As part of its freshers’ week programme, Trinity’s Visual Arts Society (VisArts) is teaming up with Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Welfare for an afternoon of arts and crafts. Consenty Crafts will take place in the Pav on September 3rd, and students will be able to create personalised tote bags as part of TCDSU’s ongoing consent campaign.
TCDSU was the first union in Ireland to introduce consent workshops, for all Halls residents, in 2016. The campaign has continued to grow, becoming more extensive in its size and range. In May 2018, the College approved a €15,000 expansion of consent classes, which allowed classes to be offered to all sport clubs and societies on campus. In March 2019, TCDSU voted to introduce a full-time intern for sexual consent education and development, in order to continue amplifying the voice and broadening the scope of the campaign.
This collaborative event will facilitate students’ involvement in the consent campaign and, on a practical level, also work to increase the visibility of the campaign. In what is sure to be a fun and relaxed environment, VisArts will provide tote bags and paints to participants. Attendees will be asked to explore what consent means to them, and will have the opportunity to meet and socialise with other students.
VisArts is known for its arts and crafts workshops, which run throughout the year, often in collaboration with TCDSU or societies for social causes. Last year the society hosted a tie-dye workshop for rag week, a body positivity paint session with Dublin University Gender Equality Society (DUGES) and taught an embroidery workshop for Women’s Week in collaboration with TCDSU. In an email statement to The University Times, VisArts Chair Maeve Breathnach says that the society looks forward to “another year of bringing chill and arty events to the college campus”.
VisArts tote bags are a familiar staple of arts students’ wardrobes, particularly during freshers’ week, so be sure to head to the Pav to make your own, while also spreading awareness of the College’s sexual consent campaign.
