Hi all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! In addition to the the usual hopes and wishes, I hope that the new year will be full of interesting and exciting free events so that I can “offer” you a wide and varied programme of high-quality weekend entertainment. ;-)

All the year-end festivities are over and we are nearly back to normal. After the coming weekend the old routine will take hold of us again, but the good news is that with the “old routine” more interesting events will crop up. Since spring is still a little away, the outdoor events are on hold for another while, but nevertheless the year is starting promising with a good few indoor exhibitions and concerts and – keep reading – the Gooseberry Awards on the 10th!
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I will start with a few exhibitions:

A Light in the Darkness: The National Gallery on Merrion Square has opened a new exhibition displaying “The Turner Watercolours & The Mary A. McNeill Bequest of Silhouettes and Miniatures”. The gallery describes “In keeping with annual tradition, the National Gallery’s Vaughan Bequest of watercolours by JMW Turner will be exhibited for the month of January. The display will show how the artist magically captured the effects of light. This year the Turner exhibition will be complemented by a display of eighteenth- and nineteenth- century silhouettes and miniatures from the Mary A. McNeill Bequest, with works by John Comerford, Henry Bone, John Miers and Nathaniel Hone the Elder.”
www.nationalgallery.ie/html/exhibitions.html

The Project Arts Centre together with the French “CulturesFrance” are inviting you to see “Calling the Elephant” by Aurélien Froment. And in typical Projects Art Centre style they manage AGAIN to confuse me with their description of the event. I am NOT sure if it is a film or an exhibition or both….or something COMPLETELY different, but have a go at it! ..and explain it to me afterwards. PLEASE! ;-) It is open until the 26th of January (Mon-Sat from 11:00-20:00).
www.project.ie/cgi-bin/eventdetail.pl?id=644

I have no problem admitting that art does challenge me at times and the Project Arts Centre seems to have a talent for spotting that type of art. But another side is the art that makes you wonder what and why something can even in the remotest way be called “artistic”:
The Return Gallery in the Goethe-Institut (37 Merrion Square) is exhibiting Michael Sailstorfer’s “Zeit ist keine Autobahn – Berlin, 2006” until the 26th of January (Tue-Thur 10:00-20:00, Fri+Sat 10:00-13:30). Now, wait for the description: “Michael Sailstorfer will exhibit a tyre, driven by a motor that wears itself away at a wall in the Return Gallery. As it spins it produces a residue of the depleting rubber tyre. The physical destruction of the tyre is predictable but the time this process will take is not.” Hmmm, art???? Weird Germans! :-)))))
www.goethe.de/ins/ie/dub/kue/en2730050.htm
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And now some music:

Great news for the lovers of classical music: The Sunday at Noon concerts in the Hugh Lane Gallery (northside of Parnell Square, next to the church) are extended for another while. Every Sunday there is a free classical concert (Duration: 1 Hour) in the Hugh Lane Gallery, starting at 12:00. This week the Irish pianist Finghin Collins comes to the gallery. He presents a Viennese themed concert featuring music from Schumann, Berg and Beethoven.
www.hughlane.ie/concerts/whatson.asp

On Sunday evening at 20:00 “Santoria”, an impressive soul band, is playing in Bar Code in the Westwood Club in Clontarf.
www.santoria.ie/santorialive.html

Maybe Post-Christmas Carols and Latin Mass are your thing? A charity event for the Maternity Hospital in Bethlehem is incorporated into a traditional Latin Mass followed by Christmas Carols in the University Church (Our Lady Seat of Wisdom), St Stephen’s Green at 18:00 on Saturday 5th Jan. The Carol Service is a charity benefit in aid of the Maternity Hospital in Bethlehem. A collection will be taken during the Carol Singing. The Hospital treats all mothers regardless of race, creed or ability to pay and is operated by the Knights of Malta.
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A bit of fun, dance, talk and meditation:

Gooseberry Awards! On Thursday of next week (10/01) The Elevator (www.theelevator.ie) presents The Goosberries Awards Ceremony. Everybody is invited for FREE to this ceremony in the Sugar Club in Leeson Street. The winners get “the coveted and oft-overlooked celebrity sham award of a green gooseberry to punctuate their terrible year in the Irish public eye.” And you all still have an opportunity to nominate your preferred gooseberries (e.g. Pat Kenny or Gerry Ryan or Phil Coulter or Westlife). Get your vote in before the 10th of Jan on www.theelevator.ie/voting2007/ and then come to the awards ceremony. The doors open at 20:00 and admission is free. The organisers lure with the statement “Loads of Free Drink!”. By the way, the Elevator website says the ceremony is on the 9th, but the Sugar Club website states it is on the 10th and on the 9th the Sugar Club has an other gig on. So trust the venue’s website and come to the Sugar Club on the 10th. I plan to be there and if you intend to go, drop me a mail and we will meet up!! Hey, maybe this could be the first inofficial “Dublin Event Guide Family Meeting” of 2008!?!?

