Policing Dialogues (2010)
Over three years, the gathered anonymous stories moved from private to public in a series of events staged in community spaces and contemporary art venues. This included two participatory reading events, two films and a mobile cinema which travelled nationally and internationally. This journey culminated in a major six week exhibition and residency Policing Dialogues (What’s the Story? Collective, The LAB, 2010) which brought together young people, youth workers, educators, academics and members of An Garda Síochana in an active exploratory space committed to exploring and testing power relationships. It included a public exhibition of film and installation based on young people’s experiences of power and policing in Dublin, as well as an extensive programme of workshops, dialogues and meetings. Bringing the work into the public domain in such a way marked a significant public moment in Fiona Whelan’s long term residency in Rialto Youth Project.
This creative and learning residency was aimed at all audiences but particularly at critical thinkers, policy makers, young people and those who work with them. An Garda Síochana (the Irish police force) also participated in the programme and crucially, the learning from this process will directly inform the content a new local training scheme for Gardai, aimed at more constructive interactions with young people.
Policing Dialogue Invite
Following the exhibition and residency and marking the end of the What’s the Story? Collective, Rialto Youth Project published a 24 page newspaper aimed at capturing some of the learning from the four year project. The Policing Dialogues Review, a 24 page newspaper which presents personal and analytical perspectives on the project can be downloaded here.
Download The Policing Dialogues Review
For further information about this project, see: ‘TEN: Territory, Encounter & Negotiation’, a critical memoir by Fiona Whelan, 2014.
For further reflection and analyses of this event, see: ‘Beating the Bounds of Socially Engaged Art? A Transdisciplinary Dialogue on a Collaborative Art Project with Youth in Dublin’, Fiona Whelan & Kevin Ryan, Field Journal, Spring 2016.