Visual Art: Accessible Events at The National Gallery in June

There are several accessible events coming up at the National Gallery in late May, June, and early July 2024.

Quiet Drawing Sessions for Adults: Cityscapes

Saturday 30 May 6pm to 7.30pm
Location: Education Studio, National Gallery of Ireland

Join artist Zoe McCormack in this workshop where you will view the works in the exhibition Silent City and find inspiration for your own work.

In this 1.5 hour workshop, you will be invited to explore, sketch and be inspired by works in the Gallery. You might like to recreate an artwork you see, or merge interesting parts of multiple works together to create a completely new piece of art. Zoe will be available help to develop your idea and guide you through the process if needed.

You will experiment with materials such as oil pastels, chalks, charcoal and pencils. All neurodivergent adults at all levels are welcome, no previous experience required. Zoe McCormack is an autistic art facilitator and is the founder of The Autistic Art Club. She has been running creative workshops for autistic adults and children since 2020. She is also the art facilitator for AsIAm adult support and wellbeing service, and has worked with many organisations across Ireland to bring neuro affirmative art and creative supports to autistic children and adults across Ireland.

Tour of Vermeer Visits for people who have a hearing impairment or are Hard of Hearing

Thursday 6 June 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Location: Courtyard, National Gallery of Ireland

This free tour explores some highlights of the Gallery’s permanent collection and their new exhibition, Vermeer Visits, is for individuals who are hard of hearing or have hearing impairments. This tour is fully accessible to people who are hard of hearing and use a tour guide system with T-loop capabilities. A Hard of Hearing tour of the permanent collection or other temporary exhibitions takes place at 5.30pm on the first Thursday of every month.

ISL Tour of Vermeer Visits

Thursday 13 June 6pm to 7pm
Location: Courtyard, National Gallery of Ireland

Join the Gallery’s Irish Sign Language tour guides for a look at highlights from the Gallery’s national collection new exhibition Vermeer Visits.

As the Gallery endeavours to make activities and events accessible to the deaf community, they wish to welcome members of the ISL community to the Gallery. This tour is exclusively in Irish Sign Language and will not have any translation available.

An ISL tour of the permanent collection or other temporary exhibitions place at 6pm on the second Thursday of the month.

Audio Described Tour of Vermeer Visits

Thursday 20 June 6pm to 7pm
Location: Courtyard, National Gallery of Ireland

Join the Gallery’s highly trained tour guides for an audio described exploration of the national collection and the Vermeer Visits exhibition.

Visitors will be guided through key parts of the Gallery building and focus on several highlights on display incorporating audio description and discussion. Devised specifically to enrich the experience of patrons with a visual impairment visiting the Gallery. All public tours are fully accessible to people who are hard of hearing and use a tour guide system with T-loop capabilities.

Curator’s Introductory Talk: Women Impressionists

Wednesday 3 July 12pm
Location: Online via Zoom

Discover more about the exhibition Women Impressionists with exhibition Curator Janet McLean. Marking the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition, held in Paris in 1874, Women Impressionists showcases the works of four important artists. Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), Eva Gonzalès (1849-1883), Marie Bracquemond (1860-1914) and Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) played vital roles in one of the most revolutionary movements in Western art. The exhibition will explore how each artist navigated complex personal and professional networks to create and exhibit her art. It will be the first exhibition to bring these four important artists together in Ireland. Highlights include: The Artist’s Daughter, Julie, with her Nanny, c. 1884, by Berthe Morisot; Le Goûter, c.1880 by Marie Bracquemond; Susan Comforting the Baby, c.1881, by Mary Cassatt; and Eva Gonzalès’ Enfant de troupe, 1870. Women Impressionists features works from the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland and Ordrupgaard, Denmark, as well as from public and private collections in Europe and the United States.This exhibition is organised by Ordupgaard in collaboration with the National Gallery of Ireland. This free talk will take place online via Zoom, a link will be sent via email to all ticketholders in the email booking receipt.

The talk will be recorded and made available on the Gallery’s YouTube channel until the exhibition ends. There will be time for questions after the talk. This event will be accompanied by an Irish sign language interpreter. Please contact education@ngi.ie with any queries.

Read the National Gallery’s visitor guide for details of what to expect on your visit to the Gallery.

Image credits:

Header image – Jack Caffrey, The Pimlico Project, 2021

Below – Nevill Johnson, Byrne’s Pub, c.1942-1945. National Gallery of Ireland Collection. © Estate of Nevill Johnson.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), ‘Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid’, c.1670. Image © National Gallery of Ireland.

Berthe Morisot, Le Corsage Noir, NGI984