*Credit: Maeve Stone || Rowan Gleeson, 8, at the Wonder Window in Miltown Malbay
A NEW immersive exhibition created with local children is set to bring art, creativity and nature-inspired ideas to Miltown Malbay later this month.
The Wonder Window, the latest project from Cracking Light Productions, will transform the window of the former sweet shop beside The Malbay Pub into an interactive public exhibition from August 24 to 30.
The project follows the success of The Time Machine exhibition at The Design Bank in 2024 and places the imagination of young people at the centre of conversations around nature and ecology.
As part of the project, local children aged seven to 10 will take part in a week-long creative art camp in August, exploring the natural world around West Clare through workshops, outdoor learning and art-making.
Participants will learn more about the area’s beaches with biodiversity expert Cormac McGinley and explore garden ecosystems with Oonagh O’Dwyer.
They will then create artworks using natural elements, second-hand objects and recycled materials, with their work to be incorporated into the custom-built Wonder Window exhibition.
The project asks visitors to consider: “How do we see nature from a different point of view?”
Organisers said the exhibition will feature “magical thinking, lots of hope and nature-inspired wonders”, with visitors of all ages welcome.
Maeve Stone, co-founder of Cracking Light Productions, said the project was about taking children’s creativity seriously.
“Children are creative geniuses. The Wonder Window is all about taking their magical ideas seriously and building a space where people of all generations can come together and think differently about how we live side by side with the amazing species around us.”
Local children involved in the project have already begun helping to shape the exhibition through workshops and field trips.
Niamh, aged 10, said: “I’m really excited to see how the exhibition turns out.”
Julia, aged eight, added: “I’m looking forward to seeing what other people do.”
The Wonder Window will run from August 24 to 30 on Main Street, Miltown Malbay, beside The Malbay Pub.
Admission is free and the exhibition is open to all ages.
