The Archive Within Us

About the exhibition

The Archive Within Us is an exhibition of personal histories, made by a group of people in Dublin in collaboration with visual artist Claire Halpin and poet Colm Keegan. The group met online during the pandemic as part of The National Neighbourhood, a cultural programme that connects communities, artists and villages with libraries, museums and creative places across Dublin city. Through this deep dive into culture, a shared interest in history emerged and the group began to look at how the national historic records intertwine with our own personal histories.

Together with the artists they developed their own archive of personal stories, brought to life through precious objects and fragments of cherished moments.

Each object, paired with a short poem, is an invitation to reflect on what we say about what we remember, and why.

The National Neighbourhood is made by Dublin City Council Culture Company in partnership with Dublin City Council (Dublin City Libraries, local area offices, Arts Office, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane) and the Abbey Theatre, Chester Beatty, Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Archives, National Concert Hall, National Gallery of Ireland, and National Library of Ireland.

Thank you to Dublin City Libraries for hosting this exhibition.

How to get there

Charleville Mall Library is in Dublin 1, just off North Strand Road.

It can be easily reached from O’Connell Street (approx 12 min walk).

You can use this Google Maps link to see the exact location and plan your journey:

Accessibility

• The library is wheelchair accessible, and an induction loop system for use with hearing aids is available
• There are accessible toilets
• Large print text available
• An audio-described tour will be available to listen to on our SoundCloud
• Our social story will be available to download below if you or someone you’re accompanying would like to understand what the exhibition experience will be like before arriving

About the Artists

Claire Halpin

Claire Halpin is a Dublin born and based artist, curator and arts educator. She has exhibited widely in group exhibitions in Ireland and internationally including 38th EVA International - Ireland's International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Limerick City Gallery, 189th RHA Annual, Dublin; Highlanes Open Submission 2020, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Cáirde Visual, The Model, Sligo; Water Tower Art Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria and Artisterium VI, Tbilisi International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Georgia.

Claire is represented by Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin with solo exhibitions Raw War (2019) and Glomar Response (2016). Curated shows at the gallery include Concerning The Other a collaborative project and exhibition that toured nationally. Her paintings are included in many private, public and corporate collections in Ireland and abroad.

Claire’s multidisciplinary practice has afforded her a broad range of experience across many areas, projects and collaborations since 2000. Claire has had the opportunity to work with a range of groups across many ages from Primary School children through to Second and Third level students, youth, families, teachers, community groups, intellectual disability groups and older people. These workshops have taken place in a range of settings and contexts including museum gallery based, healthcare, classroom, and community settings. They have taken place across a range of time scales – from one off workshops, to project based to longer term engagement over a number of years.

Colm Keegan

Colm Keegan is a writer and poet from Dublin, Ireland. He has been shortlisted four times for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award, for both poetry and fiction and won the All Ireland Poetry Slam for his spoken word. His first book “Don't Go There” was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. His latest collection “Randomer” is out now and available from Salmon poetry.

He was a co-founder and board member of Lingo, Ireland’s first Spoken Word festival. In 2014 was awarded a residency in the LexIcon, Ireland’s largest public library. He has developed numerous creative writing projects for schools and colleges across the country. He is a creative writing teacher and co-founder of the Inklinks Project, a writing initiative for young writers. He was the writer in residence for Carlow College St Patricks in 2019. He also developed and co-ordinates South Dublin Epic for SDCC arts office.

He co-wrote “Three Men Talking About Things They Kinda Know About” - which toured Ireland and sold out in Bristol, London and Paris. His debut full-length play “For Saoirse” was staged in Axis Theatre and shortlisted for the Fishamble New Writing award. “Something Worth Saying,” commissioned for the Abbey Theatre’s Dear Ireland project in 2020 was called ‘exquisite and devastating’ by reviewer Emer O’ Kelly.

About the Participants

The group of 12 participants answered an open call to get involved in our online programme The National Neighbourhood during the pandemic. They come from across Dublin and beyond, and have a broad range of ages and backgrounds. They share an interest and curiosity in history and culture.

The participants are:

Alex Bideaua
Isabel Charlton
Suzanne Donnelly
Alexandra Furbee
Mary Healy
Rachel Heavey
Orlaith Kingston
Ryan Koenig
Rebecca O'Neill
Margaret Roche
Bairbre Sámh
Margarita Vasquez Cardenas