The Day in Question event was staged in a triangle arrangement bringing together What’s the Story? Collective on one side, facing a large group of Gardai on the second side and an invited group of witnesses on the third. The event had two parts. It firstly involved the re-telling of a series of personal but anonymous stories from young people in Rialto Youth Project by individual Gardai. The selected Gardai stood up one after another, in the presnece of young people and read aloud young people’s personal accounts detailing mostly negative experiences with Gardai. Having filmed the readings, the cameras were turned off and an hour long discussion ensued between the collective and the Gardai on the issues arising. To conclude, a group of invited ‘witnesses’ were invited to respond, which included community workers, sociologists, artists and young people who had actively watched and listened to the readings and dialogue.
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.