27 Transition Year students in Presentation College, Bray have been working on a social justice project exploring animal welfare and rights. Their explorations have culminated in the creation of an amazing 28ft. long mural which is being used as a teaching aid. The mural has been used to teach over 500 students already and has proven to be a dynamic springboard to explore the issues. Two students spent time in the DSPCA on a work experience module to gain a greater insight into specific animal welfare issues in Ireland. The entire group also visited the shelter and was given a fascinating talk about same.

The students have been exploring a wide variety of issues on the theme since the beginning of the year and crafted the design for the mural highlighting some of the issues which they felt most significant. Having sourced relevant information and articles, the students then found imagery to use on the mural to communicate their message. The mural design was worked out on Photoshop before being projected on to boards.

Alongside the creation of a mural, the students have had numerous articles published in local papers about specific issues in animal welfare. The students have also presented a one hour radio show on Trinity FM, a one hour radio show through Irish on Radio ná Lifé, and were interviewed on EastCoast Radio. The Transition Years have developed an interactive workshop which they have used to peer teach in their own school and to six others. In each of these workshops, they have used the mural as a springboard to speak about the issues and to engage in meaningful discussion. The mural was brought to Cork to teach in some of the college’s affiliated schools which proved to be enormously beneficial to the students.

Over the coming weeks, the students will be competing in the Young Social Innovators Competition presenting their use of art to explore issues of social justice. They are currently working on a performance piece involving sounds, music and masks. Their teachers, Mr. Rooney and Ms. Jay Donohue are hugely proud of the students involved and would like to congratulate the group on an outstanding year’s work exploring social justice and striving for a more fair and equal world using art as a medium in this pursuit. Well done lads.

For more information on the project or to read some of the students' articles see our facebook page
Breaking Barriers Pres Bray TY 2011