Building cultural communities with W.O.W.

Since September I have had the honor of working as an artist and educator with W.O.W.Women of the world group in Arklow. This diverse group of women meet once a week on Wednesday at 10 am - Midday at 38 Lower Main Street, Arklow. County Wicklow Partnership fund and house the group, Frances Creegan co-ordinates the group and continues to do great work with them. She pools resources and funding from Wicklow VEC community Education and Wicklow County Council Arts Office.
All of the women are interested in art and actively craft - knit, stitch, crochet, paint, write or draw. Some of them have had craft based businesses before they immigrated to Ireland.
By session number two I started counting up the different cultures in the room including the Irish women typically 8 or 9 in any one week, the ages range from early 20's to older I'm not sure if I should guess specific ages!
Oh! that every place in Ireland could have a new locals group where diversity and creativity are embraced and women of the world find a place to meet and support each other.
I'm delighted to be sharing images of the work we have been doing together and to introduce you to these women whom live up to their acronym WOW.

WOW Building Cultural Communities from Roisin Markham

My role has been to work with the group - meeting each of them and meeting them collectively - working with arts based methodology, craft skills and women! In the weekly sessions I have been facilitating opportunities to explore and open learning, building trust and skills, developing them as a group towards sustainability and resilience, creating experiences where the knowledge is recognised, repositioned or new. The reality is they are well on the road to building their cultural community their appreciation of diversity and mutual respect is in good health. I get to show up and work with them further to support them, like a signpost I point them in a direction to further their path, to developing new opportunities for themselves and to explore creative activities for themselves, the group and the wider community.
I love that this group has Irish women originally from the area and blow ins and new locals it makes for a very interesting dynamic and real cultural context - old, new, local, new local 'insider outsider'.
Our sessions have brought conversations and discovery of ideas like yarn bombing, Avoca handweavers, the illustrator Audrey Beardsley, new words, a dictionary at hand and word swapping. Often during sessions there is a pause to exchange a flurry of Spanish, Ukraine, Turkish or another language we find the meaning in allowing space to understand and learn.
For the narrative of my creative and research practice this work fits with my insider outsider theme ties into earlier work and the educational Barcelona experience, it  resonates.
With any social experience in Ireland there is of course there is always time for tea.
This week is Social Inclusion Week in Wicklow and W.O.W. have an open morning call in enjoy a cup of tea, make some felt, have a look at what these women have been up to, meet them and join in their adventure!
My work with this group is ongoing till Christmas...
A note from Frances today says:

WOW is about support, inclusion and essentially integration, giving the women a sense of belonging and the confidence to participate in the life of the town, albeit building cultural communities. County Wicklow Partnership's brief is also to enable women to access other services.

 and on that note find out more information here... http://www.wicklowpartnership.ie