Public Events

Public Events

Visual arts: a way of making meaningful connections with the world.

The RHA’s Learning and Public Engagement Programme is run and managed by the RHA’s Learning and Public Engagement Curator, Ciara Harrison, with the help of artists, art educators and arts practitioners, who facilitate and assist in the delivery of events, workshops and programmes.

The Learning and Public Engagement Curator role was introduced into the organisation in 2017, in line with the Arts Council’s ambition for Institutions to develop their engagement programmes, and grow and diversify their audiences.

 

The LPE programme at RHA aims to generate opportunities for audiences to engage with the gallery. Our exhibition related events offer insights into the many exhibitions showing in the galleries. We programme events aimed at children, young people and families, alongside guided tours for schools and interested groups. 

We hope to welcome you to one of our events soon!

If you have any queries relating to any of the LPE events or programmes, please contact Ciara Harrison, Learning and Public Engagement Curator:  01 661 2558 / ciara@rhagallery.ie

Image Above: RHA Arts-in-Education Zine project with Michelle Doyle and St. Brigid’s primary school in June 2019.

We were completely blown away by the morning. The level of organisation, the innovative yet age-appropriate techniques used, as well as [the] ability to engage with the young audience were all just fantastic! It was an absolute pleasure to be part of it!
- Sandra and Izzy, participants to Beachcombers Delight, a workshop by artist Michelle Hall in response to Sean Scully’s solo exhibition Eleuthera, for Cruinniú na nÓg festival, June 2021

Exhibition Events

Exhibitions in the RHA galleries are accompanied by a programme of public events that give audiences the opportunity to hear from artists and staff, learn more about the work in the exhibitions, and offer alternative ways to engage with the artwork.

Our regular exhibition-related events comprise of talks, panels discussions, and tours, but can also broaden out to workshops, offsite events and special collaborations.

Examples of past collaborations include: a dance performance, Tilting, by Mary Nunan, Isabella Oberlander and Mary Wycherley, in response to Elizbeth McGills’s 2017 painting exhibition Headland and a sound response and performance by Edy Fung to Barbara Knezevic’s solo exhibition pleasure ‘scapes. This formed part of a series of responsive events, Angelica Interventions, by artist members of the Angelica Network.

You can watch back on a selection of past learning events by visiting our Archive Talks page and visit our What’s On page for the latest information – some of which are shown below.

RHA Family

We are very excited to invite children and families to the gallery to join us for our many art-making activities!

Join us during the RHA Annual Exhibition when our Family Sunday Workshops take place. These workshops are an ideal way to explore the Annual Exhibition while exploring a range of mark-making techniques and making your own artworks

We aim to introduce children to diverse approaches to art making, with a focus on experimentation and thinking outside the box.

Learn more about our offerings for children and Families, and discover what’s coming up, by visiting our What’s On page.

Arts-in-Education

Our Arts-in-Education programme has had many iterations over the past number of years, and we’ve had the opportunity of working with many wonderful students from schools across the city, with different programme sponsors. 

Since 2019, our Arts-in-Education programme, supported by IPUT Real Estate, enabled us to work on projects with primary schools in our locality; St. Brigid’s Primary School, Warrenmount Primary, St. Enda’s Primary and John Scottus.

Students visited the RHA Gallery to explore our exhibition  A Growing Enquiry: Art, Agriculture, reconciling values, following we visited the schools to undertake a project with them in response to the exhibition. The project was facilitated, by artist Michelle Hall, our regular RHA Kids and Arts-in-Education artist.

Our Arts-in-Education programme has kindly been sponsored by IPUT Real Estate.

Young People

RHA offers various programmes annually for young audiences and 2024 saw the launch of Drawing From Observation  – a 5 Day Summer Camp for Teens.

Teen Directives have been part of the RHA Learning Programme since 2018. The programme has taken different formats each year, and has centred around different themes including the workings of the gallery, the life of an artist, viewing art in a digital age and building our cities and communities. 

It felt great to be able to take a more independent approach to discussing and creating art. With each meeting there was a whole library of work and ideas that the participants had put together over the previous week. The approach felt inclusive and inviting, as we were all able to display our work and receive feedback such as constructive criticism or positive comments.
- Participant of Teen Directives 2021: Make Your Place.

Guided Tours

For schools, colleges and all interested groups, the RHA provides guided tours of our exhibitions, for up to 30 people. Tours cost €25 per group and take approximately 45 – 60 minutes. Please email 2 – 3 weeks in advance of the date on which you are looking to book your tour. 

For further information, and to book your tour, please contact Ciara Harrison, RHA Learning and Public Engagement Curator: 01 661 2558 / ciara@rhagallery.ie 

Access

This year, RHA offered guided tours of the RHA 194th Annual Exhibition in Irish Sign Language (ISL) by tour guide Lianne Quigley. Four tours were held across June and July and we intend to continue this new initiative. Please return here for future ISL tour information.

If you have any queries or feedback relating to access in the gallery, please contact Ciara Harrison, Learning and Public Engagement Curator: 01 661 2558 / ciara@rhagallery.ie

RHA News

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RHA Academicians have influenced art and culture in Ireland and abroad through art practice, education, research, curatorial practice and collaboration. Read all our latest news now online!

RHA School Courses

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Thanks to an anonymous donor, each year the RHA awards two free All Access Pass to the Academy’s Workshops, Student Courses, Talks & Lectures and Masterclasses sessions. One award is given to an artist currently enrolled at any of the third-level art colleges in Ireland. The other award is offered to an artist of merit at any stage of their career.

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