Between Dream and Reality is an exhibition featuring works created by Draw Mind Matters from the Arts programme for Young People at West Cork Arts Centre. The young people created the work between January and June 2025. Inspired by the theories of Carl Jung—who viewed dreams as gateways to the unconscious—the exhibition examines the delicate boundary between waking and dreaming. It explores how shifts in consciousness influence both our internal experiences and perceptions of external reality.

Throughout history, philosophers such as Sigmund Freud, Gaston Bachelard, and contemporary neuroscientists have studied how dreams reveal deeper truths, unresolved emotions, and symbolic meanings. This exhibition encourages viewers to reflect on the blurred lines between imagination and perception, as well as the ways in which these fluid states shape emotions, memory, and identity draw relevance for young people in West Cork.

The art sessions were led by multimedia visual artist Tomasz Madajczak, with Uillinn Public Engagement Assistant, Sylwia Migdał. Drawing on philosophical and psychological traditions, participants expressed their inner visions through experimental practices, capturing the transformative interplay between consciousness and the dream state.

Cruinniú na nÓg is a national day of free creativity for children and young people under 18. Cruinniú na nÓg is a flagship initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan to enable the creative potential of children and young people.

This project is proudly supported by Cork Local Creative Youth Partnership.