2014 Press Releases

Art, blind lunches and jazz

20 Feb 2014
Disability Awareness Week runs from Saturday 22nd to Thursday 27th February 2014 (Image of The Student Centre, UCC by Tomas Tyner).

Disability Awareness Week brings a seven-a-side blind soccer match in the President’s Garden, performances from disability artist Katie O’Reilly and Chicago jazz queen Karen Underwood and many other events.

Disability Awareness Week runs from Saturday 22nd to Thursday 27th February 2014.

The Triskel Arts Centre will house acclaimed artist Kaite O’Reilly for a two-day intensive writers’ workshop on Saturday and Sunday, in partnership with Art Works UCC, an initiative formed by UCC, Corcadorca Theatre Development Centre and Plugd Records. Directed by Phillip Zarrilli (Llanarth Group, Wales), O'Reilly's new script in progress Cosy will also be read by six Cork-based actors on Saturday 22nd February at 5pm, TDC Triskel Arts Centre, followed by a wine reception. All welcome. O'Reilly will also be giving lunchtime and evening lectures at UCC on Monday on the topics of representing impairment in drama and theatre and on disability arts and culture. Those interested in attending any of these events can view further details at http://artworksireland.org/kaite-oreilly/  

Some of the more creative events during the week are designed to raise awareness of what it might be like to participate in daily activities for persons with a disability. A wheelchair challenge will take place on the main UCC campus between 12-3pm on Monday, where participants can experience what it is like to interact with the physical environment using a wheelchair.

Tuesday will see hungry participants challenged to assemble their own sandwiches blindfolded at Brookfield Health Complex (12-2pm) and  to pick out different foods using just sound on main campus (12-3pm) to highlight how even seemingly mundane tasks can present a challenge. Tuesday also brings an ‘application make-up challenge’ from 12-3pm on main campus and a seven-a-side blind soccer match at lunchtime in the President’s Garden. Tuesday will also see the launch of an official blog called ‘Wheelie around Cork’, a guide to Cork for wheelchair users. Wednesday brings a 24-hour wheelchair challenge where participants will take the experience off campus.

Soul singer Karen Underwood will perform from 12.45-2pm on Thursday in the Main Rest, UCC, with all welcome to attend. A ‘silent social’ will also take place from 7pm-9pm organised by the UCC Hot Beverages Appreciation Society, where participants can experience being social using sign language.

Other events during the week include a law department seminar by Dr Darius Whelan on paternalism in Irish mental health law at 1pm on Wednesday 26th February.

The week of events is the result of collaboration between UCC Disability Support Service, the UCC Students’ Union, Clubs and Societies, Art Works UCC, the Occupational Therapy Department, the Department of Physical Education, Campus Radio and others.

For further details on all the week’s events, please contact Anna Ahern, Disability Rights Officer on 087 6549735 or disability@uccsu.ie 

About Art Works

Art Works, Creative Arts and Industries Platform, is a collaborative initiative between UCC, Corcadorca Theatre Development Centre and Plugd Records. Art Works is intended to provide a vibrant hub that links Arts students, past, present and future, with academic stakeholders, employers, industry practitioners, and interested members of the wider public. Its aim is to showcase the broad applicability of Arts-degree skills on the job market, for example in the burgeoning creative industry sector. Art|Works foregrounds the socioeconomic value of a flexible Arts-educated workforce in a rapidly-changing world. In the context of on-going debate and popular skepticism about the value of Arts degrees despite Ireland’s disproportionately large contribution to the creative industries given its size, this space for dialogue seems particularly important.

University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

College Road, Cork T12 K8AF

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