We are delighted to welcome Abbas Akhavan back to Dublin on the penultimate day of his solo exhibition variations on a garden. At 6.30pm in the Robert Emmett Lecture Theatre in the Arts Building of Trinity College, Dublin, the artist will take part in a conversation with Georgina Jackson, Director of the Douglas Hyde Gallery. Admission is free and all are welcome; there is no need to book a place.

ARTIST TALK Abbas Akhavan in conversation with Georgina Jackson Friday, January 19, 2017, 6.30pm Robert Emmet Lecture Theatre Arts Building Trinity College Dublin 2 We are delighted to welcome Abbas Akhavan back to Dublin on the penultimate day of his solo exhibition 'variations on a garden'. At 6.30pm in the Robert Emmett Lecture Theatre in the Arts Building of Trinity College, Dublin, the artist will take part in a conversation with Georgina Jackson, Director of the Douglas Hyde Gallery. Comprising a series of sculptures, video and photographic works, this is Akhavan’s first solo exhibition in Ireland. In his practice, the domestic sphere, as a forked space between hospitality and hostility, has been an ongoing area of research. Recent works have wandered into spaces just outside the home – the backyard, the garden, and other domesticated landscapes. Here, the garden lingers as both a symbolic site of labour and leisure, private and public, nature and humanity, but furthermore, as a site of sovereignty and war. Curated by Georgina Jackson, Abbas Akhavan’s 'variations on a garden' was originally commissioned by Mercer Union, a centre for contemporary art, in Toronto in 2015, and is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. Admission is free and all are welcome; there is no need to book a place. Image: Abbas Akhavan, 'Study for a Monument', 2013-16, cast bronze, white cotton sheets, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the Abraaj Group Art Prize and Family Servais Collection. Photograph by Kasia Kaminska.

There are still a few places left for this special two exhibition tour of the National Gallery of Ireland's 'Aftermath: The War Landscapes of William Orpen' along with our current solo exhibition by Abbas Akhavan, 'variations on a garden'. In different ways and from very different viewpoints, these shows make space for considering the role of the artist in representing conflict and the trauma that is left in its wake. We are excited to partner with the National Gallery of Ireland to offer this tour. Admission is free but places are limited, please book here:

Wishing you happy and restful holidays and a wonderful 2018 from all the team at the Douglas Hyde Gallery! The Gallery will close from Friday, December 22, 2017 to Tuesday, January 2, 2018 inclusive. The current exhibitions by Abbas Akhavan and Mona Hatoum continue until January 20, 2018 with a series of exciting events to finish up, most notably a talk by Abbas Akhavan in conversation with Georgina Jackson on Friday, January 19, 2018 at 6.30pm. We would like to thank you for your support over the past year and are very much looking forward to welcoming you in 2018! Image credit: Isabel Nolan, 'Sleeping Dog', 2004, Pencil on paper, 35 x 44 cm, Courtesy of Charles Glennie

Be sure to call in this week before 6pm on Thursday December 21, to browse our sale! All the Gallery books are currently buy one get one free. (The photograph is from Pallas Projects/Studios Periodical Review 20/16, the catalogues were selected by Declan Long. Image credit: Louis Haugh.)

We're delighted to see that the Dennis Dinneen Archive exhibition was voted one of the best exhibitions of the year in the The Irish Times Readers' Choice, coming third after National Gallery of Ireland's Caravaggio and Vermeer shows! Galway International Arts Festival Temple Bar Gallery + Studios "Small Town Portraits, featuring the work of Macroom photographer Dennis Dineen (1927-85), was not your usual offering from the Douglas Hyde Gallery, which aims more for cutting edge contemporary art. But gosh it was popular. The word of mouth was exceptional and people adored it. Not only did Dineen’s photography recall a bygone era in Irish small town life, it was richly informative of the spirit of the times and not in a cosy, nostalgic way: there was often sadness in these insights into lives shaped and limited by the economic and social circumstances of a conservative era."

Many thanks to the Botany Department Trinity College Dublin for the wonderful talk 'Botanical Collecting in the Cradle of Agriculture and Beyond' by Professor Trevor Hodkinson and for the tours of the School's Herbarium and Library led by Hodkinson and Professor Jennifer McElwain. The talk took place in the context of Abbas Akhavan's current exhibition 'variations on a garden', which continues until January 20th, 2018.

Join us at 6pm this evening, Wednesday 13 December, for a talk presented in collaboration with the Botany Department Trinity College Dublin in relation to the current exhibition 'variations on a garden' by Abbas Akhavan. Professor Trevor Hodkinson will discuss 'Botanical Collecting in the Cradle of Agriculture and Beyond' in the Lecture Theatre of the Botany Building, which is located at the east end of the Trinity College Rugby Pitch. All are welcome and there is no need to book a place. There will be two guided tours of the Herbarium after the talk, but these are currently booked up. Trinity College Dublin

Join us next week, Wednesday 13 December at 6pm, for a talk presented in collaboration with the Botany Department Trinity College Dublin in relation to the current exhibition 'variations on a garden' by Abbas Akhavan. Professor Trevor Hodkinson will discuss 'Botanical Collecting in the Cradle of Agriculture and Beyond' in the Lecture Theatre of the Botany Building, which is located at the east end of the Trinity College Rugby Pitch. All are welcome and there is no need to book a place. There will be two guided tours of the Herbarium after the talk, but these are currently booked up. Contact us if you would like to be put on the waiting list. Trinity College Dublin

Many thanks to Ben Eastman, Art Agenda, for this thoughtful and comprehensive overview of Dublin Gallery Weekend 2017 responding to the city, the current exhibitions here by Abbas Akhavan and Mona Hatoum, as well as those at Pallas Projects/Studios, National College of Art and Design Gallery, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Kerlin Gallery, and Mother's Tankstation.

We're very happy to share details of this talk presented in collaboration with the Botany Department Trinity College Dublin in relation to the current exhibition 'variations on a garden' by Abbas Akhavan. Professor Trevor Hodkinson will discuss 'Botanical Collecting in the Cradle of Agriculture and Beyond' and will lead a guided tour of the School's Herbarium afterwards. Please see more in the event page below. Trinity College Dublin