Rachel Doolin has been working in the realm of participatory arts since 2010. To date she has worked with and designed projects for a variety of persons from birth to adulthood in a diverse range of community, arts, health and educational contexts including higher level institutions and art galleries across Ireland. Doolin’s participatory arts practice is fundamentally rooted in ‘collaboration’. She works closely with young persons, adults, caregivers, artists and arts organisations. Nurturing creative partnership’s, while absorbing the input and ideas integral to producing meaningful work that carefully considers the social and emotional landscape particular to each individual setting.
Doolin is an associate artist with Helium Arts Organisation, Ireland’s national children’s arts and health charity whom work to transform the healthcare experience of children and teenagers in Ireland through art, imagination and play. Additionally, Doolin has worked with Graffiti Theatre Company since 2016. Primarily working on their Early Years Program – BEAG, a unique integrated arts program that provides high quality and multi-disciplinary arts experiences for our youngest world citizens specifically from birth to three.
Doolin’s most recent arts participation projects include: The Little Peas Project, a creative ecology based project in partnership with Irish Seed Savers and Graffiti Theatres BEAG program; Ealta/ Flock a virtual community participation project with Cork City Council and Cork Community Art Link; Seed Stories a collaboration with Solstice Arts Centre to deliver a virtual outreach programme for primary schools in concurrence with the New Era exhibition at Solstice Arts Centre 2020: Little Bird Babble a community arts project in collaboration with Wallaroo Child and Family Project and artists Fiona Kelleher (Musician) and George Hanover (Actor). Little Bird Babble was designed and delivered over a 6 month period to families living in Direct Provision during Covid 19. The project was supported by an Early Years Pilot Bursary awarded by Creative Ireland and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and has been nominated for a Life Long Learning award.
