Things To Do: A “monster meeting", a dystopian phone box, 30 years of LGBTQ+ art and activism – and festivals, festivals, festivals

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Other Ground at The Lab Gallery, in Dublin 1

Last week, Cork-based painter Pascal Ungerer launched his new show, Other Ground, in The Lab Gallery on Foley Street.

Curated by Margarita Cappock, Pascal’s work on show looks at the relationship and conflict between the built and natural world, drawing influence from archaeology, which he says is a “means of uncovering hidden layers of meaning within the everyday”.

Depicting fictional landscapes and structures loosely based on locations that he has photographed, he works these together to create metaphorical environments that comment on wider socio-geographic issues, like “ecological degradation, alterity, peripherality, speculative future landscapes and The Anthropocene”.

Ungerer’s exhibition will run until 5 June, and you can drop into the Lab Gallery, open Monday to Saturday from 10pm to 6pm to check out his ethereal works.

Ranelagh Arts Festival

For those who didn’t get a chance to see Liquid Urbanisms, the previous exhibition down at The Lab on Foley Street, there is still an opportunity to step inside the dystopian Eircom phone booth created by artists Eve Woods and Aoife Ward, aka Con:Temporary Quarters.

Woods and Ward’s angry, needy phone box has, over a couple of years, been repurposed as a bespoke living space, decorated as to be habitable in theory, even if it isn’t clear where the bed goes. Conceived of as a sci-fi satire on the housing crisis, and fitted out with some wheels, its next pit stop is the Ranelagh Arts Festival starting today, 8 May.

The festival will run until 11 May, with the opening tonight in the Ranelagh Arts gallery. DJ SHREM is kicking off the proceedings, while, over the coming days, there will also be a Ranelagh Film Festival, comedy night, wine tasting, cocktail making and a dog show for the dashing pooches and underrated mongrels to chomp at the blue ribbon.

Also, in Sandford Church, soprano Celine Byrne will be performing on Friday, while the Gospel Choir Rejoice takes the stage on Saturday, featuring singer Jess Kay.

For more information, visit the festival’s website here.

"It's Written in the Rocks", at Loughshinny Boathouse

Last July, Fingal County Council opened up the Loughshinny Boathouse for artist studio residencies. This Saturday, 10 May, they are inviting the public to visit, and see the work of its first resident, the visual artist and photographer Louis Haugh.

Taking place between 1pm and 4pm, "It's Written in the Rocks / Scríobhtar é sna Carraigeacha" is an open studio event, which will see a selection of Haugh’s artworks on display. Made in response to the local biodiversity and geology, attendants can also pick up Haugh’s new zine, written as Gaeilge, titled Scríobhtar é sna Carraigeacha, which was developed with the Irish language specialist and educator Ian MacGabhan.

As part of the open studio, there are also two scheduled walks around the area, led by geology professor Quentin Crowley, director of the Centre for the Environment in Trinity College Dublin, and Fingal biodiversity officer Lorrainne Bull. The walks are scheduled for 2.15pm and 3pm.

For more information, visit Fingal County Council’s website here.

A Monster Meeting, at Goldenbridge Cemetery

The annual Culture Date with Dublin 8 festival kicked off yesterday, and a major feature of this year’s celebration of the Liberties is the Liberator himself, Daniel O’Connell, whose 250th birthday is coming up this August.

On Friday evening in Tailors' Hall, Republic of Shame author Caelainn Hogan is curating "Liberation at the Back Lane Parliament", an evening of spoken word, music, art and performances look at his life and legacy, which we mentioned in the last newsletter. Tickets are still available here.

If you can’t make it to the guildhall, there is still a chance to get the O’Connell experience. On Sunday at 1pm in Goldenbridge Cemetery, songwriter Fiach Moriarty has organised a “monster meeting”, in reference to the 19th-century nationalist’s mass rallies.

Billed as the first Monster Meeting of the 21st century, Moriarty has assembled a line-up of musicians, poets and performers to both recognise and recreate O’Connell’s famed oratory skills as well as those of Frederick Douglass, the American abolitionist, former slave and friend of the “Liberator”.

On the line-up are actors Jim Roche, Peter M. Smith and Roxanna Nic Liam, alongside musicians Louise Mulcahy and Sive as well as Moriarty himself amongst others. Attendance is free. No booking is required.

For more information, you can visit the Culture Date with D8 website here.

Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness, on Pearse Street

When looking at the city’s cultural calendar, one of my rules is that if the artist Brian Teeling is involved, it’s a must-see.

And, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Gay Health Network, Teeling is curating the exhibition Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness over at the Naughton Institute on Pearse Street starting on Monday, 12 May.

The show, which continues until 26 May, will have on display works of art that look at the “grief, joy and resilience” of the Irish LGBTQ+ community, putting contemporary and historical pieces from more than 25 artists side by side, and reflecting on HIV-related stigma, activism and progress over the past three decades.

