Interdisciplinary artist and designer Jeni Roddy invites you to join the Umbrella Orphanage to rescue broken umbrellas lost or abandoned after storms and transform them into temporary nomadic canopies, that sprout up to provide shelter during Galway downpours. If you are seeking shelter in the city, you may happen upon one, and, for that cloudburst moment, become part of a community bonded by rain. During Spring, Jeni and collaborator Gerry Daly will create tiny performances under the nomadic shelters, drawing attention to the unnoticed social gatherings created by weather events.

To participate, you can

• rescue and donate umbrellas
• host an Umbrella Collector bin
• join in the deconstruction & design workshops in February and April. In the workshops we will dismantle broken umbrellas to create new designs with their materials. We will learn design and sewing skills, as well as share up-cycling and recycling skills, in a very sociable and caring setting. 

Umbrella Orphanage workshops form a continuous process, so the content of workshops will vary. Sign up for as many or as few individual workshops as you like.