Salma Makela Fragment 2024
“Forward,” said granny in the snow – “Eteenpäin,” sanoi mummo lumessa
Artists: Jane Hughes and Selma Mäkelä
Curator: Paula Barrett
Duration: 90 minutes
Suitable for: Primary school students (Junior Infants – 6th Class)
Group size: Up to 25 students per session
Dear Principal / Teacher,
Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre is delighted to invite schools to participate in our upcoming spring art project, FORWARD! Exploring Landscape, Time & Imagination, inspired by ‘Forward’ said granny in the snow, by visual artists Jane Hughes and Selma Makela.
This interactive programme invites children to explore landscape, time, and imagination through guided looking and hands-on art making. Inspired by the exhibition’s themes of resilience, deep time, and place, pupils are encouraged to connect personal experience with the natural world.
Designed especially for junior infants–6th class pupils, the project will be led by visual artist and Uillinn, Public Engagement Assistant, Sylwia Migdal, and will support children’s active engagement with contemporary art in a fun, collaborative way.
What to expect if you take part in the project:
- Teacher support and exhibition
- Available dates: 14 April, 15 April, 22 April 2026 (90 minutes) gallery tour and
- 5 May, 12 May or 19 May 2026 (2 hr) classroom-based
To participate in this project, please email
For more information, go to: https://www.westcorkartscentre.com/schools
About the artists
For Jane Hughes and Selma Makela, painting is a site for contemplating deep time and imagining worlds beyond fixed borders. Deep time—geological or cosmic time spanning billions of years—finds tangible expression through landscape and pigment, yet requires a non-linear approach to comprehend.
Informed by residencies in remote regions, their work merges geological observation with experiences of displacement and fractured cultural identity. Drawing on memory and archival imagery, their landscapes are composites of real and imagined places—geological fantasies that move between figuration and abstraction, reflecting on personal realms within a vast universe.
About Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre
Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, established in 1985 and relocated to Uillinn in 2015, the Centre provides access to local and global art practices of excellence. The Centre focuses on contemporary visual art and a dance programme. It has a strong track record in arts programming, community engagement, and creative learning. Education is at the heart of its activities, with a wide range of arts workshops, community-based projects, exhibitions, residencies, film screenings, seminars, talks, and gallery tours. www.westcorkartscentre.com/visit
About Public Engagement Assistant
Sylwia Migdal, a Polish artist and researcher, has been based in West Cork for 20 years. Her artistic practice is rooted in conceptual art, soundscapes, and socially engaged practices, particularly with young people in informal settings. She has played a significant role in developing the young people's programme at Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre for the past three years. Sylwia holds a BA in Visual Arts and a Master's in Art and Environment from Technological University Dublin. She also has a Youth Arts certification in the Youth Work context from the Department of Social Studies.
