THE END (of the year) IS NIGH!
HURRY !! ONLY A FEWS DAYS LEFT TO:

CAST YOUR VOTE for Four Courts Press Book of the Year on their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Four-Courts-Press/91629159327 

Loads of books to choose from - Irish Women Artists 1800-2009, Ed. Éimear O'Connor, The Dublin Townhouse, Ed. Christine Casey and many, many more. Pick your favourite......lots of people have already voted (we did!) but HURRY as the closing date is just 2 days away on December 31st!! 
LISTEN BACK TO "A House for the End of Life" (first broadcast December 28 on BBC Radio 4) in which Susan Marling looks at architects such as Richard Murphy and Frank Gehry working on projects to design hospices and small healthcare buildings aimed at improving the quality of life for cancer sufferers and people with other life-shortening illnesses - 6 DAYS LEFT to listen on BBC iPlayer. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wr7rp

JOIN IN "SOUNDING A POSITIVE NOTE" FOR 2011 at Poetry Ireland's event in the National Gallery of Ireland (1pm on December 31) where readers from all walks of life will be sharing their favourite poem or prose extract or discussing a painting that has inspired them. http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/whatson/Lifelong%20Learning%20and%20Courses/Sounding%20a%20Positive%20Note.aspx

THERE’S STILL TIME HOWEVER TO:

BE NOSTALGIC FOR THE WHITE CHRISTMAS WE HAD in 2010 (do not attempt to dream of one for next year thank you very much!) – “Snow – A Poem in Five Pictures” on MOMA’s INSIDE/OUT blog http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/12/23/five-for-the-holidays-snow-a-poem-in-five-pictures/

CONSIDER Arthesia's MD Thomas Sevcik's talk at Art Basel Miami - a thought-provoking exploration of so-called “Bilbao Effect” and the impact of a range of creative industries on cities...... "Archi-porn...cultural capitals...RyanAir" - a heady cocktail indeed!!

http://urbanomnibus.net/2010/12/thomas-sevcik-why-art-and-the-creative-class-will-never-save-cities/

VISIT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF IRELAND'S ANNUAL EXHIBITION of J.M.W. TURNER WATERCOLOURS- open right through the month of January. This year’s show is entitled “Colour and Light: Caring for Turner’s Watercolours” – ENTRY is FREE (good news in these austerity-conscious times!)   http://www.nationalgallery.ie/en/exhibitions/Upcoming%20Exhibition.aspx

GET THE JUMP ON NEXT YEAR'S CHRISTMAS SHOPPING or buy a gift for someone you should have bought one for this year....gifts for cultural historians are just a mouse-click away! http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtHistory101?ref=top_trail 

PREPARE YOUR IRCHSS APPLICATION – The Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences have announced that the application process for 2011 awards is open from January 7^th to February 23^rd 2011. Scholarships will not be announced until August 2011 – very tight for those registering for post-graduate study in September/October but at least the scheme is going ahead (there were some worrying noises pre-Budget!) Some FAQ are already posted but more will be online next week as will the application form. Congratulations to the CHIRA members that are currently recipients of this prestigious Government of Ireland Research award –hopefully more of us will be successful in this round of applications. Good luck everyone!

 http://www.irchss.ie/schemes/scheme01/index.html

COMMENT ON ANY OF CHIRA'S BLOG POSTS! Yes, we welcome, nay, we even beseech you to make our blog interactive by contributing to the comment boxes on these (or indeed any earlier) posts......CHIRA is about you the members so instead of going out on NYE and wasting the remaining money you have in your purse/wallet after the post-Christmas Sales AND waking up on the first day of 2011 with a massive hangover, sit down with a nice cup of tea (as Mrs. Doyle would) and tell us what you think of our blog posts...... how about this as a kick-start? “ Is blogging…just a cheap date? Asks Karen Archey http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/36655/addicted-to-hits-on-art-blogging/?page=1

Details of the next meeting will be available in early January.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL FROM THE BLOG EDITORIAL TEAM @ CHIRA 
How beautiful the turning of the year! A moment artificial yet profound: Point upon an arbitrary chart Passing like a breath upon the heart,...
Turlough O'Carolan