From Ten till Dusk – RHA from 1823 to 2023 BOOKED OUT Cristín Leach and Dr. Abigail O’Brien PRHA

In Partnership with Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA)

In From Ten till Dusk, A Portrait of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts in Twelve Stories (RHA Publication) writer and art critic Cristín Leach weaves stylistic agility with keen commentary to evoke the different epochs in the oscillating fortunes of the Academy’s journey since its founding in 1823, bringing to life a selection of characters from its history in stories that captivate and enthral. Cristín will be in conversation about her book, and its fascinating characters, with Dr. Abigail O’Brien PRHA.

Cristín Leach is an art critic and author of the critically acclaimed memoir Negative Space (2022). Her recent collection of short stories, essays and other forms of expanded art writing, From Ten till Dusk, was published to mark the 200 th anniversary of the Royal Hibernian  Academy of Arts in Dublin. As a broadcaster, she is a regular contributor to RTÉ TV and radio, presenting the series Ireland Portrayed for RTÉ Lyric FM in 2020 and co-presenting the award-winning Through the Canvas for RTÉ Lyric FM in 2018. Her short fiction and personal essays have been published in Winter Papers and broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 as part of Keywords. Her art criticism has appeared in The Sunday Times since 2003.

© Paul Sherwood Photographer

Dr. Abigail O’Brien, President of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts

Contemporary artist Dr. Abigail O’Brien’s work employs many media including photography, sculpture, video, sound and hand-made embroidered objects. O’Briens work explores themes such as ritual, rites of passage and the domestic realm. She has just completed her treatise on The Cardinal Virtues – Fortitude (2005), Temperance (2009), Prudence (2017) and Justice (2021) O’Briens work is in private and public collections including IMMA, The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, The Caldic Collection, Rotterdam, The Museum of Modern Art, Vienne, The Gemeentmusuem, The Netherlands, and Centro National des Artes, Mexico. Born in 1957, she received her MA Fine Art Painting from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1998. O’Brien in the current President of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts and was Secretary of  the RHA from 2012 until 2017. Abigail O’Brien lives and works in Ireland.