From modernism and rocks to a chair collection and Little Houses, the National Museum of Ireland has an exciting and diverse range of temporary exhibitions and installations coming up this autumn.
Here are five exhibitions to look out for from September to November 2021. Be sure to book your free, timed entry tickets ahead of your visit to three Museums sites now open in Dublin and Mayo.
Making and Momentum: Eileen Gray in Conversation
The NMI - Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks, Dublin 7, is hosting a pop-up exhibition this September celebrating the phenomenal global influence of iconic Irish modernist Eileen Gray. Making and Momentum is a travelling exhibition of contemporary visual art which opened in Roquebrune, France, in June 2021.
The exhibition is curated by award winning Irish artist and designer, Richard Malone, in collaboration with the Design and Crafts Council Ireland and Association Cap Moderne.
Making and Momentum opens on Friday, 4 September, and continues until 23 September. FIND OUT MORE
Down to Earth
Geology rocks from 27 September at the NMI - Decorative Arts & History when a major new exhibition exploring the world beneath our feet celebrates the 175th anniversary of the Geological Society of Ireland (GSI).
The Museum holds significant geological collections, growing since 1792 but little seen by the public. The exhibition at the Riding School building, NMI - Decorative Arts & History, will focus on natural resources, their nature and value, and the work involved in exploring Ireland’s share of these limited and precious resources.
Our Irish Chair: Tradition Revisited
A special exhibition of Irish chairs collected by the National Museum of Ireland over a 90-year period opens at the NMI - Country Life, Turlough Park, Co Mayo, this October.
Our Irish Chair: Tradition Revisited will explore the design and exceptional crafting tradition of the distinctive Irish chair type known as the Sligo or Tuam chair and the creativity it continues to inspire.
The Museum's full collection of these chairs will go on display for the first time, taking a closer look at this chair type and its place in the story of Irish design. It also celebrates makers who preserved this crafting tradition; and makers and artists of today who continue to be inspired by the chair. FIND OUT MORE
Little Houses
Young people respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in a new exhibition called Little Houses in collaboration with Stoneybatter Youth Service at the NMI – Decorative Arts & History, opening later this year.
Young people, working largely in isolation from their peers, were invited to create a miniature 'room' depicting spaces or places that were meaningful to them at a time when they couldn’t meet each other in person. The artworks record their experiences and responses to the pandemic and its impact on the community, and wider society. FIND OUT MORE
1845: Memento Mori
1845: Memento Mori, an art installation of 1,845 hand-blown glass potatoes by Seattle based artist Paula stokes, goes on display at the NMI – Country Life in Co Mayo in November. The exhibition is a famine memorial, which has taken the artist 15 years to complete. The title of the project references the year that the potato blight came to Ireland, marking the beginning of a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration. Over 1.5 million people died, and a further one million emigrated to Australia, Canada and America. The installation is currently touring various venues throughout Ireland. FIND OUT MORE
Book your visit to the NMI
In order to facilitate a safe and enjoyable visit, you will need to book a free, timed entry ticket for admission to the exhibition galleries at the National Museum of Ireland. Admission to the National Museum of Ireland is free. The exhibition galleries are open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday to Monday from 1 to 5pm.
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Book tickets for NMI - Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks, Dublin 7
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Book tickets for NMI - Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo
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Book tickets for NMI - Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2