As the autumn trimester comes to a close, it has been a busy few weeks for CFA@UCD. Showcasing student creativity has been at the forefront of our mission at UCD. As modules wrap up ahead of assessments and the winter break, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate student creativity and creative work. The students from Traditional Music Practices were joined by special guests, Dónal Lunny and Paddy Glackin, two legends of traditional Irish music, for the end-of-year concert. Dónal and Paddy have been working with our students throughout the trimester. Creativity, a module coordinated by CFA’s own Professor PJ Mathews, held a showcase on 29 November in Trapdoor.
Students presented the creative work produced during the autumn trimester, including short films, performances, and creative writing. The development of these creative projects was facilitated by Dunk Murphy, Digital Creativity Support for CFA, and the Creative Arts Research Lab (media lab) which have broadened the scope of what is possible for students and their creativity.
Creativity was one of three UCD modules which welcomed students from NCAD as part of the mobility pilot. Two NCAD students presented work at the showcase. The other students took part in Techniques of Songwriting & Cinema Creatives. Eight UCD students studied in NCAD as part of the mobility, taking modules in Fragmented Narratives & Language Meaning and Identity.
Trapdoor, the state-of-the-art black box space in UCD’s Newman Building, has been a hub of activity since its launch in February 2024. Throughout 2024, Trapdoor has been home to modules across CFA and the College of Arts & Humanities, and hosted our Dancer in Residence, Justine Doswell, THISISPOPBABY & Lords of Strut for development and rehearsal of DREAM FACTORY (Dublin Theatre Festival 2024) and Robert Power’s A Version of Life (Dublin Fringe Festival 2024).
Outside of teaching, Trapdoor has hosted screenings of a diverse programme of films to build community with students and staff, which culminated in a screening of Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr (1924) accompanied by a new improvised score performed live by Dr Seán Clancy, Viktória Šinkorová and Sebastian Adams (UCD School of Music).
Dr Sean Clancy (Composer, Ad Astra Fellow and Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Composition at UCD School of Music) has hosted Crash Ensemble, one of the leading new music ensembles in the world, to work with students on compositions. Sean also hosted the Bozzini Quartet from Montreal for a lecture-recital and album recording in Trapdoor funded by the Craig Dobbin Legacy Fellowship.
Finally, students studying the BA in Creative & Cultural Industries were invited to an exclusive Q&A with Dan Lambert on December 4 in Trapdoor. Dan is the manager for the Irish language hip-hop trio Kneecap – currently on tour in Ireland and the UK, and hotly tipped for an Oscar nomination next year for their eponymous semi-autobiographical film.
In conversation with Professor Emily Mark-Fitzgerald (Pathway Coordinator for the BA Creative & Cultural Industries, School of Art History & Cultural Policy), Dan spoke to students about managing the stratospheric rise of the band, and his other creative passions as COO of Bohemian Football Club and co-owner of the popular Bang Bang cafe in Dublin.
