Meath based artist Evelyn Broderick’s practice is an open dialogue in MAKING/THINKING that evolves and changes through the interactions of the communities she engages with. Evelyn’s response to A Radical Imagination was the hosting and creation of The People’s Shed. The People’s Shed acted as a space for sharing skills and knowledge through communal workshops.

Evelyn connected with the five local community groups across Inchicore and Rialto at local ‘drop in’ sessions where they explored ideas together of how a community’s social fabric can be discussed, honoured and fostered through collective hand skills, sharing, making and thinking. She asked how can studio 468 make space for collective making and understanding generational interconnected roots?

During the award period The People’s Shed hosted a number of events, this included opening up for Culture Night in 2022 and 2023 and The People’s Shed was invited to be a part of IMMA Outdoors 2023.  In January 2024 The People’s Shed closing event ‘Sin é a chairde’ was marked with music, food and printing.

Common Ground and Evelyn published a joint publication that reflected on her pedagogical arts practice informed by her traditional music background. With pieces written by academics Dr. Emma Mahony NCAD and Dr. Aoife Granville UCC that respond to Evelyn’s socially engaged practice, the publication – The People’s Shed: a collaborative arts project – was launched at St Andrews Community Centre on 20th June in 2024.