FRIDAY 6 NOVEMBER
15:00 to 16:00
The Silent Series
Sitting with art offers a quieter way to experience Dublin Gallery Weekend, with designated silent hours across participating galleries where phones are silenced and conversation pauses, allowing the artworks to take centre stage. Our Silent moment at the gallery will be held from 15:00 to 16:00 on Friday 6 November
Visitors can look, sit, read or simply enjoy a moment of stillness, with no expectation to talk or interpret. Designed for anyone seeking a pause from screens and the bustle of the city, the series also offers a welcoming space for neurodivergent visitors and others who prefer a quieter gallery experience.
During that time, all vistors will be encouraged to put their phones away as they enter the gallery.
18:30: Launch of our must-see group show 'Tales of Human Follies'. 14 artists respond to the 300th anniversary of the publication of Jonathan Swift 's Gulliver's Travels. There will be a live performance by harpist Catherine Ní Fhearraigh.
Launching as part of Dublin Gallery Weekend, 'Tales of Human Follies' is an artists' response to philosophical novels such as Gulliver's Travels which use narratives and fantasy to explore complex ideas about human nature, society and politics.
With this show, a key offering of Dublin Gallery Weekend 2026, "Literary history enters the programme through Olivier Cornet Gallery’s Tales of Human Follies, marking 300 years of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The premise opens a particularly Irish line of enquiry: how satire, absurdity and social observation travel between historical periods without losing their critical force. Rather than treating Swift as a heritage figure, the exhibition has the potential to use his legacy as a lens through which contemporary follies can be reconsidered". Aesthetica Magazine, 1 Sep 2026.
Artists: Annika Berglund, Hugh Cummins, Colin Eaton, Mary A. Fitzgerald, David Fox, Conrad Frankel, Nickie Hayden, Daniel Lipstein, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Miriam McConnon, Sheila Naughton, Yanny Petters, Kelly Ratchford and Vicky Smith.
Don't miss this standout exhibition.
About Catherine Ní Fhearraigh's performance on the opening night:
In celebration of the 300 year anniversary of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, this performance will be a chronological journey of Irish traditional music spanning 300 years. Swift's career coincides with the career of one of Ireland's most famous travelling harpers, Turlough O'Carolan. The tunes in this performance will feature a strong theme of adventure. To begin, is "Princess Royal" by Turlough O'Carolan.
Catherine has been playing the harp for over ten years and has competed in Ireland at county and provincial level competitions and performed at the 2019 All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Drogheda. She's both classically trained and trained in traditional Irish music and she has extensive experience performing at various events nationally and internationally, entertaining dignitaries such as the Irish Ambassador to Spain, David J. Cooney and former Taoiseach, Enda Kenny. Her previous experience includes performances at Dublin City Hall, the GPO, Lá na Cruite celebrations at Russborough House, an Grianán in Co. Louth and at the Pádraig Mac Piarais Museum. International performances include the World Harp Congress in Wales in 2022 and at the Ireland-Catalan Creative Connexions Festival in Sitges, Catalonia from 2016 to 2023.
