THIS IS ART CLUB – SERIES TWO
SHORT EPISODIC SYNOPSIS
THIS IS ART CLUB!
SERIES TWO – PRESS RELEASE AND EPISODE GUIDE.
THIS IS ART CLUB! returns to RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
The new series starts on March 16th 2023, 5.00pm.
This Is Art Club! is back and on a mission to inspire young audiences with action-packed eight part series featuring exciting art and young artists from all across the land.
Coinciding with the annual This Is Art! 2023 digital art competition, RTÉ Young People’s Department is delighted to announce the return of the young people’s tv show This is Art Club! designed to inspire and celebrate the work of young artists in Ireland.
Presented by artists Holly Pereira and Shane Keeling, This Is Art Club! is filmed at the National College of Art and Design campus and the first episode will broadcast on Thursday 16th March 2023 at 5.00pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
Each week we’ll explore some of the common themes or subjects which inspires great art ; The Face; The Body; The Sun; The Land; The City; The Line; The Word, and The Mind. The series is packed with young artists showing us the how’s, what’s and why’s of their work, demonstrating how they make art from all sorts of materials and sharing with us what it is that inspires them.
Throughout the series we visit art rooms and schools across the country and our young art club reporters are out and about presenting special reports on some of the exciting events, exhibitions and projects happening in their local area.
Young ‘artists apprentices’ go behind the scenes to shadow professionals in different creative practices, trying out all sorts of creative careers from printmaking, tattooing and stage design, plus, established artists team up with art club members to share insights on their work and process and plenty of tips for aspiring artists.
Guest contributors from the grown up art world include: Mick O’Dea – portrait artist, Elizabeth Cope – painter ; Una Gildea – animator, Aoife Dooley – illustrator, Mary Duffy – painter, Amanda Coogan – performance artist ; Fergal Brennan – music video director, Ruth Medjber – photographer, Ala Buisir – artist & photographer.
We also dive into some of the weirder aspects of art history in a playful way and of course artist in residence Ross Carvill is on hand to demonstrate loads of unusual techniques for kickstarting the creative side of your brain and getting your inspiration on at home.
This Is Art Club! and the companion website rte.ie/thisisart is also the go to place to find out all the news and announcements for entering the national THIS IS ART! 2023 digital art competition.
Throughout the series we’ll be hearing from previous TIA! Competition winners, meeting some of this years jury panel, getting a sneak peek at the ‘making of’ this years’ coveted TIA! Grand Prix trophy as well as reviewing some stunning competition entries from previous years.
The series runs for eight weeks, starting Thursday 16th March on RTÉ2 and on the RTÉ Player. Artists and art lovers of all ages are invited to join the club and follow along on tv, on-demand or online.
In addition to the programmes, the website rte.ie/thisisart offers additional digital content where audiences can dig deeper into some of the art works, techniques and processes highlighted in the series. Here audiences will find tonnes of bonus material, free downloads, demonstrations, and art education resources created by the NCAD’s School of Education.
EPISODE 1 THURSDAY 16TH MARCH 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE FACE
The brand-new series of This is Art Club! is all about different sources inspiration and this first episode is dedicated to The Face!
We make pop-art selfies using just food, visit the Model in Sligo to watch artist Mick O’Dea paint live portraits and have a go at sculpting our own animal masks inspired by a trip to the Dead Zoo.
EPISODE 2 THURSDAY 23RD MARCH 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE BODY
We throw shapes with an episode dedicated to The Body.
Amanda Coogan leads a performance art workshop inspired by Irish Sign Language, Simone Rocha’s Girls, Girls, Girls exhibition in Lismore is all about the female gaze and reporter Susie attends her first nude life drawing class at the RHA School! No giggling please.
EPISODE 3 THURSDAY 30TH MARCH 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE SUN
Today we’re worshiping The Sun – giver of light, life and inspiration since the dawn of time.
Check out how shadows can inspire abstract collage, how UV light exposes stunning images and how stained-glass can give the sun’s light a divine effect. See how Ella captures the ‘stars’ at a music festival with photographer Ruth Medjber.
EPISODE 4 THURSDAY 6TH APRIL 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE LAND
This is Art Club! goes outside to explore the wonder of The Land.
In the studio, we scavenge for natural materials to recreate landscapes, while we visit legendary art collective Macnas in Galway, and we discover how one young Leitrim artist has turned building pet scarecrows into an art form.
EPISODE 5 THURSDAY 13TH APRIL 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE CITY
Inspired by The City and our urban environments, Art Clubbers design their own mega-metropolis with recycled cardboard boxes; we explore photo-montage animation techniques with Una Gildea and visit an epic transition year art project in Adamstown.
EPISODE 6 THURSDAY 20TH APRIL 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE LINE
We follow the path of inspiration with an episode dedicated to the LINE.
We learn an ancient art-hack using a thumbtack and a piece of string, we explore different ways of kinetic art mark-making in Dublin Port and see how a young Waterford artist is documenting every inch of his beloved heritage town with a felt tip pen.
EPISODE 7 THURSDAY 27TH APRIL 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE WORD
We can’t stop talking about our episode dedicated to The Word!
From protest banners to altered books, we explore how words are used to inspire and create art. With a printing press we turn slang words into colourful prints, Ross gives an Irish legend the comic book treatment and Sean goes backstage at The Gaiety to see how theatre designers make a life size elephant out of a yoga mat and a pool noodle.
EPISODE 8 THURSDAY 4TH MAY 5.00PM, RTÉ2
SHORT EPISODE DESCRIPTION: THE MIND
We let our imaginations run wild with a special episode dedicated to The Mind.
Our art clubbers are reinventing medieval gargoyles with a creative flair, Ross plays mind games with some fantastic beasts and we get messy in NCAD making expressionist action art. We visit the incredible workplace of Kilkenny painter Elizabeth Cope and in studio, Holly chats to illustrator and comedian Aoife Dooley who has some great advice for aspiring artists.
