Intercultural
Education Services
We offer a wide variety of programmes designed to foster better understanding of our European, Middle Eastern, Asian and East Asian collections.
Included are activities for all age groups including family days, children's workshops, tours, films, lunchtime talks and much more.
EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2012
2012 is the designated year to mark cultural relations between Europe and China. The Library is delighted to celebrate this with a series of exhibitions, events and partnerships.
China through the Lens of John Thomson 1868-1872 is an exhibition of photographs taken in the late part of the 19th century offering fascinating insights into life in China. The exhibition runs until the 26 February 2012 with a series of public events. The exhibition is on loan from the Wellcome Trust.
Chinese New Year - Year of the Dragon
From the 20 January - 3 February Dublin sees the return of Dublin City Council's Chinese New Year Festival. The Library is a long-standing partner and events can be viewed on www.cny.ie
Multi-Media Project for Young People
The Library and the Forum on Migration and Communications (FOMACS) will run training sessions for young adults to develop curatorial skills around China through the Lens of John Thomson 1868-1872 utilising multimedia to communicate with their peers. The project will be showcased in September.
Finally, the Library wishes to thank the Irish Chinese community for their contribution and support through the Exhibition and Education and Outreach Programmes.
Meet the Community
Meet the Community offers visitors a chance to experience a variety of cultural events as well as meet members of the Asian, Middle Eastern, South East Asian and European communities. As part of our public programme the Library hosts a number of events ranging from workshops, music performances, art demonstrations, cookery demonstrations and family days. These events have been specially organised as part of the exhibition programme.
See Events & News for more details.
Community Ambassador Programme
Did you know the Library now offers tours in Mandarin, Arabic and Japanese? These tours are made available through our new Community Ambassador Programme, the first of its kind in Ireland, which aims to promote the Library's exhibitions to multi-ethnic communities. For more details about the programme, please contact Justyna Chmielewska on tel: 4070772, email: jchmielewska@cbl.ie
Storytelling and Art Workshops Celebrating "Heroes and Kings of the Shahnama" (Book of Kings) March 2011
The Library has invited storyteller Xanthe Gresham, musician Arash Moradi and artist Roxana Manouchehri to work with students from Educate Together Schools and explore the wonders of the famous
Book of Kings from Iran. This epic national poem is 1000 years old and tells the tales of kings and heroes slaying fire-breathing dragons and monstrous beasts, foolish kings attempting to fly, wizards magically conjuring up snowstorms to defeat the opposing army, and of Alexander the Great's failed attempt to find the Fountain of Youth.
The project has been documented on DVD and will be made available on our website in due course.
In partnership with The British Council.
Special thanks to Educate Together for their support.
In September 2011 a teacher training session will be made available (more details to follow). Teachers will be introduced to storytelling, music and art utilising the Chester Beatty Library collections. This has been funded by the Heritage Council of Ireland.
Family Activity Packs
We've updated our activity packs based on your valuable feedback! A newly designed booklet with activities, puzzles, crosswords and a colouring book are available for 5-11 years and colouring activities for under 5s.
Packs are available the first weekend of each month on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm and are free of charge.
Guided tours
The Chester Beatty Library offers a variety of tours including
- public tours: Wednesdays at 1 P.M. and Sundays at 3 and 4 P.M.
- group tours: must be booked in advance. Please fill in the Guided tours form.
Silk Worm Club for six-
to eleven-year-olds
If you are curious about the marvels of the Chester Beatty Library collection and you like stories, art, craft, music and dance, this is the club to join! See Events & News for more details.
Lunchtime lectures
These regular talks offer an opportunity to hear curators, artists or scholars speak about works on display, special exhibitions or other aspects of the arts and cultures of Europe, the Middle East, Asia and East Asia.
See Events & News for more details.
Demonstrations
The Library hosts a number of demonstrations throughout the year in a number of techniques such as origami (Japanese paper folding), calligraphy, poetry, music and lots more.
See Events & News for more details.
Family days
Since 2000, the Library has engaged with a number of communities and celebrated cultural festivals including the Chinese New Year, Diwali, Christmas and Easter.
These are marked on an annual basis and details can be found in Events & News.
Links
If you are interested in Asian, East Asian, Islamic and European art there are resources available on our links page.