Background:

Grace Park Educate Together National School was established in 2015 and opened its doors to Junior Infants in 2016 with 28 students and 2 full time staff members. Following periods of time in temporary accommodation in Drumcondra and Glasnevin, construction on our permanent building began in 2018 and was completed in 2020. In October 2020 we moved into our forever home with 231 children. As of 2023 we are at full capacity with 423 students and our first 6th class will graduate in June 2024. We have 16 mainstream classes and two Autism classes in our school.

Grace Park ETNS is a child-centred, co-educational, equality based and democratic primary school under the patronage of Educate Together. We aim to provide a learning environment that encourages and promotes the holistic development of each and every child attending our school. We aspire to create an inclusive atmosphere which values each member of the school community for the contribution they make to school life. We follow the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) approach to trauma informed practice in our school. The children, parents/guardians and staff work in partnership, based on mutual respect and best practice, to make this vision a reality.

The school asks that artists who apply consider the following:
• Grace Park Educate Together Public Art Working Group are seeking expressions of interest from artists whose practice focuses on permanent visual artwork(s) to be sited in the foyer of their school building in a visual medium.
• The school is open to the idea of the artworks travelling throughout the interior of the building also once this does not impact on the budget for an engagement process with all of their students.
• It is expected that artwork(s) will be interactive for the children in this age group – 5 – 12 years.
• The Public Art Working Group are not interested in the Digital Art Medium for this commission. The engagement process should involve a creative and meaningful engagement process with all of their 423 students of which there are 10 streams (20 classes) (Junior/Senior Autism Class, Junior Infants-6th Class). Workshops in classes can be supported by teachers and parents as volunteers.
• It is hoped that the children’s artworks from their participation will be celebrated in an exhibition following the commission as part of the legacy of this project.
• The Public Art Working Group is seeking Artwork(s) that will embrace the school in it’s special location, it’s values and focus on their community of children, teachers and parents, biodiversity and local natural environment.
• The Public Art Working Group also require the artwork / artworks proposed at Stage 2 be low maintenance, adhere to health and safety standards and will stand the test of time in their relevance and materials.
• The school does not wish to visualize any religious imagery in their artwork(s).

For full project information and an application form, please see the commission document linked above.