

"Visioni di futuro, visioni di teatro…", La Baracca's international festival of theatre and culture for early childhood, turns eight this year. Since 2010, "Visioni…" has undertook a five-year course of festivals focused on the relationship between theatre and other art forms. The first year's focus was on the visual arts and last year on dance, while this year the attention is on music. Music will be at the centre of different activities across the festival: shows, concerts for children, two Small Size workshops (one for artists and teachers, and one for technicians) and some of the workshops for teachers and educators. As well as the workshops on music there will also be many other events, including a series of shows for children aged 0-6 and several round table discussions and seminars. 

Sticky Fingers Artistic Director Grainne Powell will be tweeting live from some of the events, follow her at www.twitter.com/earlyyearsart.

Download the festival programme here, and see the Small Size and La Baracca websites for full details.