The Natural History of Hope
(2012–16)

Natural History of Hope (2012-16) was a long term collaborative project by artist Fiona Whelan and Rialto Youth Project, exploring contemporary experiences of inequality with four generations of women and girls living and/or working in Rialto, Dublin. Building on the methodology developed during the Policing Dialogues project, Natural History of Hope was led by a core team of the organisation’s staff; Dannielle McKenna, Sharon Cooney, Nichola Mooney, Michelle Dunne and Gillian O Connor and artist Fiona Whelan. Based on a collection of over 200 anonymous testimonies gathered from women, and the development of a group of characters to embody lived experiences, the project first manifested in a series of local works called the Listenings Series; Listenings #1(2012) – Listenings #5 (2014) which brought together groups of women to listen and respond to anonymised accounts. This process led to the development of a temporary local space called New School for Girls (Studio 468, 2014) – a pedagogical platform underpinned by three core values as a guide to action: exploring power, sharing personal truth and acting in solidarity. The project culminated in a major theatre performance titled Natural History of Hope (a collaboration with Brokentalkers, Project Arts Centre, 2016) – ‘an unflinching exploration of gender and class inequality, and the complexity of women’s lives told through real stories of oppression, resilience, solidarity and hope’. The performance centred around a mannequin called Hope aiming to survive and if possible to thrive, against a backdrop of social themes identified through the gathered stories. The project features centrally in the publication Freedom? by Two Fuse (sociologist Kevin Ryan and artist Fiona Whelan), Cork University Press, 2018. The programme for the final performance can be seen here:

Hope is a happy child.  
She is always smiling.  
She doesn't see the world as it really is.  
She doesn't see the danger or the cruelty.  
Not yet.  
She hasn't had to test how loud she can scream.  
Or heard the sound of her mother screaming.  
She hasn't had to see how fast she can unbuckle a seatbelt when under the weight of a local businessman who is making it hard for her to breath.  
She doesn't know yet what it takes to raise someone else's kids.  
She doesn't know that someday other people will want to talk about her biological clock.  
She's only a kid.  
She hasn't learnt how to make her bed. 
Or realised that once you make your bed, you're supposed to lie in it. 
(Excerpt Natural History of Hope performance script, Fiona Whelan, Brokentalkers and Rialto Youth Project, 2016)

The Natural History of Hope performance received financial support from the Arts Council through the Project Awards for Arts Participation and the Artist in Community Scheme, managed by Create. The process was also supported through core funding at Rialto Youth Project and through a long-term residency in the fifth block art studio and a two-stage residency award in studio 468, co-managed by Common Ground & Rialto Development Association.