The Walkers Photographer-in-Residence is a three-year programme, from 2017 – 2020. Walkers Ireland are a global financial services law firm based in Dublin’s Docklands. They have a strong commitment to the long-term development of the local communities in which they operate. Walkers committed staff time and resources to the programme. The residency involved a collaboration between Walkers staff, management, a professional photographer and Transition Year students in a local school. Using the Dublin Docklands as inspiration, photographer Kate Nolan develops documentary and art photography skills through ‘story walks’ of the area. Working with Transition Year students in CBS Westland Row and with Walkers staff, different themes are explored in each workshop. This led to the development of technical skills, decision-making, and engagement with creativity.

In addition to dedicated two-hour long workshops, the TY students and Walkers staff worked collaboratively across the programme, with shared workshops and field trips to the Gallery of Photography and the RHA Gallery. The shared workshops enabled collaborative ways of working, and fostered a sense of equal ownership of the programme. Over the course of the residency, a large body of work was created, focusing on the Dublin Docklands, and the different perspectives and representations of the area. As a celebration of the residency, a number of images taken by TY students have been installed in Walkers offices. A strong link now exists between Walkers and CBS Westland Row, and a book will be published in 2020.

Kate Nolan, Walkers Photographer-in-Residence:

The organisation by Business to Arts, support of CBS Westland Row, Walkers’ creation of the residence and Walkers staff collaborative sessions with the young people in their offices, built a programme that has supported and challenged the transition year students of CBS. During this programme I learned about the importance of process over outcome which has supported my own work with young people in other areas of Dublin, and in the Irish borderlands. This responsive, gradual process that builds trust and confidence for myself and my collaborators, within this space outside of thinking of the outcome, creates some very thoughtful work. This in itself I find quite challenging but incredibly rewarding.

Garry Ferguson, Managing Partner, Walkers Ireland:

September 2019 saw us launch the third year of the Walkers Photographer-in-Residence Programme with CBS Westland Row and with our Artist-in-Residence, Kate Nolan. This year the Residency continues to involve both separate and collaborative photography workshops for the TY students of CBS Westland Row and Walkers staff. The conclusion of this project in 2020 will coincide with the 10 year anniversary of the opening of Walkers’ office in Ireland – to mark the occasion we look forward to publishing a book showcasing a photographic collection of life in the Dublin Docklands generated both by our staff and the students throughout the Programme. The partnership with Business to Arts, CBS Westland Row and Kate Nolan, has given our staff a new perspective on the local Docklands community while also affording them the opportunity of learning a new skillset. Introducing art through the accessible medium of photography into our workplace while collaborating with the students has facilitated a greater knowledge and understanding on the part of our staff of the history and vibrant diversity of this community where Walkers has been located since first opening for business in Ireland.

John Davis, Transition Year Co-ordinator, CBS Westland Row:

The Walkers Photographer-in-Residence programme, coordinated in conjunction with Walkers, CBS Westland Row, Business to Arts and photographer Kate Nolan has been a central part of our TY programme for the past three years. This has been a tremendously successful programme for a number of reasons. Students work as part of a team, meet people from a variety of backgrounds in and out of their work environment, develop new technical skills and then observe how this activity relates to the world of work and beyond. Student feedback is very positive about the programme with some identifying it as one of the most memorable experiences of Transition Year. Indeed, in some cases students have developed their career interests towards a media/art direction as a result of the programme. I have been closely involved in the programme for three years. The reason the programme is successful is due to the commitment shown by Walkers staff, Kate Nolan and the students of CBS Westland Row.

Kate Nolan is a photographer based in Dublin. Her practice is centred on sustained engagement and dialogues with communities in locations where identity and territory are contested. In 2019, she was selected for an artist residency at Headlands Center for the Arts, San Francisco and The Digital Hub, Dublin. Her work has been shown in Ireland and internationally, and is in various public and private collections. She has been supported by Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary, 2017 and 2019, the Gallery of Photography, Dublin, Culture Ireland and the Department of Culture, Heritage & Gaeltacht.

For any queries on the residency programme, please contact Sarah.

Pictured is Garry Ferguson, Managing Partner, Walkers, Kate Nolan, Walkers Photographer-in-Residence, and Andrew Hetherington, Chief Executive, Business to Arts with transition year student Genoveva Nemes (16) of CBS Westland Row at the launch of photographic exhibition titled ‘Docklands Story Walks’, in 2019. Picture Conor McCabe Photography.