ArtScape: Cross-cultural consternation descended upon Dublin's Vicar Street last Sunday night when bemused punters were asked to finish up their assorted alcoholic beverages so the performance could begin, writes Arminta Wallace.
To avoid offending Islamic sensibilities the venue's bars had closed before the musicians - Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour and his band, plus a 15-piece Egyptian orchestra - were due to perform a concert of Sufi devotional music; but the start of the holy month of Ramadan apparently wasn't factored into the event's equation. "Some of the Egyptian musicians felt unable to play liturgical music with alcohol present in the venue," says Gerry Godley of the Improvised Music Company, which, together with Aiken Promotions, organised the gig. "They were acutely embarrassed by the situation, and were apologetic about it - but they had to go with their consciences."
Some members of the audience walked out; some asked for - and got - refunds; and for a time the atmosphere was, to say the least, uneasy. "People were entitled to feel aggrieved," says Godley. "It was most unreasonable to ask for this condition to be imposed 15 minutes before the start of the concert." The situation was doubly ironic, given that N'Dour's new album sets out to celebrate the tolerant side of Islam - and that many in the audience, presumably, had come out to express solidarity with those sentiments. "Unfortunately," says Godley, "it's a microcosm of the wider geopolitical situation that within that group of 22 musicians, a small cohort took an extreme position."
Difficult times, difficult questions. It could have all turned very nasty. It's certainly a first for an arts event in Dublin; and certain sections of the Irish media have trotted out unhelpful - though, sadly, not unpredictable - grumblings of the "What's next? Headscarves at Vicar Street?" variety over the past few days. Just because mutlculturalism isn't easy doesn't mean it isn't worth the effort. As it happened, the 1,000 or so audience members who shrugged, turned the other cheek and stayed put on Sunday night were rewarded by an evening of outstanding musical virtuosity and warmth. And did we flee to the pub at the end, to get in a drink before closing? Not exactly. We were too busy giving a standing ovation.
In love with Limerick: How do you create a portrait of a place and capture its essence in a way that is not anchored to one person's vision? Island Theatre Company in Limerick is probably best known for its production of Pigtown, Mike Finn's "love song to his home town", which was characterful, evocative and funny, and a huge hit for the company. Island's artistic director Terry Devlin looked at the notion of creating a play that explores the city from different perspectives, and came up with an ambitious idea. A number of people from Limerick or who have connections with it have been invited to write a short playlet - or "scenelet" - as part of the company's Saturday Night in Limerick project. "We wanted to open the notion up, not limit it," says Devlin, "to spark people's imagination into producing something. The result will show how people who live here or have a connection with here feel about their home. A sort of aggregate view of the city."
The brief was open - roughly 15 pages - and Island cast its net wide, getting a very positive uptake. Some are writers, others not, and the scripts are coming in - including from John Breen (Alone it Stands), Mary Coll, Paul O'Reilly, Caoimh McCarthy, Paul Meade, Kevin O'Connor, Harriet O'Carroll, Myles Breen, Anthony Galvin, Liam O'Brien, John Gleeson and Sean Taylor. Devlin is working on weaving the scripts into a whole, and the production will premiere in Limerick in late 2005.
Contemporary curators: You may have noticed that, in the visual arts, more often than not it's the curator rather than the creator who rules the roost, writes Aidan Dunne. Curators stamp their vision on exhibitions, which are flagged in terms of their curatorial profile. Is the upcoming symposium Curating Now, which takes place at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) from November 10th to 12th, a recognition of the star status of curators? Not really, as it happens. Rather, the hope is that it will cast light on the problems, processes and opportunities attendant on curating contemporary art. The bewildering scope, the sheer absence of boundaries and consensus in contemporary art practice, the huge range of demands made on venues and viewers all contrive to make curatorial intervention difficult.
There is another aspect to the symposium, which is that it brings eight curators from around the globe and familiarises them with IMMA and, who knows, with the Irish art world. The eight are Iwona Blazwick of London's Whitechapel Gallery, Daniel Birnbaum of Portikus in Germany, Kevin Power of Reina Sofia in Madrid, Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Paris Contemporary Art Museum, Fumio Nanjo of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, Douglas Foyle of the Walker Arts Centre in Minneapolis, James Rondeau of Chicago's Contemporary Art Museum and Paolo Colombo of Rome's National Museum of 21st Century Art. Details from IMMA at Tel: 01-6129900 or see www.modernart.ie.
Voices in Galway: Appropriately for a fund-raising drive for cancer of the voicebox , a one-day festival - today - called Spirit of the Voice, brings together an eclectic mix of voices for a "festival of human sound" at St Nicholas's Church in Galway. Singers and choirs from Ireland, Britain and South America are lined up to raise the roof and the spirits - and collect money for Cancer Care West, to help those who have lost their voices. This afternoon's event (3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.) for children includes soloists, choirs, a 13-year old poet and a storyteller; this evening's concert (7.30 p.m.) features a barber shop quartet, NUIG Choral Society, soloists Anne Michel, Stephen Gleissner (Bavaria), Andres Martorell (Uruguay) sean-nós singer Aoife Ní Churraoin, rappers Man and the Machine human beatbox, and People of Note choir from Bristol. For information or tickets (€15/€10; family pass €30) contact Gerry Mulkerrins on Tel: 086-3367129, e-mail eqfx@eircom.net or Lorna McDowell on Tel: 087-9190622, e-mail info@xenergie.com.
Making baby maestros: The positive effect of music - and specifically that of Mozart - on the intellectual and creative development of babies and small children has had a lot of attention. Studies of the "Mozart Effect" have shown his music can increase verbal, emotional and spatial intelligence, enhance right-brain creative processes, improve concentration and memory, and strengthen intuitive thinking skills. Musician and teacher Don Campbell, writer of the Mozart Effect books, is holding two one-day workshops for parents and teachers of young children on age-appropriate ways to use music, rhythm and sound, next Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the NCH. Admission €65. For booking Tel: 01-2986551.
Stop! You're Killing Me is what they're calling it, and comics Tommy Tiernan and Ardal O'Hanlon were joined this week by writer Gerry Stembridge and Amnesty director Sean Love to launch a comedy festival with serious intent. Comics including Tiernan, O'Hanlon, Dylan Moran, Dara O Briain, Barry Murphy, Jason Byrne, Des Bishop and Eddie Bannon along with musical acts perform at Vicar Street, Dublin, for three nights - November 28th to 30th. The performers and organisers are giving their time free of charge. Tickets are on sale through the Amnesty shop in Fleet Street, Dublin, www.amnesty.ie and Ticketmaster outlets.
This weekend the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) celebrates its centenary with an Irish Congress of Dance for teachers and dance students at the Grand Hotel, Malahide, Co Dublin. The congress today and tomorrow features classes and workshops in varying dance disciplines (including Cecchetti classical ballet, classical Greek dance, imperial classical ballet, south Asian dance and tap), open to Grade4-upwards students and dance teachers. Tickets €10-€30. Information from Clodagh Martin, Tel: 01-8213598 or Paddi Mulholland, Tel: 01-4942256.