A young woman searches for her missing son through a miasma of her memories and dreams in director Viko Nikci’s surreal feature film debut, writes Luke Maxwell.
Beautifully written, this book lulls you along like a river on a calm day. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments of drama though, writes Daniel Seery.
The Firehouse Film Contest’s organisers want to help filmmakers get over first-time jitters, inhibitions and procrastination – and share their movies with an audience.
There’s an export-licensing system for certain artworks and cultural objects already, and some say this should be extended to antique furniture too.
Aoibheann McCann’s novel is “sensitive and melancholic”, “a poetic tale of a life that is anything but”, writes our reviewer.
“It’s refreshing to hear so many stories of success and courage from women who have overcome a multitude of obstacles, not just to succeed, but to flourish in this new multicultural Ireland,” writes our reviewer.
Generally the audience either “detests it or loves it”, says Rouzbeh Rashidi. That’s a point of pride for him. They react.
“Erskine’s cutting insights into the lives of everyday people shine through” in this short-story collection, writes our reviewer.
Clive Shannon used to play for the RTÉ symphony orchestra. These days he plays at Urban Plant Life on Cork Street.
Director Bertie Brosnan takes a candid look at the downsides of celebrity in this “behind-the-scenes featurette”, writes Luke Maxwell.
The collective is mostly staff members who are artists, and professional artists with links to Connolly Hospital.
Allchival has over the past year focused on extracting forgotten threads of Irish musical history through reissues.
“I thought the documentary was worth making because nobody else had done it,” says writer and director Kevin Brannigan.
For more than a decade, Brian Showers has compiled and anthologized Irish Gothic and horror writers. Few, though, have been such a mystery to him as the strangely named George Edmund Lobo.
Club Comfort was born as an escape from dull dance music in other clubs, and as a safe space for queer and trans people, say its trio of founders.
This fast-paced tale of a woman with amnesia in search of her past is “beautiful, tragic at times, and original”, writes Daniel Seery.
In this episode, you’ll hear Richie’s story. About picking mushies with him over Inchydoney Bay in 1993, about how he spent a summer on building sites in London, about how he later ended up in prison, and about how he died.
“We have to find a legal way of doing it,” said City Arts Officer Ray Yeates. But “the partnership process is full of potential”.
In this episode you’ll hear about how a bully gave The Orange his nickname, and how he embraced it at university, when he was warrior-tall, with a ginger crown and a love of mushrooms. And you’ll learn how the music ended for him.
This documentary shows couples and individuals recounting romantic rendezvous under the iconic Clery’s clock on O’Connell Street. It looks at things worth cherishing from that time, and things best left in the past.
Gavin Mee kept travelling and gigging and loving right up to the end, even as his heart was failing him.
In this podcast, Branwen Kavanagh talks to Martin Cook about mixing art forms, launching a new project, and how she came to be playing a petrol can – and she plays some songs.
In this episode you’ll hear about faeries, the Virgin Mary’s appearance in Inchydoney, “wrecking”, how Dan McCarthy had tresses and a goatee that made him look like a pirate or a musketeer, and how he died.
Nine years after a savage sexual assault Ailbhe Griffith meets her attacker face-to-face in a mediated environment in “The Meeting”, the difficult new film from Alan Gilsenan.
In this episode you’ll learn what happened to Chill Out Timmy, hear about the trials and tribulations of a Curehead love affair, and encounter the curse of Edmund Spenser.
The Department of Agriculture Library, which hasn’t been updated since it opened, features gems like “The Book of Asparagus” from 1901. It’s inviting visitors in on 13 October as part of the citywide Open House festival.
Five teenagers gathered at a party in a bedsit in Dunmanway, West Cork during mushroom season in 1993. Only one is left on this Earth. The first instalment of a six-episode podcast memoir by the survivor.
In his video work Suburban Cookie Collector, Michael Dignam delves into his past, and reconnects with it through old stories and memories.
On Golden Lane, the gallery of the macabre and erotic will share a space with the restaurant Feast. The proprietors have a slew of ideas for collaborations mixing food and art.
Dublin used to have a civic museum on South William Street, but it closed for renovations 15 years ago and has never reopened.
Amy Redmond uses acting and creative writing to help adults with mental-health issues.
“I can say wholeheartedly, and with some embarrassment, that I wasted my time fretting over whether Black ’47 is all it was made out to be. It’s a special kind of picture for many reasons.”
There is something of a ritual most mornings in the magazine section of Eason on O’Connell Street.
Chaos Factory’s show Kiss Kiss Slap Slap is scheduled to run at Smock Alley Theatre from 11 to 15 September as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival.
This portrait of the noted Provisional IRA member combines fascinating interviews with occasionally hokey dramatisation.
The painter’s work depicts his family life: playing FIFA on Xbox, falling asleep in front of the TV, and tying his shoes without help from the father he’s never met, who is the reason people often ask him where he’s from.
Junior Brother recorded one of his early low-fi records in his kitchen in Kerry. A couple of years and many gigs later, he talks to Martin Cook about his evolution as an experimental folk singer.
Michelle Boyle’s show “Outside the Urban” is on at Axis Ballymun until 24 August.
Included are books, pamphlets and posters of all kinds – some funny, some serious. Each is the only known surviving copy of that particular text left in the world.
“I think it’s really important that Hugh Lane got in touch. Travellers aren’t included in Irish history,” says Nancy Collins.
