Learning Events

Learning 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, 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. Excitingly we also host Art Therapy in the gallery.

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 Róisín Bohan, Learning and Public Engagement Curator:  01 661 2558 / engagement@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 learning 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 invited children and families back to the gallery after a long period of closure due to Covid-19, and resume our many art-making activities! 

For Sunday visitors, our Art Cart is open and home to lots of art materials ready for you to get stuck in to! The cart is facilitated by an artist who will assist and guide you in your creations.

The Art Cart is available on Sundays from 1pm – 5pm, during exhibitions. However, during the RHA Annual Exhibition (23 May – 12 August 2022), the Art Cart takes a much needed rest in our basement, while we hold our Family Drawing tours! These tours are an ideal way to explore the Annual Exhibition, while exploring a range of mark-making techniques and making your own artworks!

We also regularly hold Kids’ workshops in the RHA School studio, led by artists in response to exhibitions in the gallery. 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.

Our Kids and Family programme is kindly sponsored by IPUT Real Estate.

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, has 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.

This March 2022, students will be visiting RHA Gallery to explore our exhibition  A Growing Enquiry: Art, Agriculture, reconciling values, following which we will be visiting the schools to undertake a project with them in response to the exhibition. This activity will be developed, and the project facilitated, by artist Michelle Hall, our regular RHA Kids and Arts-in-Education artist.

We can’t wait to see what artworks emerge in the classrooms!

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

Young People

RHA offers two programmes annually for young audiences; Teen Directives and the Young Art Writers Programme. 

Teen Directives is our programme for ages 14 – 17, now in its 4th year. 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. This year, our focus is on themes of rural life, urban farming, and food production, in response to the group exhibition A Growing Enquiry: Art, Agriculture, reconciling values. The Teen Directives 2022 programme, Field Trip, is currently accepting applications, with a deadline of the 13th of March. See here for further information on the programme and how to apply.

RHA also participates in the joint Young Art Writers Programme, with partners Temple Bar Gallery + Studios and The LAB Gallery, and funding partners, Dublin City Arts Office. This programme is for ages 18 – 25, and designed to introduce participants to various writing approaches within the Visual Arts. Please keep an eye on this page for updates on the Young Art Writers Programme 2022.

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 Róisín Bohan, Learning and Public Engagement Curator: 01 661 2558 / engagement@rhagallery.ie

During RHA’s Annual Exhibition (23 May – 12 August 2022), you can also attend weekly guided tours led by RHA Staff and Academicians. These tours will be available to book on our What’s On page.

Art Therapy

It doesn’t matter how skilled or unskilled you are at making Art. This course is a gift to yourself. It is about giving yourself time and space to explore how you respond to Art. It is a lovely gently safe life journey.
- Art Therapy Participant

Art therapy is a form of therapy that uses art media to express, reflect and communicate. 

Andrea Clare Plunket facilitates groups at the RHA both online and in-person. She has an extensive background in psychology and community work. Andrea holds an MSc Art Psychotherapy and is a registered IACAT art therapist. 

Art therapy is used across a wide variety of settings including community, health, and education. When Art Therapy was introduced to the RHA in 2019, it was the first time it was used in a gallery setting in Ireland. Over the last 3 years, from 2019 to 2021, the unique setting of RHA has allowed over 270 people to try out and attend Art Therapy groups in this relaxed cultural environment.

In a gallery Art Therapy session, three clearly defined steps are supported; looking together at art in the gallery space using a ‘slow looking’ technique developed by Andrea; making art with lots of open-ended materials in a safe non-judgemental space; taking time to reflect with the group on your process.

If you would like to find out more about Art Therapy in the gallery, please email Andrea at arttherapyireland@outlook.com. Our What’s On page will show all our latest events.

Access

In 2019, RHA began offering guided tours of selected exhibitions in our programme for the Visually Impaired. These tours were led by artist, musician and facilitator Emilie Conway. As we begin resuming in-person events, we hope to reintroduce this offering as well as continuing to develop our access programme. 

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

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