Developing responsive programming for children and young people

Culture Connects is a year-round programme of cultural activities that invites people in Dublin to try new things. We offer ways for people to make and create together, to share ideas, and connect through culture and conversation. 

Our approach is grounded in listening and responding. This enables us to offer experiences that have relevance and resonance in people’s lives, while recognising that everyone connects with culture differently.

We develop Culture Connects based on what we learn from listening: through conversations with participants, feedback surveys, and engagement in the local community. We learn what you are interested in, what you want to try, and how we can continually improve. 

We apply this approach to our work with children and young people, using tailored, age-appropriate methodologies. We do this through gathering feedback from young people, co-creating projects with them, and through other listening methods.

Find out more about our Education and Learning programme below.

Our Education and Learning Programme

We work with schools through our Tea & Chats programme, running workshops that are designed to listen to the views of young people on what matters to them. This in turn helps us to programme what we do across the company with children and young people, ensuring our work is people-focused.

We recently did a Tea and Chats with Mercy Secondary School in Inchicore, which included a creative activity led by Artist in Residence Kate Escolin. The students made their own zines which communicated things that they like, so we could learn from them about what’s important to them.

Students of Mercy Secondary School in Richmond Barracks

Social connection

Through our Tea and Chats programme, and listening to people who take part in our programmes, we have learned the importance of social connection to people’s health and wellbeing, and how coming together in person is vitally important to young people in the digital age. We have also learned that many young people want somewhere to spend time with their friends and there often aren’t many places for young people to go or activities available that they are interested in participating in.

In 2025, we focused on developing new opportunities for young people to take part in our Culture Connects programme at Richmond Barracks. We started to offer more workshops specifically welcoming teenagers and young people. We also made it clear on our website that many of our workshops for adults were also suitable for young people aged 15+.

We have workshops such as Sketchbook Club that are specifically designed for young people. This summer, we will also offer weekly art-making workshops for teenagers. The content of these workshops will respond to the interests and feedback of the participants. After the workshops, participants are welcome to stay for the afternoon to use the space to hang out and make art together.

“What I like best is being able to meet and talk to new people"
- Participant feedback, Sketchbook Club 

Scheduling to suit families

From our evaluation and feedback from participants we have learned that families need flexibility with scheduling. Most of our workshops are free, and people can book to come to one or as many sessions as they like, so they don’t need to commit to a long ‘course’. 

We have also learned that families wanted more flexibility with scheduling to accommodate last minute changes of plans. Weekly drop-in workshops for children and families are designed to support this flexibility, and also encourage regular participation.

“The class was great for toddlers. Shane is great with the children. I have one day off work a week with my daughter and I had been looking for a class close to me on Fridays for a while, this venue and class is perfect for us! The staff are helpful and the building is great for the community"
- Participant feedback, September 2025

Co-creation: Biodiversity worksheet

Our Biodiversity Worksheet was created by children who took part in a biodiversity workshop with Eco-Gardener Polly Rowley-Sams. All of the pictures, fun bee facts and the map were created by the children. Their hard work will also be used as part of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, a plan that aims to create an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive. The free worksheet can be picked up at Richmond Barracks, or downloaded here.

 

To view our full programme for children and young people, visit our What's On page.