Set in the lost-and-found office at a train station in a small Irish town, Liam O Mochain’s latest film “charms us with its winsome worldview”, writes Luke Maxwell.
The nine-act play, directed by John Doyle, is scheduled for its Dublin debut at the Smock Alley Theatre in late July.
Listen to the Oxo Boys talk about the bands they’ve been in, the legacy of old-time music in the Liberties, and more – and play a few tunes.
“It’s only in Ireland that I actually started, really started, out of loneliness you could say,” she says.
The narrative lets the film down but there is plenty to admire in “Dublin Oldschool”, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.
Lorcan Rush wheeled a dance floor around Dublin, breaking the law everywhere from Merrion Square to in front of the Dáil, as his project for the NCAD graduate exhibition, set to run 9–17 June.
The speedy reaction by Dublin City Archives to collect messages left at the memorial to Savita Halappanavar in the south inner-city shows a new effort to value items from the here and now.
Cartoon Saloon’s latest animated feature tells the story of young Parvana’s life under the Taliban. “There is hard work and humanity in every frame,” writes Luke Maxwell.
While the artist might be best known for his gigantic murals, Earley’s debut exhibition draws on inspiration from his family’s history.
Skein Press want “new, fresh thought-provoking writing”, says Gráinne Shanley O’Toole, one of the founders. They just launched their first book.
Sean Kissane is searching for some of the artist’s early paintings for an upcoming show at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
In this month’s podcast, Martin Cook talks to the Canadian trio about life on the road, the instruments they have made, and why they used to dress in sepia.
Pawel Szoka says he wants to serve the city’s healthy and growing scene.
In John Farrell’s new play, he tells the story of his life – born in Ireland, moved by the Sisters of Mercy to New York – up to the age of 25, when his first real love was murdered.
“The one thing that lacks in the spoken-word community is advertising,” says Melissa Ridge.
Frank Berry’s “heartbreaking” drama follows the downward spiral of a naive teenager who, sent to prison, finds the opposite of redemption, writes Luke Maxwell.
There’s a workshop on how to make pysanka eggs scheduled for Friday in Stoneybatter.
In this month’s music podcast, Alan Woods shares his deep knowledge of traditional music, with songs from his County Leitrim, and the tales behind them.
A struggling stand-up comedian teaches life skills to a group of oddballs as part of a back-to-work programme in this “squirmy and appealing black comedy with a bleeding heart”, writes Luke Maxwell.
When this film is at its best, it’s “a kitschy good time. Unfortunately, bright spots are few and far between,” writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.
Sasha Hsuczek’s influences range from her first-love – Irish traditional music – to the old songbooks of Sacred Harp, to the country music of Kitty Wells.
How companies dictate the way space is used, managed, and presented to the public is the subject of David Flood’s art exhibition “A Place Like All Others”.
“Whenever I felt as though I had a handle on director Niall McCann’s tricks or the limits of the film’s form, there was another surprise waiting for me,” writes Luke Maxwell.
The guest of honour this time will be the American writer Joyce Carol Oates, winner of the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Award.
One is the song of a broken-hearted bachelor. Another speaks to the trials of being an international student.
“The stigma of being an addict is huge, so for me it was getting the voice of the addict out there in a meaningful way,” says playwright Lisa Walsh.
“Any nationality, no matter where you’re from, and we want to specify that: no matter where you’re from, we really want everybody to come together,” says Jayne Robinson.
Oscar López’s paintings draw on the 18th-century journeys of “the forgotten father of environmentalism”. His exhibition at Pallas Studios in the Liberties opens 21 February.
There is a case for the City Art’s Office to take a lead role in the debate, says Labour Councillor Rebecca Moynihan.
Ahead of a recent live session, the quizzical singer Myles Manley talks to Martin Cook about his persona, the inspiration for his music videos, and more.
“It was awesome,” said Alex Traynor, aged nine. He couldn’t rate the performance, he said because “there is not a number big enough”.
The arts space plans to run several pilots this year to reach out to the surrounding local community in new ways, says Director Helen Carey.
A reluctant banker goes rogue in this Dublin-set thriller. The debut picture is “a little sloppy in its plotting, but never dull and always visually pleasing”, writes Luke Maxwell.
Colin Murphy brings the high-stakes hustle to the stage of the Abbey Theatre.
Listen to musician Loah performing songs from her latest album, and also speaking to Martin Cook about dedicating herself to music, and collaborations, and what the immediate future looks like.
Artists Fiona Dowling and George Higgs are working with different South Dublin groups to write songs that capture the rhythms of their modern workplaces.
“We want to kind of shake you by the shoulders and go, ‘Poems!'” says organiser Andrej Kapor.
Residents across the north-east inner city have seen a few new murals lately, with more to come: €80,000 has been set aside by Dublin City Council.
“When you have regulation of the entertainment industry from 1935 it’s definitely outdated,” says Constantin Gurdgiev. “The social conditions which might have warranted the regulation no longer exist,” he says.
This new film dramatises Charles Dickens’s writing of A Christmas Carol in a style that’s “silly and sincere all at once”, writes Luke Maxwell. In it, Dublin does a fine job as a stand in for 1840s London.
Many of the 15 works in “In Public, In Particular” touch on issues of gentrification and the erosion of working-class ways of life. The exhibition is on this Thursday and Friday.
