Special installation in association with the French Embassy in Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland and the French Embassy in Ireland invite members of the public to take part in an interactive drawing session on Culture Night, Friday 18 September 2020, from 8pm to 10.30pm. Live Drawing Project: Ireland and France is a free event.
In this digital journey across Ireland and France, audiences of all ages are invited to create drawings using their phone or tablet as a drawing pad. Drawings can be created via a link to be announced on the day on the French Embassy’s website and will then appear live on the walls of the National Gallery of Ireland. The drawings will be projected onto the exterior of the National Gallery of Ireland at Merrion Square West, Dublin, and simultaneously be screened in Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris. The creations will also be available for all to view on Facebook Live.
Participating together with the public on the Live Drawing Project will be artists Tomm Moore, Dorothée de Monfreid, Claire Prouvost, Sarah Ward, and Fala Buggy.
On Culture Night all are welcome to visit the National Gallery of Ireland which will offer an exciting programme of exhibitions. Online visitors to the Gallery can take part in a range of activities including family workshops, a live heritage tour, and the Live Drawing Project, from the comfort of their own homes.
The Live Drawing Project is part of the European Cultural Trail, an initiative of EUNIC Ireland (European Union National Institutes for Culture) for Culture Night 2020.
The European Culture Trail takes place both onsite and online, and includes delights from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Participants include the Austrian Embassy, Alliance Française, French Embassy in Ireland, and the National Gallery of Ireland.
Speaking ahead of the event, French Ambassador to Ireland Stephane Crouzat said “In these unprecedented times culture, more than ever, has a key role to play. Culture Night provides a wonderful opportunity to connect, interact, release your imagination and curiosity. The French Embassy is delighted to partner with the National Gallery of Ireland and the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris to share with everyone in Ireland and France "The Live Drawing Project", a fun interactive digital drawing experience to try on Culture Night. Wherever you are, it is an invitation to draw, to dream and to create together!”
Following temporary closure, Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris reopens its doors to the public on 18 September 2020 with a Stephen Brandes exhibition, La Place des Grand Abysses, and an indoor screening of the Live Drawing Project, from 18.30-21.30 (French time). People can participate remotely, or attend in person, unless new restrictions for Covid-19 are put in place.
The Live Drawing Project is presented by the French Embassy in Ireland in association with the National Gallery of Ireland, Culture Night, and Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris.
Notes to editors:
• Image available on request, email [email protected]
• For interviews with the National Gallery of Ireland team, email [email protected]
• For interviews with H.E. Stéphane Crouzat, Ambassador of France to Ireland, or Mariam Diallo, French Cultural Counsellor, email Yoann Duperthuy, Press Officer: [email protected]
Media contacts:
Emma Pearson National Gallery of Ireland
[email protected] / 087 918 7941 / 01 663 3519 / 01 661 5133
Yoann Duperthuy – French Embassy
[email protected] / 085 856 8669
The Live Drawing Project Listing:
What: French Embassy @ National Gallery of Ireland presents The Live Drawing Project: Ireland and France
Audiences of all ages are invited to join in a collaborative drawing installation. Creations from participants across Ireland and France will be video-projected together, live, onto the walls of the National Gallery of Ireland, and inside the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. Visit the French Embassy's website to participate on the night. Or, watch live on the French Embassy's Facebook page.
When: Culture Night 2020, Friday 18 September 2020
Venue: Online / National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square West, Dublin 2 / Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris
Time: From 4pm to 7pm (online only drawing session); From 8pm to 10.30pm (Live Drawing Project)
Admission: Free
Other Culture Night activities at the National Gallery of Ireland:
Online programme
For Culture Night 2020 the Gallery has created an online Culture Night Hub.
Online highlights will include an Instagram Live tour of some of the treasures from the Library and Archive collection from 3pm to 3.15pm. A pop-up talk will be shared via the Gallery’s social channels, and there will also be an online sensory workshop. Online visitors can tour the Gallery from their own home by trying out our selection of virtual tours.
Onsite programme (5pm – 9pm)
On Culture Night 2020, the National Gallery of Ireland will be open until 9pm. Onsite, visitors can watch the Live Drawing Project on the Gallery’s Merrion Square façade, or view exhibitions of new and historic art. In addition to the permanent collection, on display is Lace, Paint, Hair, an artistic response to the lockdown; Murillo’s lovingly restored Prodigal Son series; and, for the first time in Ireland, a recent gift to the Gallery of works on paper in George Wallace: Reflections on Life. There will be the opportunity to view Frederic William Burton’s beloved watercolour The Meeting on the Turret Stairs (voted Ireland’s Favourite Painting) between 6pm and 8pm in Room 20. Visitors can use their own device to follow a self-guided tour exploring Irish history paintings in a new light.. The Gallery Shop will be open until 8.45pm.
Visitor information at the National Gallery of Ireland:
The National Gallery of Ireland is located in Dublin City / South Georgian Quarter. The Gallery is family friendly and wheelchair accessible. No booking is required. Entry via Merrion Square entrance only. Sanitising facilities at all entry points and throughout Gallery. Tours and audio guides are not available but online versions of Gallery initiatives will be online. Lifts available for single use or disability access only. Cloakrooms are closed. Room closures begin from 8.45pm.