Image by Sarah Moloney
DEVELOPMENT
In April 2026 we did workshops in three local primary schools to develop themes and ideas with young people. We focused on three eco-systems that would be generative for 3rd and 4th class in St. Jopseph’s National School Miltown Malbay, Rineen National School Miltown Malbay and Mol an Óige in Ennistymon. The Ocean, The Forest and the Garden provided a whole world of ideas to begin building the spine for The Wonder Window.
WORKSHOP
From the 10th - 14th August we hosted a week long programme at the Wonder Window Space in Miltown Malbay. We worked with lots of recycled and repurposed materials and each young artist created a jelly fish, a stain glass window, an animal of their choice, a silver fish and a branch of a tree. Their worked formed the detail and colour in the heart of the immersive experience that audiences who came to experience the Wonder Window got to enjoy. We also went on field trips to White Strand where we explored rock pools with marine biologist Cormac McGinley and learned about the creatures of the intertidal zone. At the community garden in Miltown Malbay we learned about hedgerow harvest from horticulturist Oonagh O’Dwyer and thanks to Sue Powell we got to explore food systems and taste the freshest of peas! All of this learning made its way into the story for The Wonder Window.
IMMERSIVE EXHIBITION
From the 24th - 30th the window beside the Malbay transformed into a magical portal into nature. Over the course of a week we welcomed just under 300 visitors of all ages and each and everyone transformed into a Marsh Fritillary Butterfly to discover more about the rarest creature in the local ecosystem.
Moving through a hedgehog highway into the garden greenhouse we begin the journey somewhere familiar and human, thinking about food and soil. Our butterflies discover Grainné, a sleepy hedgehog who advises us to find the wise old owl in the woods.
In the woods we find Oonagh who sits in the mother tree, an owl with a lot of wisdom and memory of Ireland’s ancient tree alphabet. With a few clues hiding around the space we begin to translate the Ogham symbols into the word ‘O-T-T-E-R’.
Our search for the otter brings us to the sea where we find a riddle that describes a local place and an important breeding ground for Marsh Fritillary Butterfly which is the only insect listed on Annex two as an endangered species.
