Art Institute of Chicago Extends IRELAND: CROSSROADS OF ART AND DESIGN thru June 21

The Art Institute of Chicago has decided to extend the exhibition of Ireland: Crossroads of Art and Design, 1690-1840, for another two weeks, through June 21, 2015. This is the first major exhibition to showcase the decorative and fine arts of 18th century Ireland and brings together more than 300 objects-many never before seen in public-lent by public and private collectors across North America. Special events in May and June will expand upon this extraordinarily rich overview of Ireland's creative legacy.

On Thursday, May 28, 2015, Irish-born prize-winning author and historian Emma Donoghue will join museum visitors in Fullerton Hall for a talk called Raising the Dead.Donoghue will reflect on her Irish background and the techniques of her fact-inspired fiction that draws on real Irish lives, at home and abroad, from the 14th to 19th century.

On Saturday, June 6, 2015, join us forCeili at the Crossroads, a concert of traditional Irish music performed by an extraordinary ensemble of world-class musicians, including Chicago-based composer and musician Liz Carroll, fiddler Liz Knowles (Riverdance; Michael Collins), piper/flute player Kieran O'Hare, percussionist Jackie Moran, harpist Catriona McKay, and vocalist and keyboard player Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill. The performance features music from the CD recorded to accompany the exhibition.

Organized thematically in 10 galleries-from portraiture to landscapes, from Dublin to the Irish country house-the exhibitioncelebrates the Irish as artists, collectors, and patrons. Through this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, these oftenlittle-known objects are being shown together for the first time. To add to the Gaelic atmosphere, a temporary Irish pub in the museum's Café Moderno offers visitors an opportunity to hoist a pint after they visit the exhibition.

Event Details:

Author Talk: Emma Donoghue-Raising the Dead
Thursday, May 28, 2015
6:00pm
Fullerton Hall
Novelist and historian Emma Donoghue, whose books include Room (2010) and Frog Music (2014), reflects on her Irish heritage and how it has informed her writing.
Free with museum admission; free admission for Illinois residents Thursdays from 5:00-8:00pm.

Concert: Ceili at the Crossroads
Saturday, June 6, 2015
2:00pm-3:00pm
Rubloff Auditorium
Free with museum admission, registration required.
Traditional Irish music from the CD compiled for the Ireland exhibition features traditional and newly composed tunes performed by fiddlers Liz Carroll and Liz Knowles, piper/flute player Kieran O'Hare, harpist Catriona McKay, vocalist and keyboard player Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, and percussionist Jackie Moran.