Culture Night 2018 unveils packed programme of events

Art, science, music, history and entertainment are on the packed programme for Culture Night 2018, which takes place across the State on September 21st.

The free annual event encourages more people to visit cultural venues and to experience culture in their own locality.

In Galway, the Friday night offerings will include "Moon Phases", a live sound installation at Thoor Ballylee, conceived by sound artist Francis Heery as a response to W.B. Yeats's A Vision. Heery will perform a specially written composition inspired by the book, continuously from 5pm to 10.30pm, which is described as "an ethereal mix of electronics, bells and voices".

Events in Cork will include the launch at 2020 Art Gallery of exclusive collections of print work by artists Deirdre Breen, Craig Carry and Shane O’Driscoll. The exhibition takes place from 6pm to 9pm at Griffith House, North Mall.

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Also in Cork, local businesses will “adopt an artist” for the evening. From 5pm to 8pm, Blackwater Makers Art Trail, in conjunction with Fermoy Forum, will open up its premises to show fine art, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass art, millinery, furniture, wood turning, carvings and design.

Showcase

At Astna Square in Clonakilty, local Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann members will showcase their talents and there will also be traditional Irish set-dancing demonstrations from 6.30pm to 8pm.

Blackrock Castle Observatory will host a variety of science and astronomy events for all ages in the science exhibition and courtyard. From 6pm Cosmos at the Castle will be open to the public showing short, fun videos of life in space, the universe and cosmic astronomy facts.

In Waterford, the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens will host a guided tour from 6pm to 7pm featuring readings and music, including a special reading of Sean Dunne's poem A Shrine to Lafcadio Hearn. Anyone interested in the event is urged to book early to avoid disappointment.

In Dublin, the events will include a walk to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of humanitarian and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Participants will take a stroll with Christine Kinealy, author of Frederick Douglass: In His Own Words, and other noted historians, artists and writers, to hear the stories of Douglass's time in Ireland in 1846. The meeting point is at Barnardo Square, Dame Street at 6pm.

Tour guide Kerrie Clarke will invite Culture Night visitors to explore the rich architectural heritage of Merrion Square from its inception to its growth in the 1760s. The event starts at 5.30pm and will take 90 minutes.

At Arbour Hill cemetery, tour guide Eamonn Clarke will contextualise the main events of the 1916 Easter Rising, explaining in detail the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

Open doors

Also in Dublin, the BeLonG To Youth Services organisation for LGBTI+ young people will open its doors to the public for the first time.

Visitors are invited to experience the “living library” and to hear the stories of LGBTI+ young people as told by current members of the service through poetry and spoken word. The event takes place from 5pm to 9pm at Parliament Street premises.

DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus will also open its doors to the public from 5pm to 9pm. There will be a tour of the Cregan Library, with “magnificent panoramic views over Dublin” and visitors will also get to enjoy readings, music, drama and exhibitions.

Dublin Bus will provide free transport on the night along four different routes.

Culture Night is promoted by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with regional arts offices, local authorities and cultural organisations throughout the island of Ireland.

Full details of the hundreds of events on the programme are available at culturenight.ie