Following on from its success in 2021, the Hugh Lane Gallery’s community engagement celebration Art and the Outdoors again saw a special street closure on Parnell Square North on the August Bank Holiday weekend Saturday 30 July and Sunday 31 July 2022. Our Art and the Outdoors community programme curated by the Gallery’s Education department took place in a very friendly, welcoming and creative atmosphere and succeeded in encouraging over 2,500 people to visit Parnell Square North to participate over two days and enjoy all that the Hugh Lane has to offer. From artist-led en plein air easel and life drawing, to embossed printmaking workshops, paper flower workshops and an impressively colourful pop-up wildflower installation, there was also poetry, music and more. A collaboration again with Poetry Ireland saw the participation of distinguished poets Simon Costello, Eva Griffin, Enda Wyley and Peter Sirr who delivered short Poetry Burst readings; while the live music programme in collaboration with Mary Barnecutt saw performances by Aisling Ennis, Anna Cashell, Éamonn Galldubh Trio, Botanic String Quartet, Derek Copley Trio and Lioba Petrie and Abigail Smith Duo. Performers from the Dublin Circus project included acrobats, balloon artist and a magician adding to the street spectacle as did the popular and creative face painters.
