RISE is a series of three collaborative projects that place the voice of the child at the heart of the performance, bringing to the surface the childhood experiences of joy, beauty, family, empowerment, loss and transformation.

Artists worked with children to create performances that disrupted spaces, touched hearts and delighted audiences. Contemporary dance, parkour, circus skills and performance art combined to create productions that were presented on the streets with elements featuring as part of our 2021 festival in October.

Through the global pandemic, Baboró has worked closely with artists, partners and participants to redesign this programme to ensure that it reached our most precious audience, children, in innovative ways.

RISE, a Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture project, was a series of projects that placed the voice of the child at the heart of the performance and encouraged international artist collaboration. Originally a year-long collaboration between performance artists and children, culminating in live performances at Baboró’s October 2020 festival, RISE was presented digitally in Spring 2021, taking on a deeper meaning through delivery during a global pandemic.

What was once an exciting opportunity for children to participate in the arts became an essential outlet for expression and play during a global pandemic. After years of planning and 12 months of adapting, RISE emerged!

Teams of adult and child artists remotely co-created and participated in projects from their homes in Galway, across Europe and as far away as Melbourne, Australia. We are grateful to all of the artists for their commitment and enthusiasm.