First Fortnight Festival 2025 - Museum Mindfulness: Exploring Asian Art and Origami

Take a slow and mindful journey with Evan Furlong through the Museum’s exhibition, A Dubliner’s Collection of Asian Art which tells the story of Irish American art collector Albert Bender, and explore with Evan the exceptional and beautiful artworks he gave to the nation in the 1930s.

Then immerse yourself in the art of origami in a workshop with Hugh McElveen. Origami is often seen as child’s play but the dizzying heights that modern artists have taken it to are truly extraordinary. Hugh will introduce you to the art of paper folding by making your own models, demonstrate how to select appropriate papers and talk about the history of the art and its application in science and maths.

Evan Furlong holds a Master's in Education from UCD and has been teaching Chinese Language and Culture courses to pupils in primary and post-primary schools, as well as at the new Taiwan Centre for Mandarin Learning in Ireland. In recent years, she transitioned to financial technology and completed a postgraduate degree in Fintech at TUD, and currently works at University College Dublin. Evan brings her deep knowledge of Asian culture to her tours of this exhibition.

Hugh McElveen was introduced to Origami by a Japanese American babysitter when he was seven years old but only began to take it more seriously as an adult. Previously he worked as a photographer and above all enjoyed the wonder of the darkroom when images would magically appear on blank paper. Watching one square of paper transform into a simple or complex model has the same sense of enchantment. It is this feeling of magic and wonder that keeps pulling him back to origami. He has worked in visual arts and creative writing outreach for 30 years and is currently the Volunteering and Outreach Officer of the British Origami Society.

This is a booked event with limited capacity. This event has now Sold Out, however, in the event of cancellations tickets will be made available via Eventbrite at the following link:

Museum Mindfulness: Exploring Asian Art and Origami Tickets, Sat, Jan 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

Please book a ticket for every member of your group including yourself. Tickets are limited to 4 per group! This event is suitable for ages 12 + , and anyone under the age of 18 must be with a supervising adult at all times.

On the day, please come to Reception to check in at least 10 minutes before the start of the tour. For more information, contact bookings@museum.ie or call 01 648 6453.

For more information about the programme of events for First Fortnight Festival 2025, please click here.