When you think of Ireland, you probably picture rolling green hills—not fine art. But economic stability in recent years has allowed for the explosion of a lively arts scene. If you're planning to hit the Emerald Isle soon, your wallet is in luck; access to most art spaces is completely free. Below, a cheat sheet for three spots you shouldn't miss.

The Hugh Lane Gallery
This stone-clad Georgian building is filled with light and airy galleries that house over 2,000 pieces of modern and contemporary Irish art. When you reach the back gallery, be ready for a cool surprise. Here you'll find the insane chaos of painter Francis Bacon's studio, relocated from London to Dublin, where he was born. The paint-smeared door, slashed canvasses, and mess of tubes and brushes all give you a glimpse into his frenetic and fertile creative life.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art
Originally home to retired soldiers in the 17th century, this former hospital now pulses with life as a dynamic exhibition space. Spacious chains of galleries and a cobblestone courtyard show post-war work of both Irish and international origin. Look out early this spring for the first solo exhibition in Europe by the Pakistan artist, Shahzia Sikander, which includes drawings, animations and new works.

Project Arts Centre
It started as an alternative cultural festival in the 1960s for the visual arts, but this space now hosts theater, video installations, music and dance performances, too. Through the years it has migrated to various spaces around the city and finally planted itself in the Temple Bar district (Dublin's "bohemian quarter"). Many of Ireland's biggest cultural icons, like film directors Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan, have passed through its doors.

- Jenny Harkins

RANDOM TANGENT:
In A Modest Proposal, satirist Jonathan Swift suggests that the Irish deal with their famine by eating all of the country's children. We hope he was being ironic.

Similar Topics:Art, Ireland, Travel

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