Reporting from: Dublin, Ireland
Local Contact: Clare Mulvany
What kind of work are you doing in Dublin?
My work straddles the creative and social worlds. At the heart of it all I am a storyteller, trying to inspire social change through creative process and community initiatives.
I work as a photographer and communications strategist for NGOs and social entrepreneurs, while also teaching development education in schools and universities across Ireland.
I’m also involved in local community projects, including running a national day of street parties in Ireland to help bridge community, volunteering in a creative writing centre for children, and facilitating leadership development programs through the creative arts for young people. I recently began training as a yoga teacher, to help me integrate it all together!
What have you seen there that inspires you artistically, creatively or otherwise?
Everywhere I turn I find inspiration. Through my work I meet a whole range of people who are passionate, active, engaged and inspired to shape or co-create their wider communities. I meet people who, despite harsh conditions, have a fiery belief that things can be different. This in turn gives me fuel to continue. From the slums of Kenya to the urban sprawl of Kolkata, from the remote islands of Tonga to deepest Dublin, I meet people who are willing to have conversations that matter and put ideas into action. My camera and pen become a mirror to this, showcasing possibilities and potential for change, which I try to express creatively or artistically so as to engage viewers and readers to see things in a new or fresh manner. Along the way it is my hope to create nuggets of beauty too, through a turn of phrase or an image captured in my lens.
What can our readers do to support the work you are doing?
My work is about opening possibilities. If a reader or view see things in a new way, or is inspired to take some action, then that, in turn, is supporting me. It is a ‘pay it forward’ model.
Clare Mulvany is a writer, photographer, educator and entrepreneur based in Dublin, Ireland, passionate about leading her one wild and precious life with purpose and impact. She is keen on yoga and has been told she bakes good cake!
Christine Mason Miller is a writer and mixed-media artist who loves to travel, wander and explore, whether on her own or vicariously through others. Her next book – Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World – will be released in November 2011 by North Light Books. Visit her at www.christinemasonmiller.com.
