Events like Sligo Culture Night 'vital' in recession

THE GOVERNMENT could lead Ireland out of the recession by supporting “the creative economy”, it was claimed yesterday.

Launching Sligo’s programme for Culture Night 2009, which takes place in 11 locations nationwide on September 25th, county arts officer Mary McAuliffe said events like this were “vital in the gloom which surrounds us at the moment”.

Ms McAuliffe said the recent research by the Western Development Commission showed that the creative sector accounted for almost one in 20 jobs in Sligo and she urged the Government not to cut investment in this area. A vibrant cultural sector would have spin-off benefits for other industries including tourism.

“If the Government is serious about implementing its smart economy and innovation  island proposals, they must match it with investment in and support for cultural and creative sector,” said Ms McAuliffe. More than 50 free events will take place in Sligo on Culture Night, with live music on all local buses throughout the evening, courtesy of local festivals including the Sligo International Choral Festival, Sligo Baroque Festival and Sligo Live. The Sligo Concert Band will perform at the local bus station.

“People must have hope, and civic events such as Culture Night can act like a beacon in the fog and a temporary release from the daily grind of bad news and cuts,” said the arts officer.

Referring to Sligo’s reputation as a cultural hub, Ms McAuliffe said more than 30 local organisations will be involved in a range of indoor  and outdoor events on the night. Portraits of Sligo citizens who experiment at a “dress-up box” in the Tobergal Lane cafe will be flashed on to a giant screen at Hyde Bridge and interspersed with quotes from Yeats’s poetry.

Full details are available on www.sligoarts.ie and www.culturenight.ie