In this first episode of our podcast “Music at Marrowbone Books”, fiddle player Danny Diamond performs at the Dublin bookshop, and chats with Martin Cook in his studio about his music and life.
You might have noticed the large arches disappear from a corner of St Stephen’s Green.
With extra funding, those who run the Hugh Lane Gallery hope to bring in blockbuster works and grow its visitor numbers.
“We’re not taking our lead from the church, we’re taking it from advertising. So the secular icons show that,” says artist Paul Mac Cormaic.
“You may learn more from the rubbish than you do from the good songs,” says Tony Bardon, who started the collective several years ago.
The film-makers have crafted an “intriguing knot out of their shoestring budget”, which brings the audience “uncomfortably close to these desperate characters, but we want to be there”, writes Luke Maxwell.
What it means to have a home, to miss one’s home, to live in a place far away from where one was born and raised – these questions inform much of Erin Fornoff’s “Hymn to the Reckless”.
Mixing the social-problem and horror genres, this new film explores one of Ireland’s most notorious murder cases, and its effects on those it left behind.
An ornate silver and gold cup in the National Museum of Ireland remains a catalyst for theories about the mythical vessel.
Stall holders in Temple Bar Square have seen a lot of changes over the years. They’re hopeful that plans to renovate the square will mean an even merrier book market.
This film about the renowned Dublin-born architect offers great insights into his philosophical approach, but few into his inner self, writes Luke Maxwell.
This Thursday’s event will celebrate the life of Sherie De Burgh, and raise funds to support one-parent families.
Temple Bar is at risk of losing its Icon Walk, due to persistent vandalism and damage. It needs better lighting, CCTV, and intervention to help it survive, say those who built it.
Split into four vignettes, the play “The Assassination of Pope Urban II” tackles religion, death, decay, and disability.
This new film is “an impressive feature debut, well-observed, earnest in its execution and filled with humanity”, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.
The Cock and Pussy Manifesto, which includes equal numbers of artworks devoted to female genitalia and male genitalia, runs until 23 September at Gallery X.
After a decade running record label and concert promoter Ergodos from wherever they could, the pair have settled into a more permanent home.
A crop of queer cabaret nights offer a new guard of performers, eager to embrace eccentricities.
An exhibition later this month examines the Eblana theatre’s importance and the much-contested but visionary scheme of Busáras itself.
The heroic warrior Oisín tossed a boulder to the top of a mountain. Now artist Ciarán Taylor wants people to join him in carrying a new boulder up there, one small stone at a time.
An unlikely and at times harrowing love story, “Maudie” presents the life and times of Canadian folk-art institution Maud Lewis. It’s a film that looks for the little sparks of light in the dark.
“If we sit in the shadows no one will see us. This is the point of the exhibition,” says Priya.
Those behind the Trans Live Art Salon want to spread the work of trans and gender non-conforming artists. As part of the Dublin Fringe Festival, they’re creating a space to do that.
Artist Kerry Guinan sent out a spoof email, impersonating the Hugh Lane Gallery in order to critique corporate involvement in the arts.
“The Farthest”, a new documentary, is the moving story of NASA’s Voyager mission. It is “hard science on the outside but gooey on the inside”, writes Luke Maxwell.
Held monthly at the Clockwork Door in the city centre, Vybrations is a casual event that encourages poets to get up and express themselves.
Through classes and commissions, Jordan McQuaid is sharing what he has learnt about the flexible art of silk-screen printing.
Gregory Dunn’s newly released book of photos is really a collection of stories – like the story of Cunty the horse, and the story of Sean Dublin Bay Loftus.
It looks as if the city will get two statues of singer Luke Kelly, and plans for a pavilion at Merrion Square have been dropped, according to council officials at the arts committee meeting on Monday.
Dan Doherty, the man behind the soundtrack to the new film, left the civil service and devoted his life to making music. “I didn’t give a fuck about anything else really to be honest,” he says
In Kilmainham and Santry, residents have objected to festivals and events, but some argue that they can bring benefits to an area.
This Sligo-set film is a little rough around the edges, but it excels as a feel-good picture with its heart in the right place, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.
Anne Maree Barry’s film is part documentary, part fiction and draws on the history of the north inner-city neighbourhood.
For years, the actor has performed his one-man show about Brian O’Nolan’s life and works at pubs and in theatres. He recently wrapped up a stint at the Smock Alley, and soon he’s heading for Salzburg.
Zoe Kavanagh’s lo-fi, high-concept horror-action debut “Demon Hunter” is a bona fide B-picture that makes a lot out of a little.
Brian Flanagan and Lily Power want Marrowbone Books to be a meeting place as well as a bookshop. “If you’re someone who likes books – and I think these people exist – then we will have something for you,” says Flanagan.
Three of photographer David Thomas Smith’s works are currently on display at the gallery in Temple Bar, part of a series inspired by a message sent into space.
“The more people painting signs the better,” says Vanessa Power, the instructor. The next two-day workshop is this weekend.
They’re photographing the blocks of colour used to cover up graffiti, in the belief these are more than simple public maintenance – they’re art.
A shortage of space means that some have been making films and series in warehouses. But during an acute housing shortage, is now the time to be giving land over to film studios?
Within the short space of 18 months, three of Will St Leger’s friends were diagnosed with HIV. He is curating an exhibit on 15 June, to highlight calls for a pill which lowers the risk of infection to be made available here.
