IF 1996 was the year Cork shrugged off a certain lethargy to move towards the forefront of cultural development, 1997 looks like being the year it'll have to prove itself worthy with a genuine artistic renaissance. Much remains to be done, but prospects are bright.
Musically, the city is in rude good health with scores of young bands crafting uniquely quirky takes on everything from indie pop to sophisticated house music to abstract drum'n'bass. Cork as a new Seattle? Don't smirk yet.
For more mature swingers, the Jazz Festival is still the main event. Jazz 96 was a breath of fresh air, the definition being broadened to include groovier, more contemporary forms. It augurs well for October.
Theatre attendances in Cork have surged in recent months, a sure sign that if local companies continue to stage strong work, they'll get all the public support they need.
The Leeside film buff is also a happy camper this Christmas. The Kino has been a glorious shot in the arm, and by this time next year the city's screen count will have hit 20 - 10 times what it was at the start of the decade. In the visual arts it has been heartening to notice a trend that sees graduates of Crawford College staying on in Cork rather than chancing their arms in Dublin or London or the lofts of New York. Their vitality is, well, vital. So, Cork to emerge as Ireland's true cultural capital? Same as it ever was, boy.
Artist to watch:
With a fine line in urban poetics and a seemingly endless supply of funky backbeats, Corkonian hip hop mob Ar La have had many ponytailed A&R sorts sniffing around. Their day may well come.
This year's Must Sees:
1. After their stunning success with Disco Pigs, Corcadorca plan to be back on the boards in April with something equally challenging: Irvine Welsh's Headstate, a brutal tale of an everyday heroin addiction.
2. A Sense of Cork, a two week bash in July, will focus on the latest Leeside innovations in the visual arts, theatre, music and film. Galway Arts Festival, watch your back!
3. If, as seems likely, Cronenberg's Crash fails to secure a general release, The Kino Cinema will screen it under film club rules. Start queueing now.
4. The Half Moon Theatre opens in late June at the rear of the Cork Opera House, providing the city with a 350 capacity venue for late night music, theatre, cabaret and whatever you're having yourself.
5. Firkin Crane Shandon and the Cork Women's Poetry Circle collaborate in March on Image - Woman - Text, a trial marriage of modern dance, and contemporary verse.
6. A Derek Tynan designed six screen cineplex is scheduled to open at the North Gate Bridge around December. Like rabbits, these cineplexes.
