University College Dublin (UCD) and Thomas Street’s National College of Art and Design (NCAD) will be hosting an international summer school this July as part of a project to develop the institutional relationship between NCAD and UCD. The ‘City Life’ summer school will explore issues that relate to urban history, interaction design, spatial arts and architecture.
The summer school programme was announced last April and Professor Declan McGonagle the Director of NCAD said that “This summer school will give attendees an opportunity to explore and respond to Dublin’s rich urban culture. It will run over three weeks, and will combine tours, visits and special events with shared studio activity and focused workshops and lectures.”
NCAD was established in 1746 and over 1,500 students attend there for day and evening classes. It is situated in the heart of the Liberties area, close to Christchurch. The area is known for its Bohemian theme and fits in with the artistic type of scholar that ends up studying here. During the summer the students will have the privilege to work and meet well known artists, museum directors, cultural and creative leaders, such as Dublin City’s Architect, Ali Grehan and Director Emeritus of the National Museum of Ireland, Dr. Pat Wallace.
The programme is a bit costly, but well worth the investment and will cost €2,500 per student. It will target students from a wide range of academic disciplines such as architecture, art, design, planning, geography, archaeology, media studies, computer science, humanities, business and engineering. ‘City Life’ is set to take place from Monday 13th July to Friday 31st July with a significant number of activities taking place within the grounds of NCAD.
The NCAD/UCD venture is fronted by Professor Hugh Campbell of UCD’s School of Architecture who had this to say, “We have developed an exciting and engaging programme, which will unfold over three weeks, moving from an early research and review stage through studio work and workshops, finally bringing ideas to fruition for dissemination through exhibition, presentation, and potential publication.”
The college and the programme will also pay attention to the rich history and culture attached to the area of Dublin city and will focus on the 1916 Easter Rising and the memories related to this historical event. Professor Campbell further added, “What’s really exciting about this programme is the opportunity it presents to assess both the cultural heritage and the ongoing transformation of Dublin, from a city-centre base. We will offer a strand on ‘Culture, Memory and the City’, for example, which will address central to current national and international debates on memory and urban cultures. This is particularly topical given we are currently celebrating the Decade of Centenaries and the anniversary of 1916 is fast approaching.”
