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UCC students selected as guest curators of The Irish Times Magazine
- UCC English and Theatre students guest curate special edition of The Irish Times Magazine.
- Tess O’Regan and Dorothée Karekezi among four guest curators.
- Special edition explores key issues affecting students including addictions on campus, artificial intelligence, mental health, identity and generational stereotyping.
University College Cork (UCC) students Tess O'Regan and Dorothée Karekezi were chosen to be guest curators of a special edition of The Irish Times Magazine.
Published in print and online today, the special edition looks at the lives of students and the issues they face.
Tess O’Regan and Dorothée Karekezi collaborated closely with the magazine's editor, Nadine O’Regan, and fellow curators Adam Mullins, University of Galway, and Jenny Maguire, Trinity College Dublin.
Tess O’Regan, UCC MA English – Modernities postgraduate student and Film and Screen Media with English Literature graduate, said: “Working with the Irish Times Magazine as a guest curator has been a really gratifying experience. It has challenged me; I tend to write about art and entertainment but I suddenly found myself tackling a more opinionated piece. It gave me the nudge to grow into other areas as a writer.”
“It also gave me a peek into the inner workings of a national magazine. The sheer amount of planning and forethought that goes into each issue is staggering! I was privileged to work with Nadine, the magazine’s editor, who was always full of encouragement and feedback. Likewise, I loved developing ideas with my fellow guest curators. Nothing beats discussing an idea with a team, seeing how it grows and changes when it meets other perspectives. Finally seeing the issue in print will be a reward of rare comparison,” Tess said.
Dorothée Karekezi, UCC Higher Diploma in Arts - Theatre and Performative Practices, said: “Working on this special edition was a good occasion for me to explore how arts, in this case youth theatre, can also in its own way contribute to a better society. Theatre is often considered as a mere form of entertainment, sometimes seen as a tool for self-expression, but the bigger picture is not always being advertised. Youth theatre offers young people the opportunity to nurture their creativity and empathy. And as Al Dalton rightfully said in the interview I conducted, we need creativity in this world, we need people who can think outside the box.”
Reflecting on the collaboration, Nadine O’Regan, Editor of The Irish Times Magazine, journalist and broadcaster, said: “For this editor, having students and new graduates take over the Magazine for an edition has been an experience that has been exciting, challenging, inspiring and mildly terrifying: take your pick. Over Zoom, in person, via WhatsApp and email, we communicated back and forth, engaging on different ideas. What came up as important themes? Generational stereotyping. New addictions on campus. Mental health, identity and anxiety. The question of how to make a difference to society, and improve it. The problems associated with AI. Interestingly enough, social media – something that has been an obsession for millennials and Gen X – wasn’t so much of an issue, possibly because these Gen Z-ers are the first generation to have been born with the internet as a constant presence.”
“Not everyone would choose to take on this task and put themselves out there. I’ve no doubt that you’ll be hearing a lot more from these voices in the future,” Nadine said.
The Irish Times Magazine is available in print and online today.