The Year in Review
Emmet O’Doherty
Head of Department of the Yeats
Academy of Arts, Design & Architecture
ATU Sligo
This year was ground-breaking for the Yeats Academy. The number
of students in the Department increased significantly in line with our forecast for growth, and we also appointed several new staff to join our amazing team.
September saw our new Block K building fully occupied by our Fine Art and Creative Design students. In February, students on our Bachelor of Architecture along with students from our BA in Interior Architecture and Design moved into the new Yeats Academy Architecture Building.
This building has significantly enhanced PC labs and modelmaking workshops, along with purpose built design studios and lecture spaces.
After two years of restricted travel and missed opportunities, there was great excitement when our Performing Arts students travelled to London on the first YAADA international field trip in over two years. A backstage tour of the National Theatre and an evening performance at the Globe Theatre providing two of the highlights of the trip. The Performing Arts programme also led out on an interdisciplinary project working with Creative Design students and staff
and members of the student Rugby Club creating a giant fish puppet that won the Adjudicator’s Cup in the Sligo St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
We hosted a highly successful visit
by the RIAI Accreditation pane grant provisional accreditation to three years of our Bachelor of Architecture programme bringing us a step further in the five-year process to become the sixth fully validated School of Architecture in Ireland.
Scrimshaw, an initiative developed by our Writing and Literature students became the first trans-collegial publication of our new University. The publication, edited by five of the 2021 class of Writing and Literature, runs to 140 pages, 30 thousand words, and contains short story, poetry, flash fiction, essay, photography and art from students, staff. and alumni from across the ATU.
Over the last number of months, I have been involved in a project that will see the six schools of architecture in Ireland collaborate for the first time in a radical revision of the architectural education syllabus to further advance climate action education across the syllabus.
Climate change will impact every person and every household across our country and our planet. It is the
greatest challenge confronting our generation and future generations to come. Over the next number of years, I hope that we as a Department can focus not only revising the
architecture syllabus, but developing department wide revisions to engender deeper emphasis through all our programmes to incorporate climate action and research.
On a final note, I would like to thank Dr Brendan McCormack for the role he played in establishing the
Yeats Academy of Arts, Design and Architecture. Brendan’s has always shown great vision, encouragement, and support for the Department since its formation. I would like to show appreciation to Brendan for being the driving force in the development of the New North Campus development and for championing the creative practices at every possible opportunity as President of our Institute. On behalf of all my colleagues in YAADA, Brendan, we wish you well in your retirement.
Emmet O’Doherty