Here We Live and Play
Language explorers in primary schools
On April 9th, 2025, The Complex in Dublin 7 came alive with the voices, colours and energy of children from four local primary schools. This was no ordinary school outing, it was a mini-festival marking the culmination of “Here We Live & Play”, a creative project organised by Mother Tongues that placed children’s home languages, cultures and playful imaginations at its heart.
Over six weeks, artists from Mother Tongues worked with Senior Infants and First Class pupils from Paradise Place Educate Together, Presentation Primary George’s Hill, Stanhope Street Primary and St Paul’s Primary School. Within the Language Explorers framework, they explored the children’s multilingual worlds through art, storytelling, music and games.
This project was born from a simple but powerful idea: that language is not just something we speak, but something we live, share and create with. And when children are given the space to see their languages represented and celebrated, it unlocks confidence, joy and belonging.
The theme “Here We Live & Play” was meaningful. It encouraged students to think about their community, and environment. The sessions balanced creativity with learning, allowing students of all abilities to participate. The use of different mediums—whether art, movement, language, or performance—enabled every child to find their voice and contribute meaningfully.
Creativity Rooted in Identity
In each school, the Language Explorers workshops were tailored by our team of five artists, Débora Adachi, Kasia Eliasz, Paola Invernizzi, Jinny Ly and Kata Varnyu, each bringing their own artistic medium and multilingual experience to the classroom.
The sessions became places of discovery. Children used wool to build fantastical creatures, sang songs in Polish, Romanian and Teochew, painted memory games in Arabic, Irish and Portuguese, and proudly introduced their handmade puppets and treasures. The classrooms became a stage, a gallery, a laboratory of language and imagination.
And behind every creation was a meaningful connection. One child rediscovered her Arabic reading materials at home after seeing her language in school; another performed solo in Polish for the first time, cheered on by classmates and her beaming mother; a group of children tangled in wool transformed into a sea monster game that was as wild as it was wonderful.
One particularly memorable moment came from Nicola, a Polish student, who chose to sing solo in front of the entire audience. Her mother later approached me and shared that Nicola had previously experienced distress during a performance... This time, Nicola not only performed, but led the entire group in song. Her mother described the experience as powerful and confidence-building.
A Festival of Belonging
The final celebration on April 9th at The Complex in Dublin 7 brought together over 80 children, their teachers, artists and families for what felt like more than just an end-of-project showcase, it was a celebration of identity, community and joy. We called it a mini-festival, but its impact felt anything but small.
Each group brought something unique: silhouettes of favourite games with multilingual labels, performances of movement and song and visual art full of imagination and local landscapes. The room buzzed with creativity, laughter and a growing sense of community.
For many families, this was the first time they saw their child’s mother tongue celebrated in a public space. Some had never before been invited into a creative process like this. Artist Paola Invernizzi reflected on the power of that moment. She noticed that some parents seemed unsure or hesitant at first, perhaps unfamiliar with the format, or less confident in English. But as children stepped forward to explain their work in their own voices, something shifted:
It was moving to see families who might not usually interact come together around something their children had created. A part of me hopes that this event was a small step towards a sense of community.”
That sense of community extended across languages, cultures, and classrooms. It wasn’t just about what the children made, but what they shared. Some parents sat close to their children’s displays, others exchanged smiles and stories with fellow families for the first time.
And while not every child had a family member present, the care from teachers and the cheers from classmates ensured that every performance was met with encouragement and celebration. The artists, too, found themselves deeply moved by quiet children stepping forward with newfound confidence, by spontaneous hugs and thank-yous, by the beautiful, unpolished sincerity of the whole day.
The mini-festival showed us that when we honour children’s languages and cultures, we create more than art. We create belonging. And when children see their stories reflected back to them with pride, it’s a powerful affirmation: you matter, your language matters, your creativity matters.
The children not only performed, but did so with great enthusiasm, ownership, and pride… The project highlighted the value of inclusive work in schools, particularly work that honours students’ cultural identities and languages.
Learning, Listening, Growing
This project reaffirmed something we hold dear at Mother Tongues: every child’s voice matters. Language doesn’t divide us, it can be the bridge. Through play, performance, arts, and curiosity, children learned to celebrate one another’s cultures, and discovered the power of their own.
And we, as artists and facilitators, learned too. We saw how slow time builds trust, how visuals can honour identity, how a doll with pink hair or a game of Duck, Duck, Goose can open space for profound connection.
We also learned where we can grow, how to better include parents of all language backgrounds, how to design more accessible communication, and how to support the youngest learners through structure and flexibility.
By incorporating their preferred languages into the craft, children not only created something they were proud of but also learned to recognise words in their peers' languages. Perhaps the most rewarding moment came during the festival day, where children confidently shared their mother tongues with the audience.
Thank you
We are deeply grateful to the teachers and principals who welcomed us into their classrooms, to our creative team and volunteers for their passion and care, and to every child who shared their voice, language and joy with us.
“Both the parents and the children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as I did myself!”, said Catherine Smith, class teacher at Stanhope Street Primary.
This may have been a “mini-festival,” but to us, and we hope to the children, it felt like something much bigger: a celebration of who they are, where they come from, and the many beautiful ways they play, speak, and belong.
“Here We Live & Play” has been created and produced by Mother Tongues in partnership with Paradise Place ETNS, PPS George’s Hill, St Paul’s Primary & Stanhope Street Primary
Project Artists: Débora Adachi, Kasia Eliasz, Paola Invernizzi, Jinny Li & Kata Varnyu
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