Children to be seen and heard

A new exhibition is hoping to spark conversations about how children are made visible in Ireland today.

‘Seen not Heard’ encourages the audience to reflect on their own ideas of childhood and on the place of children in society today. Presenting a multi-faceted selection of artworks spanning across the centuries from the 18th century right up to the present day, the exhibition will feature selected works from private collections, museums and contemporary Irish artists.

Based on the three core themes of power, perception and play, the exhibition will examine how representation of childhood has evolved historically in Ireland, featuring commissioned aristocratic portraits, depictions of children in various socio economic settings and works capturing glimpsed moments of everyday life.

The expression that a child should be seen and not heard is one that the gallery admonishes, recognising that young people drive great change in society. The importance of play in a child’s development is now widely recognised and the significance of play between generations is to be encouraged and to make this happen the gallery has decided to dedicate an area for play for four months. The play space will feature Will Sliney, well known comic books artist, and Dowtcha Puppets among others.