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How we work | 24 November 2025
How we work: Culture Club in 2025
We invite people to see, experience and learn about Dublin’s cultural places. Working closely with our partners, we open up new ways for people to access cultural activity more easily and confidently in order to develop and expand their cultural habits.
This year we delivered our regular Culture Club programme each month of over 30 hosted talks, tours and activities that introduce and encourage people to connect with the cultural spaces of the city.
"Culture Club is the prompt we need to explore what is available in the city and I enjoy the social aspect of the tea, coffee and chat after the event. It’s always welcome."
- Culture Club participant at Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again
We have listened to our participants after each Culture Club during our tea, coffee, and chats, as well as through feedback and surveys, and used these learnings to expand the programme based on their interests. In 2025 we also worked with the aim to develop and strengthen our partnerships with cultural institutions, collaborate with more festivals, and grow our offer of workshops. Read on to learn more about our work in 2025.
Growing the programme
In 2025, Culture Club continued to provide opportunities to visit theatres, galleries, museums, and other cultural spaces, increasing the number of events to over 30 per month across our 35 cultural partners. This year was marked by the growth of our partnerships, our audiences, and the ways in which our participants engaged with culture across the city.
From increasing the number of partnerships to the development of workshops and longer-term projects, Culture Club has continued to grow its capacity. With over 280 activities held this year, individuals and groups have had the opportunity to explore culture with us every month, across the city.
"That was fascinating. I really didn't know what to expect but I just booked it when I saw it. I just thought 'I'll try this'. Culture Club is really opening my eyes."
- Culture Club participant at Tailte Éireann - Valuation Office
Developing our partnerships
An important part of developing the Culture Club programme is providing more opportunities for people to discover and try out a wide range of cultural activities. We are always open to new partnerships, and we are continuously researching and reaching out to organisations to tell them about Culture Club and to discuss ways of working together.
Throughout 2025, we developed a series of new partnerships, based on the feedback of our participants, growing the number of cultural partners to 35. We developed a new partnership with Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, expanding the different types of cultural experiences available through the programme. We also made new connections with the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Project Arts Centre, and the Library of Trinity College Dublin, offering participants new ways of encountering contemporary art and history. Additional Culture Clubs were also held in partnership with community groups, such as the Finglas Photo Group and the Irish Polish Society, offering the opportunity to connect with communities through cultural participation.
Meanwhile, we strengthened our ongoing partnerships with cultural institutions, organisations and spaces across Dublin delivering a varied monthly programme that reflected the full offer of cultural experiences available across the city.
Working with festivals
We developed collaborations with festivals this year including Culture Date with Dublin 8, which brought audiences to Kilmainham Mill, the Edward Worth Library, OPW sites, and IMMA. Our partnership with Dublin Dance Festival enabled our participants to experience live performances, workshops, and nightlife, connecting with dance culture in Ireland. Our ongoing partnerships with Dublin Theatre Festival, Open House and the Dublin Festival of History, offered pathways to different forms of culture. We began a new collaboration with Dublin Gallery Weekend with a series of talks, demonstrations, and exhibitions across the weekend. We invited community groups to Crash Ensemble’s festival rehearsals, providing a behind-the-scenes view of contemporary classical music making. Working with festivals across the year allowed us to reach new audiences and highlighted Culture Club’s wider programme to many new people.
Workshops and more
This year we offered over 40 Culture Club workshops with a number of partners, to give more opportunities for participants to create their own artwork and connect with culture in new ways. This included collaborating with Photo Museum Ireland on a series of workshops which took place across several months, with participants engaged in darkroom workshops, learning new processes and creating their own printed artwork. Additional workshops were also held in partnership with 14 Henrietta Street, where participants got to see the progression of the work of the Artists in Residence of the 14 Henrietta Street Museum, try out new artforms, and learn about how the artists interpreted the museum and its collection.
Over the summer months, Culture Club moved outdoors with partners including the OPW, Richmond Barracks, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, IMMA, and the National Gallery of Ireland.
We also held a summer series of tours and talks in Kilmainham Mill. These events invited participants to rediscover Dublin’s cultural sites in a new way, giving them the opportunity to learn, examine, draw and explore their surroundings.
As our Culture Club audience continued to grow, with over 4000 attendees this year, we partnered with the National Library of Ireland, Hugh Lane Gallery, and Chester Beatty to deliver larger-capacity talks that welcomed larger audiences. Our ongoing collaboration with Hugh Lane also enabled us to offer online Culture Clubs, ensuring access for those unable to attend in person.
"I'd definitely be more inclined to come back to the Museum now after this, and I'd really like to do something like this again."
- Culture Club participant at the Photo Museum Ireland workshop series
Looking ahead
Throughout the year, we welcomed many people who engaged with Culture Club for the first time, along with first-time visitors to our cultural partners and others who enjoyed re-engaging with culture and meeting new people. Through these experiences, our participants learned more about what else is on offer from our partners and continued to visit cultural places outside of Culture Club.
We are always open for new people to discover new experiences through the Culture Club programme and are looking forward to 2026!
If you would like to find out more about this programme you can sign up to our Culture Club newsletter or book a Culture Club. If you have family or friends who would like to get involved you can share the links and bring them along.