Arts venues and organisations all over the country will “fling open their doors” again on September 20th, with the 19th Irish Culture Night set to be another record-breaking one, according to Arts Council director Maureen Kennelly.
“About 1.2 million people, almost a quarter of the population, engaged with about 1,700 events last year and we are aiming to top that,” she said at the launch in the National Art Gallery on Tuesday.
“There’s everything from a circus-skills course to conventional exhibitions to music and theatre performances ... every single art form you can think of,” she said.
“It’s great for everyone. The people love it because they get to see what is happening in their local arts centre or studio or theatre and it encourage them to go back during the year.
“The arts community gets to fling open their doors and say ‘look what we have to offer you’ and for us, at the Arts Council, who are using public money to fund these forms of artistic expression, it’s a brilliant opportunity to show the public where their money is being invested ... this is the fantastic artistic landscape that we have to offer in Ireland.”
Tina Segner and Ken Fanning of Tumble Circus performed at the very first Irish Culture Night, a comparatively modest affair held around Temple Bar back in 2006. They say the event is about “people coming out and getting to see and experience new things”.
For the many artists involved there is an opportunity to be seen by new audiences, as rapper and songwriter Celaviedmai acknowledges.
“I think Culture Night has been monumental for me, it has like shifted my career in such a big way,” she says. I performed in 2019 and, I think, 2021 and it was incredible. It opened my fan base up to so many people so I’m always really happy to be part of it.”
Musician Segun Akano, meanwhile, will perform with his band Yankari Afrobeat Collective and curate a wider, daylong event at Moss Street.
“As well as the music, the day is about friendship and integration,” he says. “You’re watching something and before you know it, you are talking to someone from France, Spain, Algeria, Korea. The diversity on the night, how many cultures there are, is just fascinating.”
The nearly 2,000 events will be staged with the support of the country’s various local authorities at hundreds of venues in cities, towns and villages across the island.
“It is everywhere, for everyone,” says Ms Kennelly, who mentions that a Read Mór project this year will even bring the event into prisons, with thousands of books to be given out free to inmates.
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