Grand Stuff: Label Art from Ireland

Curated by Niall McCormack

This winter, the Museum is delighted to introduce a new exhibition of Irish label art from the 1890s to the 1990s. Included are vibrant examples of labels for minerals, beers, whiskies, hotels, linens, groceries, and pharmacies. The important part of Ireland’s material culture has been overlooked and this will be the first exhibition of its kind in Ireland.

Many of Ireland’s designers of label art are anonymous artists. It is collections like this one that really preserve their work: their memory lives on in their layouts, lettering, illustration and filigree. Through this exhibition, McCormack aims to inspire people to think about design in Ireland in the early 20th century and how it was more vibrant, diverse and sophisticated than many might imagine. The exhibition also explores the social, cultural, political and technological changes that influenced their production and proliferation.

The exhibition is now open and runs until early September 2023, and admission is free of charge.

Grand Stuff is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media.

Plan your visit here.

Exploring the Anthropocene: A Letterpress Investigation

The National Print Museum is delighted to announce a new exhibition in collaboration with the National College of Art and Design.

The Anthropocene can be defined as the present geological era in which human activity has become visible as a dominant and destructive influence on the Earth’s systems. This exhibition is a letterpress print investigation on the theme of the Anthropocene, at a moment of reckoning with climate change.

It features the collaborative work of twenty-two second year Graphic Design students from the Department of Communication Design at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin, and explores the global human impact on natural systems as it reveals itself through visual traces. Produced at Distillers Press, the typography and letterpress workshop at NCAD.

Opened on 14 March and runs until early September 2023.