DanceIreland Celebration Week.
Unfortunately not a weekend event when most people have time to go to celebrations like that, but nevertheless a very interesting event is the Celebration Week of Dance Ireland who are celebrating the first year of DanceHouse, a new Dance Studio and rehearsal and performance venue in Foley Street. The week is filled with free dance event and everybody who has the slightest interest in dancing should go there.
I will list some of the events here in brief:
–Monday 07/01
Open House 1: a non-curated series of performances
14:00 Joyce Richardson, 15:00 Mairead Vaughan, 16:00 IMDT, 17:00 Animated State, 18:00 Mary Wycherley/Jurgen Simpson/ Mark Carberry/ Inma Moya, 19:00 Legitimate Bodies
(Admission is free but advance booking is essential as numbers are restricted. Please contact Dance Ireland at 01 8558800)
–Tuesday 08/01
10:00-18:00 Open Rehearsal with Fearghus Ó Conchúir
18:00-21:00 Free taster classes…no experience required. All welcome!
with 18:00 Ballet/Contemporary/Gyrokinesis/Jazz/Pilates, 19:00 Aikido/Drama Workshop/Salsa/Strictly Come Dancing/Pilates, 20:00 Flamenco/Salsa
–Wednesday 09/01
Open House 2: an evening of short performances
18:00 Launch of Youth Dance: Towards Best Practice
19:00 Flashdance, Larkin Community College, Offaly Youth Dance, Irish National Youth Ballet and Rachel Goode School of Dance
–Thursday 10/01
10:00-18:00 Open Rehearsal with Fearghus Ó Conchúir
10:45-12:00 Macushla Dance Club Class
18:00-21:00 Free taster classes…no experience required. All welcome!
with 18:00 Gyrokinesis/Jazz/Pilates/Yoga, 19:00 Bellydance/Contemporary/Dance Liberation Workshop/Flamenco/Yoga
20:00 Aikido/Ballet/Hip Hop
–Friday 11/01
10:00-18:00 Open Rehearsal with Fearghus Ó Conchúir
I understand that the free taster classes are running in parallel in different studios, they are not a combination of the different styles.  ;-) So for example on Thursday at 20:00 you can see/take part in three different classes in different studios in the DanceHouse.
For more details see:
www.danceireland.ie/news_12.07_art04.htm

And a pre-announcement because you need to request free tickets: The Abbey Talks is a programme of free talks and events hosted by the Abbey Theatre (in Lower Abbey Street) to challenge and respond to the works on stage. “What’s a Play for?” with John Mc Grath is the Abbey Talk on the 10th of January (18:15 – 19:00) in the Abbey Theatre. John McGrath, Artistic Director of Contact, a pioneering theatre for young adults in Manchester, looks at the relationship between young  people and theatre. What makes it tick? All talks are free but booking is essential. Booking: 01-8787222
www.abbeytheatre.ie/whatson/talks.html

“Dublin Meditation, Discussion & Practice” is “a secular group which respects the diversity within its members while abstaining from promoting any one philosophy or ideology. We explore various techniques, from ancient to contemporary teachings. The format of our meetings allows an opportunity to learn something new, whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or a newbie. People without meditation experience are welcome to join us. Space is limited however, so RSVP early. To RSVP or to learn more about this group and this event, visit: meditation.meetup.com/460/
The event will take place on Sunday, 6th of Jan from 12:00-14:00 in the Daydream Health Spa, 5-7 Terenure Place. The event is free and Susan Howard Lynch, who organises this event assures that there is no preaching of philosophies or ideologies done.
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And finally our weekly “Permanent Free Event” slot:

After introducing the “permanent free events” Temple Bar Market, Government Buildings, National Gallery, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Aras an Uachtarian and National Library in previous weeks, it is now high time that I write about the National Museum.
The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland’s premier cultural institution and that with the strongest emphasis on Ireland’s art, material culture and natural history. The collections and their exhibitions are centred on four sites, three in Dublin and one in the west in Co. Mayo.
The National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks has state of the art exhibitions on costume and clothing, coins and furniture as well as a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.
The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology and History in Kildare Street exhibits Ireland’s famous collection of Bronze Age gold ornaments and Irish early Christian treasures such as the Ardagh Chalice, the Derrynaflan Hoard, the Tara Brooch, the Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell and the Tully Lough Cross in addition to the Viking Ireland and Medieval Ireland galleries.
The third Dublin branch is the National Museum of Ireland – Natural History in Merrion Street, which houses an amazing and impressive collection of “stuffed animals”, but which will be closed for the next 2-3 years.
The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life is in Castlebar at Turlough Park in Co. Mayo and houses the folklife collection.
Nearly all exhibitions are free and I would strongly recommend that you spend a rainy of cold Sunday in the National Museum on Kildare Street or in Collins Barracks and to inform yourself about what is on offer go to www.museum.ie and have a good look around. The website is well done, has comprehensive information and is kept up to date!
Lectures, Family Programs, Talks and Workshops are additional attractions. Opening hours are Tues-Sat    10:00-17:00 and Sun 14:00-17:00.

Hopefully you will find something in this list that will interest you and maybe I will meet you at the Gooseberry Awards!?!

Enjoy the weekend!

–Joerg

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Disclaimer: This Event Guide (the “Dublin Event Guide”) with a difference is sent to friends, colleagues and whoever else is interested to let you know about (mostly free) events in the Greater Dublin Area! Ticketed events usually make enough money to do their own advertisement, they don’t need extra help.
I started this because some friends asked me to share my weekend plans with them as I went to all types of festivals and searched for more. ;-) If you don’t want to receive this mail, just let me know. If you have feedback, good or bad, PLEASE tell me. If you want to be added to the mailing list or know somebody who would like to receive this guide, just send a mail to dublineventguide@gmail.com.
BTW: I have no affiliation with any of the organisers and don’t get any “reward” from them for advertising their events.
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