It started with an open day in Temple Bar and then spread across the capital – today, Culture Night will take place in 11 towns and cities across the country. But, say the organisers, this is 'just the beginning', writes FIONA McCANN
FIVE YEARS AGO, culture was not that easy to come by. Not that it wasn’t out there, but accessing it wasn’t so easy. In Paris, they had Nuit Blanche. In Berlin, they had the Lange Nacht der Museen. But Dubliners looking to pop their heads into an art gallery, or mooch around a museum were subject to strict opening hours – after-work culture vultures just didn’t get a look in.
That is, until a group of cultural organisations in Temple Bar got together at the behest of Dermot McLaughlin, now chief executive of Temple Bar Cultural Trust.
The initial aim was for the area’s artistic and cultural organisations to get to know each other and work out how to encourage members of the public to use their facilities more. After all, Temple Bar was supposed to be Dublin’s cultural quarter: what was it doing to earn that reputation? “[There was] a perception that it was a bit of a closed shop, that the place wasn’t as dynamically welcoming as it could be as a cultural quarter,” recalls McLaughlin.
Following on from monthly meetings, and with the purposes of changing this perception, Temple Bar Open Day was born in 2004, followed by Open Night in 2005. “The idea was that [cultural institutions] would stay open to eight or 10 o’clock,” says McLaughlin. “It was all very small scale, within Temple Bar, but it was a very successful experiment because it opened our eyes to how things could be.” But opening up Temple Bar for a night was just the start. “We realised Temple Bar was probably too small to have the impact that we were thinking about,” says McLaughlin. “Then we thought ‘let’s just do a Dublin Culture Night, to make it a city thing’.
“We thought the smart way of doing that was to be clear about what we have in the city. We have lots of arts organisations, lots of national cultural institutions and an enormous amount of capable people and arts. So we thought, ‘We’ve got the ingredients, how do we bake the cake?’” Deciding on the method took some time. “We spent a lot of time getting the concept clear: the big motivator was that this had to work well for the public.” The idea was to have as many cultural organisations as possible involved, from all over the city, opening their doors free of charge and presenting something unique to the public on the night, as well as showcasing their everyday endeavours. Dublin City Council was approached, along with the then minister for arts, the late Seamus Brennan, who was supportive of the concept, and the idea of a city-wide culture night took hold.
Dublin Culture Night finally came into being in 2006, with some 40 organisations taking part, all opening their doors until 8pm. The event attracted 40,000 people. “It was a fair old crowd, half of Croke Park,” says McLaughlin. As the event became an annual occurrence, the numbers attending kept rising. “Last year, there was nowhere to move on the main streets of Temple Bar, with buggies and family groups, and people going around with their Culture Night brochures.” This year, with Culture Night going countrywide, attendance figures are expected to top half a million. There are now 11 participating regions – Dublin, Cork, Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford, Wexford – with 124 cultural venues involved in Dublin alone. Yet as far as McLaughlin is concerned, it’s only the beginning.
“I’m calling it Base Camp,” he says. “I think we have an amazing opportunity at a really important time to do something big for Ireland. We could have an all-Ireland culture night, north to south, from Tory Island to Cape Clear. We’ve got the brain-power, the creative capacity and the technology.”
The point, as far as McLaughlin is concerned, is to leverage the one aspect of our Irish identity that has not been tarnished in the recent past. “Of all of the things that have helped to brand Ireland over the years, many of them have taken a hammering: but culture and the imagination haven’t. We’ve a great opportunity to show what we can do: it’s not about throwing more money at it, it’s about showing off what we have already.”
Culture Night also has the potential to generate income, according to McLaughlin.
“We know from our patch in Temple Bar that when people come into cultural events, they spend somewhere between €50 and €160 a head, because maybe they go out for a meal, maybe they buy a small print, maybe they go into a local bookshop, maybe they sign up as a friend of a particular institution.”
It turns out Culture Night can have cash benefits. “If even half of Culture Night attendees purchased a ticket for an arts event between now and the end of the year, this would put approximately €4.2 million back into the economy.” Which may be why Dublin Tourism, Dublin Bus, Dart and Luas have joined with Dublin City Council and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in supporting this annual event.