Five artists took the story of how twenty-four icons came to Ireland as their springboard, creating works that reflect on displacement, conflict, and more.
This feature-length sitcom from the director of “The Stag” takes a semi-autobiographical look at adolescent male friendship, boarding school and family.
From meeting in the Gaeltacht to hundreds and thousands of fans, the young duo behind Dublin’s Soft Boy Records have come a long way.
More than two decades ago, a Dublin lawyer stumbled by chance on an image by the artist Alphonse Mucha. It led to a life in search of his works.
Artur Bordalo has made his trash animals all over the world. In the next few days, he’ll be using scrap to create a giant sculpture near Tara Street.
In Liam Gavin’s first feature film, dark forces and ritual misery give way to something truly affirming, writes Luke Maxwell.
Do you live in Ireland and have a love story to share? Writer Henry Martin is looking for unusual love stories to adapt for the theatre.
Livia Paldi has taken up her post during a time of reflection at the 50-year-old art institution.
This film “shows the quiet malice of standing by and letting people slip through the cracks of society”, writes Luke Maxwell.
The Leaving Cert art curriculum fails to prepare students for the art world, says Jennie Guy. Through her programme Art School, she’s pushing for it to improve.
“I love when people post their work on Instagram afterwards, and it doesn’t matter if it’s really crappy, I just love it,” says organiser Scarlett Nymph.
In “Uncertain Arrival”, artist Stephen Shaw aims to show the city streets through the lens of a disoriented stranger.
“Every time I expected the film to threaten its characters with danger of violence, I was pleasantly surprised to see gentleness and warmth instead,” writes Luke Maxwell.
Fáilte Ireland has agreed to transfer 33 Synge Street to Dublin City Council. Now it’s time to brainstorm ideas for how the council could use the building.
This documentary weaves together candid footage and interviews to build up a story of the regeneration, exploring what was lost as the towers came down.
At weekends, Andrew Heney and Michael Murphy string up ropes and practice walking them above the city’s canals and parks. Murphy has his eye on the Poolbeg towers.
Through his open-mic night, David Halpin is trying to provide a route for performers from their bedrooms to big stages.
“It’s all about slowing down the pace,” says Caroline Orr, a curator at the gallery.
Featuring five artists, “Still Life: Honouring the Dead” aims to challenge preconceptions about life and death, waste, and our relationship with animals.
Some businesses say displaying art is a way to help their artist friends sell commission-free canvases. For others, it’s a free way to decorate a room or two.
Kie and James Carew’s Póg Mo Goal focuses less on analysis and goals, and more on social, political, and historical currents.
Co-founder Brian McNamara says the new station’s challenge is to represent not only what’s happening in the Irish music scene, but what’s being listened to.
Eoin Whelehan’s work is inspired by the dusky urban landscapes of graphic novels. Click through to see the full image and read what he has to say about it.
Artist James Devlin says this work is about the desire to be different “even if that means wearing a dress made from fingers”.
These photographs, taken through microscopes, are extreme close-ups of a flower, larva, vitamin C, and butterfly wings.
Since it launched in October 2015, 1815 Magazine has come in all kinds of shapes. The last issue was a deck of cards.
Death comes to small-town America when a series of unusual and gruesome murders occur in this shoestring thriller that’s got “cult” written all over it.
Kurb Junki says his skateboarding and graffiti chalking is all about the engagement with Dublin’s public space.
The latest in our series highlighting contemporary art, artist Dee McCormick’s work “Core” is a heart-felt image that seeks to inspire and uplift.
This work depicts one of the Furies of Greek mythology, “terrifying women” who “represent merciless justice”, the artist writes. This is just a detail – click through to see the full image.
This is not so much a rags-to-riches story as it is a rags-to-further-rags-and-then-contentment kind of story, writes Luke Maxwell. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon up my ass,” Tommy Byrne explains.
This print was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, the artist says. This is just a detail, click through to see the full image.
Ellen Aveiro used to be a prison administrator in Paranagua, in southern Brazil. These days, she runs a community centre on Dorset Street.
The artists hope people will “be confused, but still willing to engage with our work – question it, reframe it, love it, be irritated by it”. This is just a detail – click through to see the full image.
Last year, Ian and Louise Ó Maonaigh cobbled together an orchestra for a charity performance. And then they did another one. The next is in December.
A painter with a photorealistic style, Matthews “was drawn to the curve of Harcourt Street. As you walk along the street the end is hidden … ” His work is on display at the Molesworth Gallery until 30 November.
It took the Irish Museum of Modern Art two years to gather all the Lucian Freud works currently on display in a special exhibition, which include female nudes, but no male nudes.
Even if you don’t immediately love this painting, it’s full of symbolism and so “it can provide something to do some detective work on”, writes the artist. This is just detail – click through to see the whole thing.
It’s taken eight years for Sam Coll’s verbose debut novel to be published.
The artist made this work about himself and a visit to Brussels “without overthinking, by trying to let feelings and experiences ‘conjure’ the image”. This is just a detail, click through to see the full image.
The spooky Eerie audio tour leads you through the streets of the south inner city, with tales of ghostly Dublin – and puzzles.
When you see this painting, the artist hopes you’ll “feel uplifted and smile”. It’s the latest in our series of works by Dublin artists, Curios About. We’d love it if you’d submit something you’ve done.
