MINISTER FOR Arts Jimmy Deenihan is to propose the establishment of an international culture day for St Patrick’s Day where entry to museums, theatres, galleries and exhibitions will be free.
Mr Deenihan was speaking yesterday at the announcement of the sixth culture night, the annual evening of free events celebrating culture which is set for September 23rd, in 30 towns and cities across Ireland.
He said there was a commitment in the programme for government to expand the culture night by doing a second evening.
He did not wish, however, to diminish the impact of culture night in September and believed that a day-long festival could be successfully held on March 17th instead.
“The structure is there. The organisation is there” and it could be turned into an “international culture day”, he said.
He believed Dublin’s economy and that of the rest of the State could benefit from such a culture day and more people “could experience what we have to offer”.
The Department of the Arts is contributing €200,000 towards the one-night occasion next month which runs officially from 5pm to 11pm.
More than 10,000 events are planned and culture night will include participation for the first time from Derry, which in 2013 will be the UK city of culture, Belfast, Strabane district council, south Tipperary, Cavan, Clare Drogheda, Navan and Offaly.
The events to appeal to every taste include music, poetry and tours of the Hugh Lane gallery collection and Arab jazz night at the Chester Beatty library, both in Dublin; exhibitions, music and instrument-making at the Triskel arts centre in Cork and readings by Galway-based authors at Charlie Byrne’s bookshop in the city.
In Listowel, Co Kerry, St John’s theatre and arts centre will host an evening of drama, music, storytelling and film.
In Killarney there will be an exhibition and play about Msgr Hugh O’Flaherty and his humanitarian works during the second World War.
There will also be an Oíche Chultúir in the Gaeltacht areas with events such as the traditional raking (cuairteoireacht) in Glemcolmcille, Co Donegal, where musicians and storytellers go from house to house.
Micheál MacAoidh, arts officer for Donegal with Ealaíon na Gaeltachta, said that “so many artists have moved to the Gaeltacht” that there was now a very strong artistic momentum.
One of the major Gaeltacht events is the simultaneous projection of the work of Gaeltacht-based visual artists on gable walls in Kerry, Connemara, Donegal and Dublin.
The free culture night was initiated in 2006 by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust and Mr Deenihan described the area as a “cultural oasis” even though it had “street climate” issues.
Chief executive of Temple Bar Cultural Trust Dermot McLaughlin said the night was free of charge and aimed at locals and “will be good for our view of ourselves”.
He said that “in Dublin alone there are 156 participant organisations” and added that after culture night, these galleries, museums, theatres and exhibitions “will be there the next day, the next week and the next month”.
CULTURE NIGHT: HIGHLIGHTS
Culture Night, on Friday, September 23rd – which starts formally at 5pm and finishes at 11pm – includes:
* Augmented reality exhibitions – “Off the Page” with cartoon heroes Batman and the Incredible Hulk visible on O’Connell Street, Dublin, to those who download the free Augmented Reality Layar app on a smartphone, and “Among Giants” at Collins Barracks
* Arab Jazz Night at the Chester Beatty library, Dublin Castle
* Tours of Windmill Lane Studios, synonymous with U2, in Dublin
* Big Open Drum Circle – attempt to create the biggest, longest-lasting drum circle ever in Killarney, with instruments provided; drumdanceireland.com
* Hop-on hop-off bus for mobile “poetry on the move” programme by SpiritStore Art Project, Limerick
* “King of Tory” night in Co Donegal to celebrate the island’s unique musical heritage
* Port of Cork and Atlantic Sea Kayaking host a musical evening followed by a night kayak up the river Lee
* Dance extravaganza at the Firkin Crane centre, Cork, with performances of numerous dance styles and exhibition on the history of Irish dancing
* Arts stroll, Waterford city – independent shops and businesses act as improvised art galleries, displaying the work of local artists
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