Autumn events at NIVAL

Topics: Art and Design

Sources: NCAD - National College of Art and Design

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Autumn events at NIVAL

Events

NIVAL Tasters

NIVAL is pleased to present a series of lunchtime talks throughout the year, with Eve Parnell.

Our next session will focus on
LACE
on Monday, 28 September
from 13:00-13:30

The full schedule for the coming months is as follows:
19 October: REALLY OLD & REALLY NEW
23 November: DRAWING CONNECTIONS
15 February: TEXTILES
12 April: PROTEST!
10 May: BOTANICAL ART

Each NIVAL Taster looks at a different aspect of our vast collections – come by to see a sample of what materials we hold and how we could support your studies, research project or inspiration for artwork. We ask that visitors do not bring food or drink into the Reading Room during these sessions. No registration necessary.

Try something new!

See NIVAL's website for full event details.

Toolkit workshops

126 ARTIST-RUN GALLERY, GALWAY: Thursday, 29 October, 13:30-15:30
CATALYST ARTS, BELFAST: Friday, 13 November, 13:30-15:30

Join us for two afternoon workshops to talk through the steps of self-documentation and how to best use NIVAL's Toolkit for Artists' Archiving toolkit to build your own archive.

In collaboration with 126 Artist-run Gallery in Galway and Catalyst Arts in Belfast, NIVAL will lead afternoon workshops to talk through the steps of self-documentation as laid out in the toolkit's chapters and how to best use the toolkit to build your own archive.

Book free ticket for Galw ay here

Book free ticket for Belfast here

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126 Artist-Run Gallery is an artist-led, not for profit organisation integral to the visual arts ecology and cultural landscape of Galway, delivering high-quality, professional contemporary exhibitions and cultural programming which is free and open to all.

Catalyst Arts is an artist-led space in Belfast. Founded in 1993 by a group of artists, it has become Belfast's leading artist-led space, offering opportunities, support, and community for emerging and established artists. With a dedicated team of volunteers, the organisation produces an annual program, showcasing a diverse range of art disciplines and launching the careers of many artists.

Find out more

Dublin Book Festival

ARTIST BOOK INTRODUCTIONS
Wednesday, 4 November: 13:15-14:00
Thursday, 5 November: 13:15-14:00
NIVAL Reading Room

Dublin Book Festival is one of Ireland’s most successful and dynamic book festivals, running since 2006 in the heart of Ireland’s capital with its rich literary history. As Dublin Book Festival celebrates 20 years, visit NIVAL to explore some of the collection’s earliest artists’ books which take novel approaches to binding, folding and the very concept of what constitutes a book itself.

Free Wednesday ticket

Free Thursday ticket

Find out more

Projects

L'Internationale Research Guide

Thomas Sautelle Roberts (1760-1826), Gold Mines in County Wicklow. Aquatint and etching with watercolour. National Gallery of Ireland Collection NGI.11653 Photo, National Gallery of Ireland.

NIVAL, through the National College of Art and Design, is a member of L’Internationale, which is a European confederation of thirteen museums, arts organizations and universities.

In the summer of 2026 and as part of L’Internationale’s core thematic thread of ‘The Past in the Present’, NIVAL and IMMA partnered on a researcher-in-residence project to look at the crucial roles our local and shared histories hold in constituting contemporary identities, politics, societies and cultures. The outcome of the project is a written research guide that reflects NIVAL’s and IMMA’s collections and activities.

The researcher in residence who undertook this work is artist Aisling-Ór Ní Aodha. Through the media of sound, text, painting, performance and radio broadcast, her practice interrogates the enactment of colonial ideologies and state institutions upon the body. This research is informed by archival investigation, queer and post-colonial theory and performance studies. Aisling’s resulting research guide, An Inerasable Embrace, has been designed to support critical inquiry, teaching and learning and creative expression that will guide researchers and facilitate greater access to the collections.

NIVAL's 30th Anniversary
and branding

Materials from the Irish Hospitals Sweepstake Advertising Collection, NIVAL Reading Room.
Credit: Clare Lymer.

In 2027, NIVAL will celebrate its 30th anniversary. Since its establishment by Edward Murphy almost three decades ago, NIVAL has gone from strength to strength and has grown to become Ireland's foremost centre for the documentation of contemporary art and design in Ireland. We are aware that the name and logo of the institution do not necessarily reflect the full remit of our work and the message we are eager to communicate to researchers and donors. Looking ahead to our anniversary year, we are undertaking a rebranding exercise that will be launched in the coming months. We hope you join us on this journey, celebrating where we have come from, and anticipating where we will go!

Appointment opening hours

The NIVAL Reading Room is open for appointments on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 to 17:00.
You can find out more information about visiting NIVAL here.