This simple, low-budget film lasts just 38 minutes but it covers a lot of ground. It’s being screened in Temple Bar on Tuesday 25 October.
Many of Dublin’s cultural institutions buy and display public art works without any input from Dubliners, raising questions about whether they should get more of a say.
“For bands like us its more difficult because there are fewer other places we can go,” says Mutefish guitarist Bo Stelmach.
This diptych is inspired by the patches of paint used to cover up graffiti in Dublin’s East Wall. ” I am trying to draw awareness to these graffiti erasures,” writes the artist.
The team behind the Comics Lab are taking their comic-book artwork off the page and onto the stage.
A documentary follows the unlikely rise of a Dublin-based mattress salesmen in this surprisingly low-key documentary about the men behind the social-media phenomenon Mattress Mick.
This three-minute soundscape story “bows to the spirit of The Twilight Zone and blows a kiss to the short fiction of Raymond Carver”, writes the artist.
A look at how the trials and tribulations of Temple Bar may help guide future cultural quarters across the city. If we need them.
Luke Maxwell tries to pin down why “The Young Offenders” made him laugh more than any other film this year.
This weekend, it will have been a century since Dublin Mean Time was erased. Ten women sound artists will commemorate the occasion with a performance at Richmond Barracks.
This work is a collection of X-rays, including images of people hidden in trucks, obscured with ink, obliging the viewer to investigate, writes the artist. This is just a detail, click through to see the full image.
It’s about “combating the social stigma, empowering women, and demystifying our bodies”, says the zine’s editor, Michelle Powell.
There are lots of paintings of rural Ireland, but fewer of its urban centres, writes the artist. “My paintings are trying to observe and document what Dublin is like” now, he says.
More than 10 years after the idea of a statue of folk singer Luke Kelly was put forward and approved, there are now potentially two on offer.
In his work, Kennedy seeks “to create timeless spaces, a constructed world in which dockland motifs sit in utopian landscapes”. You can see it this month at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services in D8.
“I was taken in by the film’s earnestness and taken aback by its forcefulness,” writes Luke Maxwell. “This is an Irish film that deserves to be seen the world over.”
This painting is part of a series about “animals’ lives and how they matter and should matter to everyone”. This is just a detail from the painting – click through to see the rest.
As part of the IN PLACE project, 13 artists will work in or around vacant city-centre sites, creating works that fit their surroundings.
Some Dublin bands are opting to record their music onto cassettes rather than CDs or vinyl. Callum Browne and his Little L Records label is there to help them.
Aoife Kelleher’s documentary about the village of Knock, is “simply put, a magnificent achievement”, writes Luke Maxwell.
The publisher of a book that wins a Costa Book Award category must pay £4,000, and if it wins book of the year too, that’s a further £5,000.
In her art, Deirdre Ronan reflects on the nature of relationships and her work with both the families of offenders and victims of child sexual abuse.
In this photo from a series, fine artist Eamonn Farrell aims to explore our relationship with the natural world and the man-made institutions around us.
In this short film set in Dublin, Jijo S. Palatty offers a critique of segregation and its drivers, and an exploration of what he sees as the conflict between pluralism and liberalism.
As a creative entomologist, Nessa Darcy wants to spread her love of insects through art.
With this work, the artist wants to make the reader to feel uncomfortable. “Hopefully the audience will fill in the reasons why I made it so raw and brash,” he says.
Selected as the Irish entry for the 88th Academy Awards, Paddy Breathnach’s film explores familial relationships, sexuality and machismo in Havana, Cuba.
Yemi Azamosa set up the Fried Plantains Collective to make sure there are events in Dublin put on by Black women, and LGBTQ Black women, to talk about things that affect Black people’s lives.
Projects should “add to the distinctiveness of the area, whether to do with its past history, or with emerging and prominent future”.
In this animated short, Damien O’Connor seeks to capture 60 years in the life of a Dublin doorman as he watches the city he loves change around him.
In densely populated neighbourhoods, there are rules, there are neighbours, and there is always somebody you might annoy.
Some believe the effort is politically motivated as previous murals at the Project Arts Centre didn’t face complaints about a lack of planning permission.
The ex-Love/Hate actor talks about his new film, set in Darndale, which again looks deep into gangland – but this time at street level.
Artist Paul McGrane says he wants viewers to feel they have entered a fantastical realm of colour and movement. Click through for the full painting.
Go see how photographer Pieter Hugo explores identity in parts of post-colonial Africa, bring your own beer to Repeater’s Saturday party, and more.
What’s on this week? Here are our picks: photography from Spain and Ireland, artworks from NCAD, a new film from the director of “Drive”, and music at Tengu.
Every couple of months, you can go hear up-and-coming and fringe artists talk about why and how they do what they do.
There are several club nights for goths in Dublin, and one group has just added another.
With this pop-art-esque work, artist Mark O Gorman aims to make you feel like “a person stuck behind a screen trolling through happy images on the internet”.
What’s on this week? Here are our suggestions, one a day, from a literary magazine launch to art openings, a block party to a Netrunner night.
Keeping the Nobel Prize winner’s former home as a museum hasn’t really worked out. So Dublin City Council is looking into giving it a new life, with a new purpose.
“It’s important that artworks come from an honest place, and this installation is my insides turned out,” writes Aoife Ward. The latest in our Curios About series on works by Dublin.
