A person dancing in the foreground with blurred images behind them.

PART 1 | ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

“Humans are capable of a unique trick: creating realities by first imagining them, by experiencing them in their minds. When Martin Luther King said “I have a dream”, he was inviting others to dream it with him. Once a dream becomes shared in that way, current reality gets measured against it and then modified towards it. As soon as we sense the possibility of a more desirable world, we begin behaving differently, as though that world is starting to come into existence, as though, in our minds at least, we’re already there. The dream becomes an invisible force which pulls us forward. By this process it starts to come true. The act of imagining something makes it real”. - Brian Eno

Communities meet the Climate Crisis, dance meets science in Building Spaces of Possibility which kicks off with a series of engaging conversation and dance activities online and in several Dublin venues this Science Week 7-14 November.  Led by science communicator Dr Niamh Shaw and choreographer Muirne Bloomer, Building Spaces of Possibility is a two-year project from CoisCéim Broadreach in partnership with British Council Ireland & Science Gallery Dublin, which aims to put the Climate Crisis into plain words and then dream up new possibilities together. 

In a world of flash floods, dead bees and toxic air, Building Spaces of Possibility’s Science Week will see conversations and choreographies start to explore ways in which we might work in greater harmony with our surroundings, in balance within the cycles of nature. The Climate Crisis affects everyone and belongs to everyone, and we can each bring unique experience to the topic, and we can each effect change in our unique lives. 

Dr Niamh Shaw will be in conversation ‘On the Sofa’ in pop-up venues across Dublin with a number of special guests, and each event will also present a pop-up dance performance! See schedule below:

Date/Time Location Guests

9 November,

3-3:45pm

St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre

Recording available here
  • Paul Martin, award-winning garden designer
  • Nathan Wheeler, a reuse and repair specialist, a Dublin maker and real artist
  • Sueann Moore, a visual artist from Ringsend who works with found materials

10 November,

3-3:45pm

Busáras

Recording available here
  • Éanna Ní Lamhna, biologist, author, educator and presenter
  • Nathan Wheeler
  • Sueann Moore

13 November,

1-1:45pm

 Science Gallery Dublin
  • Matthew Needham, a multi-award-winning British/Czech designer and artist
  • Justine Cooper with her kitchen cupboard cosmetics
  • Sueann Moore

13 November. 

2:30-5pm

 Science Gallery Dublin
  • IN THE WINDOWS, dance and video installation, choreographed by Muirne Bloomer and performers Niamh McPhillips and Ben O'Sullivan together with visual artist, Nikolas Ryan.

All events will also be captured on film, live streamed at 6pm each day and available post-event on the social media platforms of our 'Building Spaces of Possibility' partners: British Council Ireland and CoisCeim. 

#ScienceWeek #BuildingSpaces

About the Creative Team

Muirne Bloomer

Muirne is a freelance art professional with over 30 years’ experience in dance, theatre, children’s dance theatre, street theatre, spectacle and a wide range of community arts in Ireland and abroad. Over the last fifteen years, she has been more involved with community led projects and has a natural talent for forging links between different communities and the arts world.   

In 2017, she developed the award-winning Community Arts Festival called Dockers and Demons in conjunction with Dublin City Council, Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre and local heritage, cultural, arts and educational institutions. In 2016, she was lead artist on CoisCéim BROADREACH’s ALIGHT! – A Dublin City Council Culture Company commission, which was a highly successful National Neighbourhood pilot project. 

Niamh Shaw

Niamh has been creating events to promote STEM to the general public since 2013. In 2014, she was appointed as Blackrock Castle Observatory’s Artist in Residence and has been working closely with them for over 5 years, sharing her passion to ignite people’s curiosity by combining creativity with science topics. She presents the human story of science, creating theatre shows, public events and contributions to media with this focus. She has set herself a life’s mission to get to space, as artist and explorer and shares her activities to her public talks to families and schools. She hopes that by sharing the human story behind such a venture, it will help us better understand our place in the story of space, and the beauty of our planet. 

Over the course of the two years, it is hoped that Building Spaces of Possibility will demystify climate science, designing opportunities where people can encounter the topic in everyday settings, creating possibilities for new people to engage with the issue and stimulating conversations. By offering a safe, inspiring space for robust and open dialogue, it is hoped the project will encourage behaviour change at an everyday level,  creating a hospitable environment in which practical solutions can be devised to embed sustainability into everyday life.

A Broadreach | Youth project from CoisCéim Broadreach in partnership with British Council Ireland & Science Gallery Dublin. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland (through Discover Programme Science Week Call), Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council. 
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