THIS MONTH:

Felicity Maxwell

“April is the cruellest month… 

 

Frisch weht der Wind 

Der Heimat zu 

Mein Irisch Kind, 

Wo weilest du?” 

 

The wind blows fresh 

Towards home 

My Irish child, 

Where are you? 

From T. S. Eliot, “The Waste Land” 

 

Home – and the cruel lack of home – are addressed in opposite ways in two standout events this April, the RIAI Simon Open Door consultations and the dystopian exhibition Liquid Urbanisms. Open Door, available across Ireland from 7-13 April, is a fantastic way for RIAI-registered architects and for homeowners considering renovations or extensions to raise funds for the Simon Community, a charity that has been serving the homeless for nearly 50 years. For a donation of €125, which goes entirely to the Simon Community, homeowners can avail of an hour of an architect’s time and expertise to advise them on their project. I really can’t urge you strongly enough to take part if you’re able to give your time or support. 

Liquid Urbanisms, by contrast, is a witty and hard-hitting group exhibition that parodies the domestic rental market and fights back against high-tech domination of the built environment and (once) private lives. Namaco’s “Grand Canal Demolition Derby” invites visitors to enjoy the cathartic release of demolishing technocratic strongholds along Dublin’s docklands in a retro-style video game. (No buildings were harmed in the making of this exhibition.) Meanwhile, in the satiric tradition of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”, Con:Temporary Quarters’ installation, “Céad Míle (Fail)te”, presents an ostensible solution to the lack of affordable housing and artist spaces: renting out disused phone booths as studio apartments to starving artists and feeding them G.R.U.E.L. (Government Registered Universal Eating Liquid), while their every move (tricky in the tight space) is watched and governed by an AI Assistant. The over-the-top absurdity of this scenario comes terrifyingly close to being plausible in our not-so-distant future. You can experience the humour and horror of Liquid Urbanisms at The LAB Gallery in Dublin until 24 April. 

Oppression will also be addressed in a very serious manner in the AAI Critic’s Lecture at TCD’s Robert Emmet Theatre on 17 April. Samia Henni, historian, exhibition maker, author, and chair of the AAI Awards jury, will give a public lecture on “Architecture of Colonial Toxicity”, focusing on French colonialism in the Algerian Sahara. This promises to be an excellent opportunity to learn about familiar issues in a different geographical, cultural, and linguistic context. The jury will meet the following day, so stay tuned for the AAI Award results in due course. 

The Irish Georgian Society and University of Bristol are presenting a pair of research talks revealing how Ireland’s built heritage intersects with social history and climate change. These are taking place at the City Assembly House in Dublin on 29 April, followed by a Q&A and wine reception. 

And, finally, this month offers a great variety of events exploring different facets of Irish towns and cities. These include the UCD Centre for Irish Towns’ Changing Narratives plenary session and workshop on 9 April; the final Irish stop of the Irish Architecture Foundation’s The Reason of Towns exhibition, opening at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen on 12 April; Hidden City author Karl Whitney in conversation with novelist Gavin Corbett as part of One Dublin One Book, also on 12 April; and on 27 April a walking tour of Cork with Tom Spalding, author of Designed for Life – plus plenty more. 

Scroll through the Diary to find what’s here for you, wherever you may be. And may April be kind to you.