Check out the launch of singer Roslyn Steer’s new album, decorate banners ahead of Belfast’s Rally for Choice and more. Here’s what to do in the week ahead.
This designer-turned-illustrator’s work is inspired by “circus, burlesque artists and the glamour of drag queens”. It’s the latest in our series on works by contemporary Dublin artists.
They tried to come for the amplifiers but they’ve settled for the backing tracks.
June 20 was the shortest night of the year, and a full moon. Brendan Mac Evilly spent it cycling around Dublin, taking photos.
The latest in our series on works by contemporary artists is a portrait by Ireland-based Korean artist Jung A Han. This is just a detail, click through to see the whole thing.
Check out artist Juha Arvid Helminen’s dark meditations on power and uniform, swing by the Light House Cinema for cult classic Society, and other events.
On Molesworth Street, James Gorry restores paintings the old-fashioned way.
Inspired by emigration, artist Adelle Hickey’s work is meant to “create fragile atmospheres, perhaps to suggest that a . . . piece of us is constantly emerging or slowly ebbing away”.
What’s on this week? Mudhoney’s playing at Whelan’s, Fried Plantain Collective’s putting on a night of Black female performance at Beerhouse, there’s a gender-and-sexuality conference at Trinity, and more.
“For me, cinema is the gateway to the rich and detailed view of the world that those more fortunate than myself experience every day,” writes Luke Maxwell.
After learning the trade in New York and London, Jonathan Ellis King opened a gallery in the White Swan Business Centre, targeting international artists and collectors.
What’s on this week? Art at MART Gallery Rathmines, Carl Craig at Opium Rooms, illustration at Filmbase, an all-ages daytime gig hosted by the Bohs, and more.
Artist Kate O’Loughlin wants those who see this work to feel how she did when, riding the subway each day in New York, she fell, briefly, for those she saw.
When One Day International released their debut album in 2008, they seemed marked for a giddy, melodious success that never came. What happened?
A translation of Elias Bouhéreau’s diary tells the story of the first keeper of Marsh’s Library, who fled France, travelled Europe and made Dublin his home.
Check out the rich romantic music of cellist and composer Julia Kent, admire the collages of artist James O’Connor, and stop by our birthday party. All in the coming days.
In this evocative video, Aoife Hester captures the nostalgia of summers at Bray Beach. It’s the latest in our series on works by contemporary Dublin artists.
Dublin’s arts office says it’s now decided where €600,000 that had been set aside for the city’s failed European Capital of Culture 2020 bid will go.
This week, see Samiyam at the Shaw, watch Tarkovsky’s film “Mirror” at the IFI, follow Stano’s “story trail” around the city, and more. Our recommendations on what to do in Dublin, one a day.
The work of the painter seems to exist in contradiction to accepted concepts of “working” in our contemporary culture, writes artist Eoin Francis McCormack.
Start the week with music from scrap noise subaquatic drift merchants Luxury Mollusc, catch Homebeat’s launch of Ciaran Lavery’s new album, see Savitsky’s classic film “Andrei Rublev”, and more. Our suggestions for what to do this week.
Here’s the latest in our series on works by contemporary Dublin artists. If you’d like to see something of yours featured, you can submit it for consideration, at dublininquirer.com/curios-about.
Applications are open for a project to decorate, with themed art, the paving stones that run from town through the Liberties.
Go meet Dublin game developers, croon along to Irish murder ballads, or chow down on Mexican food and beer for Cinco de Mayo. Our picks for the coming week.
With the Wander Dublin app, artist Sarah Hyland Pierce hopes “to remove the user from the repetitiveness of everyday life by creating an unplanned journey”.
Sarah Bracken’s Letterbox Dublin street-art project gives residents and visitors a chance to scribble and share confessions.
A recent event at the IFI looked at the gender imbalance in the Irish film industry, something the Irish Film Board says it will work hard to address over the next three years.
Not to miss this week: the roving guitarist Ryley Walker at Whelan’s, multimedia comic-bard Hugh Cooney at the Shaw, a tribute to DJ Rashad at Wigwam, and much more.
Our suggestions for the week, one a day: a print journal launch, video and sculpture, Chicago house, abortion-support fundraiser, refugee fundraiser, nutrition, wellness, and a film.
In the latest in our Curios About series on works by Dublin artists, Guinan explores the boundaries of what a painting can be. Click through to see the full work.
The museum has announced a €60,000 fund this year for bursaries, exhibitions, and acquisitions. It hopes to more than quadruple that by 2018.
Inspired by the woods, incorporating pine needles, reminiscent of a Turner: here is a detail of the latest in our series of works by Dublin artists. Click through to see the whole painting.
Musicians and storytellers team up for Vice & Verses, a photo exhibit shows the faces of tax injustice, and more. Our picks for what to do this week, one a day.
Fire performers meet regularly to practice on Sandymount Strand, which is well-suited for the purpose, with a large body of water nearby in case something goes wrong.
A performer brings an ancient Japanese art of comic storytelling to Dublin, as part of the Experience Japan festival, which runs until 23 April.
What does a forward clock say at daylight savings? “Baby, I’ve all the time for you.”
Rebecca Deegan wanted us to look at homelessness differently, so she painted this, about “the vulnerability and isolation felt by those who have nothing”. It’s the latest in our series on works by Dublin artists.
