Lead facilitator Jacqueline Toal from Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), working in partnership with WheelWorks and supported by Community Arts Partnership artists Mayte Ruiz Cala and Heather Douglas, brought together more than 20 young women for the first Bootcamp of the ImmerseHER programme.
ImmerseHER is a creative programme that gives young women space to find their voice, develop their creative agency and explore ideas around cultural heritage, identity and belonging. Through textiles, storytelling and emerging digital technologies, participants are invited to look at Irish cultural heritage in new ways, working alongside artists and facilitators to co-create their own artworks, designs and artefacts.
The first Bootcamp was an opportunity to get hands-on and experiment. Spanning a full day at DkIT’s fantastic facilities, participants explored screen-printing and laser cutting, learning how traditional creative approaches can be combined with digital fabrication and new technologies. Tomorrow the group will travel to Belfast for a further day of making and experimentation, creating their own augmented reality experiences and beginning to explore how digital technology can be used to tell personal and cultural stories.
The programme is about more than learning new creative skills. It is about giving young women the confidence and freedom to make, experiment, collaborate and tell their own stories — connecting heritage with contemporary culture, fashion and technology.
ImmerseHER is funded through the PEACEPLUS Change Maker Funding Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
Wear Her Story
If you are a woman aged 16–25 with an interest in the intersection of fashion, heritage and technology, you can apply for the next tech and textiles programme, Wear Her Story: Co-Creating Cultural Identity and Wellbeing with Seldom-Heard Girls and Young Women through Heritage-Inspired Digital Fashion, Digital Fabrication and Immersive Storytelling.
The programme offers an opportunity to explore exciting creative technologies including:
- 3D printing
- Digital fabrication
- Laser cutting
- Digital fashion
- Animation
- 3D scanning
- Virtual try-ons
- AR filters
- Virtual design galleries
You don’t need to be an expert in any of these areas. The programme is about curiosity, creativity and having a go — bringing your own ideas and experiences into the process and seeing where they can take you.
Wear Her Story is funded through the PEACEPLUS Change Maker Funding Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