It is an absolutely stacked line-up of photography, conceptual art, archival material and campaign ephemera, with more than 25 artists involved, including architect Alfonso Bonilla, DJ and conceptual artist Bill Harris, performance artist and writer Day Magee and artist Alice Rekab among many, many others.

For more information, you can go to the GHN website here.

Áise Agus Éire, at the Workman's

One of the most exciting nights for up-and-coming live acts, Áise Agus Éire is returning to the Workman's on Thursday, 15 May.

Organised by Ex Oh Promotions, the music night has, since August 2023, put on show the latest in Asian-Irish artists in the city. Our music writer Dean Van Nguyen, and I, were down at the last gig in the Workman’s Cellar, which saw rapper Kendino deliver a blistering set, alongside songwriter Boringbrxwneyes and Andromeda I, the solo project of songwriter John Ocasion.

Now, Áise Agus Éire is taking over the whole of the Workman's, with gigs both on the main stage and in the cellar. The line-up this time sees Kendino making a return, joined by Touzai, Khidyie, Raining in December, SHALLO and Telekura, the latter whose dreamy synth-driven single "velvet" dropped in late February. Give it a spin here, and if you can’t make it down on Thursday, they will also be in Fibbers this Friday (10 May).

Áise Agus Éire’s Workman’s takeover starts at 8pm, and tickets are available over on Eventbrite.

A New Form of Beauty, at Collins Barracks

Next Friday, if you’re out near Collins Barracks, drop in to hear DJ and vintage style icon Garry O’Neill, Lucy’s Lounge founder Deirdre Macken and author Eamon Delaney discuss youth culture and subcultures in Dublin.

The talk is a part of A New Form of Beauty, a photo exhibition up in the Barracks which explores the city’s youth culture and street fashion, from the 1960s to the 1990s, featuring photographs from Garry O’Neill’s extensive archive, and expanding on the stunning imagery from his book Where Were You?: Dublin Youth Culture & Street Style 1950–2000.

O’Neill’s exhibition will be on public display until March 2026, and next week’s panel discussion, 16 May, is due to start at 6pm.

There is already a waiting list in place. But if you are feeling lucky, head on over to Eventbrite and put your name down. Needless to say, if you have booked and can’t go, let the organisers know, because there will be a good few people (myself included) who are eager to head over.

Noticeboard

Listings of events submitted by readers – you can submit yours for next week's newsletter, via this form.

• Age-Friendly AI Bealtaine Showcase at IMMA. Discover how AI can shape a positive future for older adults at an interactive event taking place as part of IMMA’s Bealtaine celebration. This will be an open discussion over a cup of coffee about the current challenges posed by AI, alongside interactive AI exhibits, workshops and short talks. This is a free drop-by event on 10 May from 11 to 4pm. For more information, visit IMMA’s website here.
• PedalPower Dublin. On Sunday 11 May, there is a free family-friendly bike festival from 11am until 4pm at the Sundrive Velodrome in Eamonn Ceannt Park, Crumlin. At 11, the PedalPower Community Cycle will be happening, with a theme of “bees and flowers”. Afterwards, from 12pm, there are outdoor events, food trucks, bike maintenance workshops and BMX demonstrations. For more information, go to Dublin City Council’s events page here.
• Phizzfest. Phibsborough’s annual arts and culture festival returns this Friday, with over 75 events planned between 9 and 11 May. Starting with live music by Camille O’Sullivan and Katie Kim, as well as comedy from David O’Doherty, the weekend is packed with films, a historic pub crawl, outdoor “block” party and the Festival of Football History. Book your tickets here.
• National Drawing Day returns on Saturday, 17 May 2025. Coordinated by the National Gallery of Ireland in partnership with over 60 museums, galleries, arts centres and libraries across 23 counties, this annual event invites everyone to pick up a pencil and get creative. In Dublin, there’ll be events at the National Gallery, the Hugh Lane Gallery, Ardgillan Castle, and the Custom House. There are more details here.
• Do the WRITE Thing is running a solidarity writing event to fundraise for Gazan families, at the Hendrick, Dublin 7 on Sunday, 25 May, from 1–3pm. All writers, new and seasoned, are welcome to join this guided writing session, which will include creative prompts, chats and readings. To join in, you can fill out their form here.
• Escaped Alone. Playwright Caryl Churchill’s new satire of capitalist culture will be staged in Temple Bar’s Project Arts Centre from 19 to 28 June. Directed by Annabelle Comyn, the play is set in a suburban garden as four elderly friends deliver monologues, exploring the solace of communities and the anxieties of ageing. Tickets are available here.
• Summer Feis in DCU. As part of the 129th edition of the Feis Ceoil, the Summer Feis event is coming to DCU All Hallows campus in Drumcondra from 7 to 15 June, with the new venue hosting an all solo ensemble and adult choir competition. A selection of the most outstanding competitiors will also be showcased at the National Concert Hall on Monday, 23 June at 7pm. Tickets are on sale at the NCH website here. For more information, visit the Feis Ceoil website.

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