This week in Dublin: artists experiment with phototropism at the Library Project, Overhead, The Albatross play The Workman’s, and Precarity on film.
At the newly opened KEMP Gallery, the walls are given over to the art of the street. Painted at the entrance: “Regard the Art, Disregard the Rules!!”
As a kid, Will St Leger was surrounded by conflict. “I remember seeing movies on TV and I wanted to be a soldier without a gun,” he said. And maybe that’s what he is, as a playful, political street artist.
Handmade crafts beat IKEA-bought items, says artist Finlay Byrne. Drawing inspiration from Claes Oldenburg’s “Soft Pay-Telephone”, she made this work to prompt us to think about the differences.
Our picks for the week, one a day: a film about a tone-deaf singer, Fiona Marron’s Proving Ground at ArtBox, and Willis Earl Beal at Sugar Club, and more.
Last summer, artists got the chance to paint some of Dublin’s grey traffic-signal boxes with bright, beautiful designs. If you kicked yourself for missing out, you’ve got another chance to apply now, for the next round.
In an age when many artists focus on performance and installation, Alison Tubritt has chosen a more traditional approach: drawing horses, on paper, with pencils.
In this low-budget earnest variation on the magic hobo picture, director Gerard Walsh creates a touching film with a powerful finale.
Our picks for the week, one a day: from Drive-In at Vicar Street to “Court” at the IFI, from Sim Simma at Wigwam to “So Through the Singing Land He Passed” at the LAB.
For a sobering examination of Dublin life during its most bitter period, this is likely to be one of the more enlightening revolution-related events you’ll see this year.
Artist Sandra Schoene wants us to reawaken the sense of wonder we had as children. She made a giant hare to help us. And to help the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation’s citywide Hares on the March event.
Head to the Snakes on a Playground party in Dublin 8, argue about socialism and 1916 at Liberty Hall, or stroll over to the Chocolate Factory to hear three inventive Irish ensembles. Here’s what to do in the coming seven days.
Roundabout is part of a series of abstract paintings inspired by maps of Dublin and the surrounding area from the 1700s and 1800s. This is just a detail – click through to see the full work.
Our recommendations for things to do this week, one a day: an art installation, a book launch, a film, a discussion on consent and objectification in the digital age, and some great music.
Settle in for an evening of literary discussion, descend into a trance-like state through music, or try your hand at a table quiz in support of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. All in our Dublin listings for the coming week.
In a series of screenprints resembling newspaper front pages, produced during the election, Emily Mc Gardle sought to highlight “the absurdity of the behaviour of some Irish politicians”.
Wound X is all about women showing their teeth against the patriarchy, being strong and fighting back, says artist Cecilia Bullo.
Should we welcome “Once” director John Carney’s new film “Sing Street” with swaying arms and clicking fingers or turn a deaf ear?
Our picks for what to do this week. One a day. Poetry and stories with Pettycash, a one-off miso workshop, and films on memory at IMMA.
In March, councillors will again debate whether there should be further changes to the bye-laws that govern buskers. Here’s what’s at play.
A selection of Seamus Kelly’s photographs from a decade of publishing the “Ballymun Concrete News” are on display at Axis: Ballymun until the end of March.
In his large work, Icon Study, artist Neil Dunne explores and challenges the ideas behind icon painting. This is the latest in our series on works by contemporary Dublin artists.
Our picks for what to do this week. One a day. The art of real estate, crust punk, the story of the Boston Globe’s investigative Spotlight team, and more.
Kerry Guinan, a newcomer to electoral politics, is standing in Dublin Central on a platform that is solely about art. It gets you thinking.
The latest in our series on works by contemporary Dublin artists features a sculpture informed by the artist’s work as an occupational therapist. It’s on display at the Science Gallery.
Our picks for what to do this week. One a day. A discussion on anticapitalism, a Twin Headed Wolf album launch, music at Steambox, a photo exhibition, a vigil for Caoilte O Broin, and more.
The best of what’s on in Dublin from 3 February to 9 February. One event per day.
On Thursday evenings, the dance club Downtown Blues commandeers the top floor of Arthur’s Pub to teach Dubliners how to slink and slide along to blues music.
Artist Orla O’Regan captures the delicate fontanelle of a baby’s skill in this porcelain sculpture. This is the latest in our “Curios About” series, which features works by contemporary artists in Dublin.
These are stills from “Land’s End”, an ongoing, cumulative work of photos and video shot at the edge of Ireland, which Kenrick hopes you will experience as a kind of “interior travelogue”.
Our picks for what to do in Dublin from 27 January to 2 February. The best event each day.
A few years ago, you would have been hard pushed to find a Dubliner who knew what gamelan was. Today, there’s something of a scene.
On Parnell Square, a group of dedicated students attend each week to learn how to listen to classical music. Some have been turning up for more than two decades.
Artist Larry Dunne uses Alice in Wonderland and pandas to explore the chaos of life in the face of death. Click through for the full image.
Our pick of the week’s events in Dublin. One per day. To help you make the most of your fun time. Film, art, music and more.
For between €10 and €40, you can pick up pieces of art by great Dublin artists. And all the money is due to go to the Irish Housing Network.
You’ve probably seen John Coll’s work about town. His most famous? The canal-side sculptures of writers Brendan Behan and Patrick Kavanagh. At the moment, he’s working on a more contemporary subject.
