Boys in the Making: On Masculinity and Method

Location: Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre, NCAD, 100 Thomas St, Dublin 8 (Details on how to get to NCAD)

Date: 14th of February 2025

Time: 09:30- 15:00

Organisers: Fiona Whelan and Rialto Youth Project

Boys in the Making is a dynamic place-based programme for boys and young men, which sees groups come together over time, to co-create a boy and explore his needs and experiences as he interacts with the world around him. Developed in 2019 by Rialto Youth Project and artist Fiona Whelan, the programme aims to explore, communicate and learn from the lived experiences and knowledge of boys and young men as they engage in a creative exploration of masculinity and its formation. Since 2022, Boys in the Making has been piloted and developed in a number of educational and community contexts across Dublin, led by new organisations and artists. Aspects of that work are being exhibited at the NCAD Gallery (16 Jan - 14 Feb) culminating in a conference 'Boys in the Making: On Masculinity and Method' on 14 February where we will:

Present an overview of the origins, evolution and current ambitions of the Boys in the Making initiative.
Describe the creative/ collaborative approach of Boys in the Making.
Hear critical reflections from the various Dublin-based Boys in the Making initiatives.
Consider some sociological questions around the cultural, economic and political forces mediating masculinity today.

The conference will conclude with a gallery-based performative event where young men involved in Boys in the Making will have the last word. ‘Boys in the Making: On Masculinity and Method’ Conference is presented in association with the exhibition Boys in the Making at NCAD Gallery (16th Jan - 14th Feb 2025), by Fiona Whelan and Rialto Youth Project, in collaboration with Scoil Chiaráin CBS, Aaron Sunderland Carey, Feidlim Cannon, Gary Keegan, Dara Clear, Dr Robert Grant, Dr Ernesto Vasquez del Aguila, Dr Ciaran Smyth, Jim Lawlor, Poppintree Youth Project, Space Forms and Heart of Glass. Curated by Anne Kelly.

Exhibition public opening times: 16 January - 14 February 2025, Mondays: 11am-5pm, Tuesdays 11am-3pm, Wednesdays 11am-6pm, Thursdays 1pm-6pm, Fridays 2pm-4pm. www.ncad.ie/gallery-event/view/boys-in-the-making; https://ncad.gallery Boys in the Making forms part of a long-term project called What Does He Need? - a collaboration between artist, writer and educator Dr Fiona Whelan, Rialto Youth Project and Brokentalkers theatre company. Through public art, performance, educational programmes and workshops, What Does He Need? aims to create significant public dialogue about the current state of masculinity.

Further information about the exhibition: https://www.ncad.ie/gallery-event/view/boys-in-the-making

The conference is funded through NCAD Research Seed Funding, with additional support from Heart of Glass and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Boys in the Making at NCAD Gallery is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin City Council Arts Office, Rialto Youth Project and NCAD.

Conference Schedule:

09:30 - Tea & Coffee

10:00 - Opening and Welcome - Dannielle McKenna (Manager, Rialto Youth Project)

Part 1: Methodology in Focus chaired by Dr Ciaran Smyth (Artist, Writer and Researcher)

10:15 - Boys in The Making Methodology - Reflections on the programme’s origins, methodology, expansion, and the challenge of repeatability - Dr Fiona Whelan (Artist & NCAD)

10:40 - Reflections from collaborative practice - Youth Workers and Artists share perspectives on process, insights and challenges from the Boys in the Making programme. - Michael Byrne (Rialto Youth Project), Aaron Sunderland Carey (Artist), Sue Fagan (Fatima Homework Club, RYP), Dara Clear (Artist).

11:05 - Repeatability in Social Practice: What does it take? - Partnership Perspectives, Insights and Challenges - Patrick Fox (Chief Executive – Heart of Glass), Kate Houlton (Children and Young People’s Producer - Heart of Glass), Fiona Whelan (Artist & NCAD) Dannielle McKenna (Manager – Rialto Youth Project)

11:30 - Break (Refreshments provided)

Part 2: Talking Masculinity chaired by Dannielle McKenna (Manager, Rialto Youth Project)

11:45 - Boys and Masculinities - Reflections from the Boys in the Making Programme and discussion on current trends from Masculinity Studies - Dr Ernesto Vasquez del Aguila (School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, UCD)

12:10 - Dialogues on Masculinity - Critical reflections on the use of a philosophical approach to dialogue for creating an open, safe listening space for young men to explore themes of care, protection, power, identity, appearance and violence, as they relate to contemporary masculinity - Dr Rob Grant (Philosopher and Co-Founder of HearListen)

12:35 - Performing Masculinity - A live reading and visual response to a month-long programme of events at NCAD Gallery - Young men from Rialto Youth Project, Aaron Sunderland Carey (Artist) and Feidlim Cannon (Brokentalkers)

13:00 - Break (Lunch provided)

Part 3: Conversation on Masculinity and Method

14:00 - To end the conference and exhibition, the final part of the day will take place in NCAD Gallery, where the conference attendees will be facilitated in a conversation, reflecting on, and engaging with the themes of the day - Patrick Fox (Chief Executive – Heart of Glass), Jim Lawlor (Independent Advisor to Boys in the Making).

