Culture Night 2023

Posted on: 18 September 2023

Trinity College Dublin is host to several events during Culture Night this Friday 22nd September.  Join in the fun during this annual public event that celebrates culture, creativity and the arts, all over Ireland.

Here are the range of activities taking place across Trinity. Click on the links to find out more detail on each event.

Turas Treoraithe Ar Champas Choláiste Na Tríonóide / Guided Irish Language Tour Of Trinity College Dublin Campus (booking required)

Turais threoraithe trí Ghaeilge ar champas stairiúil Choláiste na Tríonóide. Faigh léargas ar an ollscoil is sine in Éirinn, ar a hoidhreacht agus ar shaol an mhic léinn sa lá atá inniu ann. Reáchtálfar trí thuras a mhairfidh thart ar 30-40 nóiméad an ceann. Tosóidh siad ag 5.45pm, 6.30pm agus 7.15pm ón Campanile. Seol ríomhphost le do thoil go gaeloifig@tcd.ie chun áit a chur in áirithe.

Guided tours in Irish of Trinity College Dublin's historic campus. Gain an insight into the oldest university in Ireland, its heritage and the life of today's students. Three tours will take place and each will last approximately 30 minutes. They will begin at 5.45pm, 6.30pm and 7.15pm from the Campanile. Please email gaeloifig@tcd.ie to book a place on a tour. Please note that the tour will be in Irish.

Trinity College Botanic Garden

The gates of Trinity College Botanic Garden will open for Culture Night, offering a rare opportunity for the public to view this unique conservation and research facility with its large collection of plants from all over the world. Come and wander around the walled garden and arboretum, or take a tour with Trinity botanists who will explain the importance of our collections and present some fascinating stories of plant adaptation and evolution.

The garden will be open from 4pm with two guided tours at 4.30pm and 6.00pm. Booking is required for tours as places are limited, so register early to save your spot.

Trinity Geological Museum

The 'Story of the Earth' exhibition highlights the geological evolution of the planet, with displays of rocks, minerals and fossils. Come and visit giant marine reptiles and ammonites who swam the seas 200 million years ago! Discover some of the museum's hidden treasures, including fossil corals and colourful minerals. Colouring and activity sheets will be available and geologists and palaeontologists will be on hand with their favourite specimens and available to answer questions. This special event is not to be missed! 

Terry Pratchett at The Unseen University in Trinity Long Room Hub (booking required)

The Pratchett Project is an interdisciplinary platform for research into the life and works of Terry Pratchett. It builds on the comprehensive collection of Pratchett’s works held in Trinity, as well as Pratchett’s personal connection with the College, borne out of the adjunct professorship he held from 2010. In 2007, Pratchett publicly announced that he had a rare form of young-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He subsequently became a passionate campaigner who was determined to reduce the stigma of dementia. Thus, research into brain health has been an important part of the Pratchett Project. This Culture Night, a wide range of speakers will discuss Alzheimer's Disease and related diseases – what we know now that we didn't know when Pratchett started his efforts to raise awareness, and what the future might hold. 

Glossaries for Forwardness

Glossaries for Forwardness is a multi-platform project by Marie Farrington, examining convergences between landscape and memory through the architecture of the Museum Building in Trinity College Dublin. It presents site-responsive works installed throughout the foyer of the Museum Building. Sculptural and textile interventions present an extensive material glossary that reference the building’s interior, repurposing geological sampling methods such as thin-sectioning, microscopic imaging and resin-mounting into modes of making in the studio. In collaboration with Stanislaw Welbel, a spatial audio installation emanates from the ventilation shafts, composed on a synthesiser by translating the building’s various stones into strata of layered sound.

The Douglas Hyde Gallery

The Douglas Hyde Gallery will have a range of events this Culture Night, including:

Open Forum by Student Forum Group (booking required)

Open Forum is a new initiative that aims to create a safe space in which everyone can gather to share thoughts, experiences and stories, find out about specific topics and interact with members of their communities through genuine open dialogue. On this occasion, the forum will respond to themes within the upcoming exhibition ‘The Rise and The Fall’ by Liz Magor.

Irish Sign Language Exhibition Tour (booking required)

Dr Georgina Jackson, Director of The Douglas Hyde, will lead a tour of the exhibition by renowned Canadian artist Liz Magor, 'The Rise and The Fall'. An interpreter will be present on this tour to provide Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpretation. Comprising a series of sculptures exploring our relationship with the material world, this is Magor’s first exhibition in Ireland.

Amanda Coogan in collaboration with Alvean Jones and Lianne Quigley with Dublin Theatre of the Deaf and the Centre for Deaf Studies

To coincide with Culture Night 2023, renowned performance artist Amanda Coogan, Deaf artists Lianne Quigley and Alvean Jones with Dublin Theatre of the Deaf (DTD) and Trinity’s Centre for Deaf Studies will present a series of flash performances to celebrate Irish Sign Language Awareness Week. These powerful performances will start on the steps of the Centre for Deaf Studies on South Leinster Street. After travelling up Nassau Street to The Douglas Hyde, the group will move through Front Square, to The Douglas Hyde, before moving to Meeting House Square in Temple Bar. 

Book of Kells and Trinity Trails (fully booked)

Embark on a captivating journey through Trinity College Dublin’s history and heritage this Culture Night. Start with a 30-minute guided tour through the city centre campus, learning about its hidden gems, stories and famous alumni en route. Afterwards, step into the Old Library to view the intricate illuminations in the Book of Kells, followed by the breathtaking Long Room, considered to be one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Enjoy live talks to hear how 200,000 early printed books have been carefully removed as part of the monumental Old Library Redevelopment Project. 

More information on Culture Night is available on https://culturenight.ie/

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