Our pick of the week’s events in Dublin. One per day. To help you make the most of your fun time. Film, music, gaming and more.
In her portraits of the widows of the 1916 rising, artist Ciara Harrison seeks to capture the complex emotions of those who were left behind. This is just a detail – click through to see the whole portrait.
Our pick of the week’s events in Dublin. One per day. To help you make the most of your fun time. Film, music, art and more.
If you’re asking whether this is a sculpture or a painting, then artist Ciaran Bowen says he’ll be satisfied.
“Never give the full truth. You should always keep something back. Always, keep the mystery alive,” says Bam Artist Artiste.
This work draws something from the colour palette of neo-impressionism, the formality of abstract expressionism and the aesthetics of contemporary street art, according to artist Derick Smith.
There’s a growing interest in exploring creative ways to make galleries more accessible. The National Gallery, for example, offers touchable guides to an increasing number of its paintings.
In her work, artist Fiona Naomi Cashell captures the peace she found in an empty expanse of beach.
Our pick of the week’s events in Dublin. One per day. Films, gigs, gaming, art exhibitions and more.
Our pick of the week’s events in Dublin. One per day. To help you make the most of your fun time.
In 2011, artist Ciara Scanlan organised Dirty Look at the Dáil Day. Perhaps it’s time to get together and give the government a dirty look again, she suggests. Click through for an instructional video.
This book has been presented as empowering, groundbreaking, liberating. To us it just reads like porn, though perhaps there’s nothing wrong with that.
In the series to which this image belongs, contemporary artist Aaron Smyth explores questions around gender, intimacy, and relations. What you see is just a detail: click through to see the whole image.
In the three gritty images of this triptych, artist Conor O’Grady says he is seeking to document a certain type of alienation. Click through to see.
What happens when artists of different mediums seek inspiration in each others’ works? A new exhibition explores exactly that.
“A critic often furrows his brow and squints his eyes for ages over something the artist plays with,” writes Devlin. Click through to see the full image.
Brian Merriman’s “Wretched Little Brat” tells Wilde’s story through the people around him, and looks at the roots of stereotypes of gay men.
When she moved to the Northside, Moscovitz was “inspired to photograph the clash of diverse of cultures and socioeconomic classes . . . along Abbey Street.” This is a detail of her work. Click through to see the full photograph.
The story of Stanley Milgram, the man behind one of the most famous psychological studies of the twentieth century, comes to the Irish screen.
In this work, Sandra Hickey used the human body to portray aspects of the twisted nature of the mind, the artist says.
Since 2012, Eoin McAuley has remained steadfast in his goal of putting out quality comic books. He believes there’s a comic out there for every one of us.
The position of the figure and intensity of colour are particularly reminiscent of Jan Van Eyck’s portraits, says the artist, Leah Hewson.
Next month, Colm Molloy and Jed Dowling of the Opticians Kildare Street are set to pack up their fanciful store and move it to Crow Street.
In testimonies from the time, soldiers reveal a prescient understanding of how Israel’s Six-Day War complicated the country’s hopes for peaceful existence.
Love spoken-word? We spoke to four great performers ahead of this year’s Lingo Festival, for a sample of some of their work. Sit back, listen and enjoy.
This work is “a reflection on working a normal nine-to-five job, where the content is kind of strange and unrelatable to you . . . repetitive and pointless”, according to Cox.
Of his work, Nerosunero says: “There is always an element of sharpness, but that comes with a bit humanity.”
Are women at a disadvantage when it comes to getting published, getting reviewed, hitting the bestseller list, and winning prizes? Well, yes and no.
Of his work, Quinn says: “It has elements of surreality to it, a Boschian logic and the clean line quality of Northern European print.”
On international Wrongful Conviction Day, the Irish Innocence Project is screening “In Doubt: the Mark Marku Case” at Griffith College.
We’re seeking stories about Dublin superheroes for the Christmas fiction issue of Dublin Inquirer. Feel free to interpret the theme loosely.
You might not know it, but you’ve probably seen street artist Fink’s murals somewhere in town. Catch him in action on Culture Night on Francis Street.
For Culture Night, Lisa Darling – aka Lisa Byrne – is offering a sample burlesque class for free. Men are also welcome: they can learn boylesque.
Peppa Pig is a child-charmer of international fame. She preaches sharing, recycling, jumping in muddy puddles and a significant dose of man-bashing to boot.
At the Music Institute in Rathmines, Dublin’s finest musicians are looking to pass on their skills and love of the notes.
It’s ramp-it-up time at Dublin Circus Project. Earlier this month, the non-profit group of circus artists opened up new quarters at Bannow Road in Cabra.
Oh no! What if PAEDOPHILES invaded your STARTER HOME to VIOLATE YOUR CHILDREN’S INNOCENCE and PEE ON YOUR BRAND NEW CARPETS?
Every Saturday night, through comedy and aphorism, Robert Coyle explores the value to be found in allowing oneself to be wrong.
Expect original theatre, visual arts, music, comedy, and dance from The Complex, an arts centre soon to open in Dublin’s north-west inner city. They plan to be around a while.
Open Night Cinema isn’t like Jurassic World at the Omniplex. There are 360-degree screens, actors and people playing projectors like DJs play turntables.
Pushing aside the classics to make way for his show has been called cultural vandalism, but he says we should be celebrating, not moaning.
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