15:00 - Conference finish, and closing of Boys in the Making exhibition at NCAD

Further information:

NCAD Gallery and Harry Clarke Lecture Theatre are wheelchair accessible
Accessible toilet facilities on site
NCAD has a Calm Room that can be made available to any attendee who may wish to use it.
Refreshments and Lunch will be provided.
When booking your ticket we will ask if you have any additional accessibility or dietary requirements. If you have specific questions please get in touch with Dannielle McKenna (dannielle@rialtoyouthproject.net).
For more information about the contributors see below:

Dannielle Mc Kenna is the Project Manager of Rialto Youth Project who has worked with the project since 2009 and is committed to empowering young people and fostering positive change through the values of youth work and social justice. With a deep belief in the potential of every young person Dannielle, strives to create inclusive, supportive and equitable spaces. Charged with providing leadership and fostering new approaches to engaging openly and respectfully with young people at risk, the Rialto Youth Project has defined its mission as follows: In an age of inequality, where working class communities are oppressed, the Rialto Youth Project is working towards bringing about social change, providing an integrated youth service, based on the needs of young people and in particular those most at risk. In practice, this has involved a particular commitment to working within two major local authority flat complexes, Fatima Mansions and Dolphin House, while also maintaining an area-wide youth service and other forms of regional, city-wide and national affiliations.

http://rialtoyouthproject.net/

Dr Fiona Whelan is an artist, writer and Programme Leader of the MA/MFA Art and Social Action at NCAD. Her arts practice is committed to exploring and responding to systemic inequalities through long-term collaborations with diverse individuals, groups and organisations. These processes are rooted in complex relational networks and typically accumulate over time through a series of public manifestations, including text-based, visual, performative and dialogical artworks, that take direction from the collaborative process and lived experiences of those involved. Common to all work is an interrogation of multiple power relations, such as those between police and young people; state-run medical services and patients; national housing policy and those experiencing housing injustice; as well as less tangible power relations experienced as social norms related to class and gender. Notable works include The forest that won’t forget (2024, with John Conway, 221+ and Hometree), The Apology (2022, with Feidlim Cannon and Housing Action Now), What Does He Need? (since 2018, with Brokentalkers and Rialto Youth Project/RYP) and Policing Dialogues (2007-11 with RYP). Fiona is also a committed writer of books, book chapters and journal articles focused on the complex relationality, labour, methodology and ethical challenges of her arts practice.

https://www.fionawhelan.com/

Dr Ciaran Smyth is an artist, writer and researcher. In 2004 he completed his doctorate with the Department of Sociology at University College Dublin. His dissertation drew on the work of French philosophers Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, combining their post-structuralist theory of knowledge with an ethnography of community-based psychiatry in the post-asylum era. In 2008 he co-founded Vagabond Reviews with artist Dr Ailbhe Murphy. Vagabond Reviews is an interdisciplinary, socially engaged art and research platform integrating collaborative knowledge production with multimedia / visual arts installations. Over the course of their interdisciplinary practice they entered into dialogue, critical (re)visions and creative collaborations across a range of situated territories and contexts including community development, new neighbourhoods, urban regeneration processes, institutional networks, public art and curatorial commissions. In 2021 Vagabond Reviews initiated a research process entitled Emergency Knowledge: An Archive of Spectral Epistemologies. Conceived of as a mode of diagnostic aesthetics, this research set out to create new forms of allyship among and between sites of instability locally and globally where fast modes of know-how have emerged from extended crisis situations. The work culminated in an exhibition entitled Emergency Knowledge: The Missing Archives at The LAB Gallery, Dublin (April – May 2024).

Aaron Sunderland Carey is a mixed media and socially engaged artist currently pursuing an MA in Art and Social Action at NCAD. Based in Dublin, his work bridges art, community, and social change, with a focus on collaborating with marginalised communities. His practice spans painting, printmaking, and multimedia, aiming to amplify overlooked voices and explore themes of public planning, marginalization, masculinity, and class. Recent projects include Stones (2024) - an exploration of the reciprocal relationship between individuals and their environments. Aaron is also a key contributor to the Boys in the Making programme. His work has been exhibited at Outset Gallery in Galway, Axis Arts Centre and Theatre Ballymun, and NCAD Gallery. Aaron has just begun a residency at Studio 468 in Rialto through Common Ground, where he will continue to develop his socially engaged artistic practice.

