Sinead Ryan
" After taking the plunge and moving to London, I quickly realised that music was not my only artistic love and I became heavily involved in theatre."
Main details
Before moving to London to begin my MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy, I completed my Bachelor of Arts with Music in 2012 and my Bachelor of Music in 2013 from University College Cork. During this time, I was heavily involved in the Cork music scene - event management and performing - and this gave me an insight to the administrative side of music and the arts. After finishing my Bachelor of Music, I was employed by my University in their Student Activities Office as an adviser and subsequently was appointed project manager for the UCC Societies' Summer Camp. This instilled in me that, in order to placate my passion for the arts, community participation and organisation, the Goldsmiths MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy was the path to take.
After taking the plunge and moving to London, I quickly realised that music was not my only artistic love and I became heavily involved in theatre. I rekindled my interest in community and participation and was lucky enough to become part of the LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) Festival as their Participation and Production Intern working predominately on their main participation piece 'Turfed' which, with a cast of young people who had experienced homelessness, highlighted the world-wide issue of homelessness through the theme of soccer.
Upon completing my MA, I found myself in the same position as many of my peers and faced the prospect of unemployment and job searching. I returned to Ireland after applying for a position with Music Generation Laois, a performance music education programme for children and young people in Co Laois that provides heavily subsidised music tuition and is part of Music Generation Ireland whose long-term goal is to provide a sustainable music education service for all children in their own locality.
I began working for Music Generation Laois in January 2015 acting as an administrator, events assistant, database manager, liaising with parents, students, teachers and schools, and acting as assistant tutor for our Primary Strings Programme. It is a varied role that is never the same from day-to-day but I am delighted to be working with an organisation whose work I feel so passionate about.
