ARCHIVE:
Aprar Elawad
Aprar is an architect at Scott Tallon Walker Architects with a passion for multidisciplinary design. Her work moves between architecture, landscape, furniture, exhibition, and product design. Dublin remains her constant muse — its layered history, laneways, and streets shaping her thinking, and she is currently on a mission to run all 4,402 of them. Her work has been exhibited in museums across Southeast Asia and Japan, and she is now writing her first book with the support of The Arts Council.
Instagram: @aprar.e
To begin, I’d like to take you on a walk along the quays of our fair city to visit the soon-to-open Municipal Watersports Centre by Urban Agency. I’m fortunate to live nearby, and I’ve watched it rise over the past year. What has delighted me most is the new pocket of public space it introduces to the city centre. The new pontoon has been buzzing with life since the scaffolding came down; the landscape alone feels like a clear success and leaves me optimistic about how the life of the building will foster once fully opened.
The Royal Irish Academy of Music, Ireland’s oldest conservatoire, remains one of the city’s quiet gems. The Whyte Recital Hall, a beautifully timber-lined room, and Dublin’s only purpose-built chamber music recital hall, is a particular treasure. This Christmas, I recommend attending a performance by RIAM’s own Philharmonia, conducted by Elaine Kelly. There is a special joy in watching young musicians hone their craft in such a considered, intimate space.
Eleven years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a Hall McKnight lecture in Belfast, an experience that left a lasting impression. Alastair Hall’s remark about the practice’s aim to create buildings that “deserve to live” has stayed with me ever since. This December, I’m looking forward to hearing a second lecture, this time in the National Library of Ireland, another superb venue with a wonderfully intimate lecture theatre. The OPW-initiated Culture Club lecture series has been a great success and will thankfully be returning next year.
With Christmas fast approaching and commerce in full swing, books feel like a welcome antidote. Temple Bar Gallery + Studios’ annual book fair is one of the season’s highlights, and I highly recommend attending this year in particular. Alongside an excellent collection of books, the fair will host a series of prints from HeART of Gaza, a travelling exhibition showcasing artwork by twenty-six young Palestinian artists. All funds raised will go toward supporting the community in Deir al-Balah in Palestine.
Finally, to round off the festive season, Sean Scully is coming home! Kerlin Gallery is marking Scully’s 80th year with an exhibition of paintings, sketches, and tapestries in its South Anne Street gallery. The works underscore the centrality of drawing to Scully’s practice, revealing the structures, rhythms, and movements that anchor his visual language.