Michael Byrne is a community youth worker with Rialto Youth Project, whose first interaction with the What Does He Need? project was making a boy called "Stevie" with a group of young men. Since then, Michael has engaged in many strands of the project exploring the formations of masculinity with men and young men. Michael was part of the team who developed the methodology of Boys in the Making, and is committed to the programme due to its commitment to the voices of young people, and their engagement with youth work and arts processes. Their work reflects a deep belief in the power of youth to shape a future defined by equality, kindness, and shared humanity.

http://rialtoyouthproject.net/

Dara Clear is a podcaster, actor, writer and martial arts instructor. After graduating from Maynooth University with a Degree in English and Philosophy, Dara trained as an actor at Cygnet Training Theatre in Exeter. He has worked in performance and education in Ireland and overseas. He is interested in interrogating and representing examined forms of masculinity. You can read and hear his thoughts on authentic wellness and grounded positivity at the www.theclearout.com

Sue Fagan is a youth worker and team leader of Fatima homework club (a programme of RYP). She has worked in the project for 20 years and has dedicated her career to empowering young people. With a deep commitment to social justice and equality, she consistently advocates for overcoming adversity and addressing inequalities. Sue believes in the transformative power of education and works tirelessly to support young people in gaining independence, amplifying their voices, and ensuring they have a say in the decisions that shape their lives. Her passion and tireless efforts make a lasting impact, helping young individuals build confidence and resilience as they navigate their futures.

Patrick Fox is Chief Executive of Heart of Glass, a community arts organisation based in the Northwest of England. As founding Chief Executive, Patrick has developed Heart of Glass into a national lead for arts and community based practice over the past decade, with the organisation a member both of Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places programme since 2014, and National Portfolio since 2018. Patrick is former Director of Create, Ireland’s national development agency for Collaborative Arts. He is a producer, commissioner and senior arts leader who supports artists to engage with communities of place/ interest to create contemporary work that reflects the politics of our times. He is a founder of Collaborative Arts Partnership Programme, a four-year programme of transnational work focusing on models of social arts practice across Europe. He is interested in expanding critical discourse and supporting the development of policy and infrastructure around collaborative and community arts practices. He was also the former Head of Collaborations and Engagement at FACT Liverpool, leading the acclaimed arts and older people project ‘tenantspin’ as part of his portfolio and is currently a Board Member of the Liverpool Culture Network, a membership of 60+ cultural organisations across the Liverpool City Region. He holds a Masters in Cultural Leadership from John Moores University. https://www.heartofglass.org.uk/

Kate Houlton is the Children and Young People’s Producer at Heart of Glass, a community arts organisation based in the Northwest of England. We bring together artists and communities to make collaborative art, and provide support, resources and opportunities to artists and anyone interested in socially engaged practice. Kate leads on the Children and Young People’s programme, supporting the creation of dynamic and ambitious enquiry led collaborations between artists, children, young people and their allies. https://www.heartofglass.org.uk/

Dr Ernesto Vasquez del Aguila is an Assistant Professor in Social Justice at University College Dublin. By background, he is a medical anthropologist with a PhD from Columbia University, New York. He co-edited Unsustainable Institutions of Men: Transnational Dispersed Centres, Gender Power, Contradictions (Routledge 2019) and is the author of Being a Man in a Transnational World: The Masculinity and Sexuality of Migration (Routledge 2014). He has previously taught at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima; Georgetown University, Washington, DC; and at the University of the Philippines, Manila.

Dr Robert Grant has a PhD in philosophy from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where he was an Irish Research Scholar. He has taught philosophy in Trinity, UCD, and other third-level institutions. He is a founder member of Philosophy Ireland and HearListen, a community-based philosophy project that brings philosophical dialogue into communities and schools. He has also published a philosophy book for children and has written and directed a documentary for RTÉ television about teaching philosophy in schools. Rob is also a musician.

Feidlim Cannon is a co- artistic director alongside Gary Keegan of Brokentalkers. They have been described as ‘one of Ireland’s most fearless and path-breaking theatre companies’. They devise original, accessible live performance and explore new forms that challenge traditional ideologies of text-based theatre. Their working method is founded on a collaborative process that draws on the skills and experiences of a diverse group of contributors from different disciplines and backgrounds. Some are professional artists, performers, designers and writers and others are people who do not usually work in the theatre but who bring an authenticity to the work that is compelling. Brokentalkers make work that responds to the contemporary world, using elements such as original writing, dance, classic texts, film, interviews, found materials and music to represent that world in performance. Brokentalkers also work within the participatory arts sector, collaborating with communities to produce works of artistic excellence as well as providing quality arts experiences for participants.

https://brokentalkers.ie/

Jim Lawlor is committed to working for social change. He believes passionately in the value of youth and community work and the possibility for development with clear collective action. Jim recognises the power of creativity and how it can transform the lives of young people. He also believes the real challenge is achieving systemic change and that collaboration is key to this. Jim trained in Youth and Community Work in the Ulster Polytechnic from 1973 to 1975. On completion of his studies, he worked in the Ferns Diocesan Youth Service as a field-training officer, later working in Limerick Youth Service as a youth worker, with an integrated approach to youth and community work. In 1981, Jim moved to Rialto Youth Project at a time of transition and development in youth work and remained at the heart of the organisation until his departure as Manager in 2020. He has represented the Rialto community on a number of boards as well as working on strategic groups in the Rialto area and is currently involved in a range of groups and campaigns advocating for social change.