Entrepreneurs, Dubliners, and Art Critics

Today our global entrepreneurs began their business course with their fabulous instructor, visited a unique local business called DublinTown, and analyzed some famous works of art at the National Gallery of Ireland.  Our scholar, Jack Shaw reflects on the highlights of the day. 

Can you explain a little about what DublinTown is and how they support businesses in Dublin? 

DublinTown is a privatized business that essentially does what the city cannot to benefit all of the businesses within a structured area- for example, they put on Christmas festivals and a food week.  Every five years, all of the businesses within the area vote on whether or not they want to continue working with DublinTown and they have passed all three of their votes.  In some cases, they were almost too successful because their recent Christmas tree lighting brought about 100,000 people to the streets, which was actually a little too much for the capacity of the streets.  They have been doing a really good job of bringing business to the area.

You seemed to really enjoy the presentation.  What caught your attention about this type of company? 

I really liked it because it made me think about how this could apply in other cities and what this type of job might look like in a city like Charlotte.  

What did you find most striking about the visit to the National Gallery? 

They had a large variety, but we looked at a lot of the Irish side of things even though there were other pieces of art that weren't Irish.  We saw some abstract art, different color styles, different techniques of painting, and others, but we really liked focusing on the Irish painters and artists.  It was really different from museums back home. 

Jack is a rising senior from Charlotte, North Carolina.