Anne O’Gorman
Anne O’Gorman is an arts manager who specialises in arts education/youth arts/provision for young people. Her previous roles have included positions in the Abbey Theatre, Draiocht, and The National Youth Council where she managed the National Youth Arts Programme and developed, among other projects The National Youth Arts Showcase and Youth Arts Advocacy Project designed to support young people advocate for and celebrate their right to cultural participation on their own behalf. O’Gorman has a particular interest in children’s literature, partnership working and cultural provision as a social justice/rights-based issue. She holds an MA in Arts Management and Cultural Policy and a Diploma in Transformative Leadership. She was Irish Animateur at the European Drama Encounter in 2004 and a member of the selection committee for Laureate na nOg (Ireland’s Laureate of Children’s Literature) in 2010 and 2016 and has been a board member of Children’s Books Ireland since 2019.

Avril Ryan
Avril Ryan is the Head of Operations and Development at Gaisce – The President’s Award with more than twenty years’ experience in senior management positions in the arts and youth sectors. She recently completed a post graduate course in Non-Profit Leadership and Management in the National College of Ireland. Previously, Ryan was the General Manager of The Ark, A Cultural Centre for Children, and a producer on the award-winning feature film ‘The Crooked Mile’. She is a member of IMRO. Ryan is keen to amplify and encourage the creativity of young people through their Gaisce Award activities. At Gaisce she has initiated several creative engagement projects including LikeMinded a three-year project supporting young people from the LGBTQA+ community, which culminated in the 2021 exhibition ‘Queer Mind, Body and Soul’, in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland.

John Smith – Activity Co-Ordinator Oberstown Children Detention Campus
The Role of the Activity Co-Ordinator is to Manage, administrate, develop and co-ordinate all activities and evening classes both recreational and educational at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus. Smith has worked in Residential Social Care for the last 30 years. He was appointed Activity Co-Ordinator for Trinity House School in 2007 and currently holds this position at Oberstown. His background is in Psychology, Counselling, Behaviour Modification and Adventure Education. In 2008, he designed and developed an Outdoor Recreational and Educational programme, which used experiential learning for individuals and groups in an Adventure setting. In 2010, this programme was awarded the overall winner of the National Children’s Awards for effective practice in Youth Justice.

Jim Lawlor (Rialto Youth Project)
Jim Lawlor is committed to working for social change. He believes passionately in the value of youth and community work and the possibility for development with clear collective action. Lawlor recognises the power of creativity and how it can transform the lives of young people. He also believes the real challenge is achieving systemic change and that collaboration is key to this. He trained in Youth and Community Work in the Ulster Polytechnic from 1973 to 1975. On completion of his studies, he worked in the Ferns Diocesan Youth Service as a field-training officer, later working in Limerick Youth Service as a youth worker, with an integrated approach to youth and community work. In 1981, Lawlor moved to Rialto Youth Project at a time of transition and development in youth work, and remained at the heart of the organisation until his departure as Manager in 2020. He has represented the Rialto community on a number of boards as well as working on strategic groups in the Rialto area, and is currently involved in a range of groups and campaigns advocating youth work.

Chair: Helen O’Donoghue (Engagement and Learning IMMA)
Helen O’Donoghue is the Head of Engagement & Learning programme at IMMA and a core philosophy in all her work is to create opportunities for people to access and participate in arts and culture and has developed the programme since 1991 working with a curatorial team who are committed to creating access to the museum resources for all citizens. O’Donoghue is a recent Fulbright Research Fellow, where she spent three months in the Education Department at the MoMA in New York. Currently she is a Fulbright Ireland Alumni Ambassador for Creative Professionals. Recently O’Donoghue has been appointed as “EPALE Adult Learning Expert”, contributing to EPALE the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (epale.ec.europa.eu) content production and editorial strategy.

The Ride Away from the Storm, exhibition is the outcome of a partnership between the Engagement and Learning Programme at IMMA, Gaisce – The President’s Award and Oberstown Children Detention Campus.

This partnership illustrates the vital role of building relationships and making connections with wider society and stakeholders and is a public demonstration of the positive value of the Gaisce Awards in terms of supporting the personal development of young people.

The exhibition is available for viewing in IMMA’s Project Spaces from 26 April 2022 to 8 May 2022.