If Culture Night goes countrywide, the benefits, according to McLaughlin, will be manifold, and include helping to combat social isolation and fostering community in small towns.
“I believe myself that there’s such a solid, creative infrastructure in Ireland, and it’s not all about buildings, it’s about the people,” he says. “It’s not about money. The money helps to promote it, but Culture Night is an example of how you make a small amount of money do an enormous job. State institutions, the church, the banks, economists, financiers – they haven’t done us that much good recently. What is the one thing that is still a shining light around the world, coming from Ireland? Culture and the arts. If we can’t have a night out on that, we may as well give up.”
What I plan to do
JOHN CREEDON, Broadcaster, Cork: "Looking at the programme, I'm hoping to tick a few boxes. I see that the Everyman Palace Theatre is doing a tour of the building. I'm not a great tour joiner, but I did this a while back and loved it. The old box office is intact on the waterfront and there is a great sense of history there, as well as the usual stories of the ghost. Seeing the inner workings of a theatre backstage, and so on – I recommend that. There is also a tour by Meitheal Mara's Pádraig Ó Duinnín of urban fishing. I've always had a curiosity about the families who made a living out of fishing in Cork, so I'm dying to hear about these people.
"One other thing I might try and make is Tom Spalding's tour of public furniture in the city. It takes in everything from water fonts for dogs to civic benches, and it sounds like a good one to me.
BEN HENNESSY, Theatre director, Waterford:"We have a preview of our new show, a take on Midsummer Night's Dream, opening in a Fossetts Circus tent and afterwards we are all going to the official Waterford Culture Night bash. I think all the groups will be there at Electric Avenue, with local bands performing.
"There are a couple of installations worth checking out also, including a car transformed into a mini DJ booth in the town.
"I know also that acts such as the Tramore Gospel Choir and a lot of artists are opening their studios. I think the impressive thing with Culture Night is that there seems to be a good uptake from both the public and also artists themselves."
EILEEN SWEENEY, Self–employed, Galway:"I heard more about the Dublin event, but once I went looking for information, the Galway site had a lot of events. I missed culture night last year, so I'm determined to make up for it tonight. There is a huge range of things happening in Galway, from different art galleries opening their doors late at night to craft workers and studios opening.
"One of the events that caught my eye was an exhibition by the Westside Men's Club. I didn't realise there was a local visual arts group, so I assume it is art by members of the club, which is a great idea. You never hear of men's clubs doing visual arts, so I think it will be interesting and different. It's great to see the community involved with the art world."
CATHAL MURRAY, RTÉ Radio 1, Dublin:"The Joinery in Stoneybatter always seems to have interesting new work, from drawings to video to sculpture and painting, so I'll traipse up there first. After that, I hope to go to the Peppercanister Church to experience the music and drama on offer at the 'After Dark in Georgian Dublin' event. Then I'm off to do stand-up in front of a group of strangers at the International Comedy Club. I've a feeling I'm going to enjoy the first two events a lot more!
"I think Culture Night is a great idea. I expect there'll be a special atmosphere in the various venues around the city, plus the fact that it's happening at night lends it that extra bit of excitement and energy. Hopefully this 'night less ordinary' will get the support it deserves and become a more regular event."
LISA CANNON, Xposé presenter, TV3, Dublin:"Having a look at the list, there's some great stuff on offer. One thing that would interest me is the Royal Irish Academy of Music opening its doors to the public. I studied there myself for eight years, and it's a fantastic institution. They describe the night as 'a feast of music-making from Bach to The Beatles'. I remember when I was there I wanted to study the drums, but wasn't allowed because they were too loud! Some day I will, hopefully.
"Culture Night itself is a wonderful idea. When I used to study at the Samuel Beckett Centre, any time I wanted to go somewhere after a day of lectures, the options were always limited. With this, venues are staying open to midnight in some cases and I think that gives people a whole new approach to music and culture. I totally applaud it."
