Galway City Culture Night takes place tonight! The programme was curated by Director Jane Hanberry and features over 40 events with over 200 artists across Galway and includes visual arts, live events, digital events and a series of walking tours. We have just a taste of what tonight has to offer but for the full list of events head over to their website here.
Visual Arts
Spend your Culture Night immersed in artwork by local and international artists. Kicking off at 11am with 21 stunning bespoke painted currach sculptures commissioned to celebrate 21 years of Áras Éanna, the Inis Óirr Arts Centre, showing in the quadrangle of NUI Galway.
Musical guests will accompany a group exhibition from 4pm at Art in Mind showcasing works from residents’ studios and guest artists featuring sculpture, painting, ceramics and photography. For workshop enquires email glenngibsonsculpture@gmail.com. While 5pm sees the kick off for the Galway Cartoon Festival Programme Launch at The Cornstore.
As the sun sets, Marqu VR will have a magnificent display of architectural projection mapping to create 3D illusions on Town Hall Theatre Galway. You can round the evening off at The Latin Quarter Galway where Dolores Lyne has curated a fantastic showcase of eight Galway City art collectives which will be displayed on the television screens at The Dáil Bar Galway & The Front Door Pub Galway.
Live Events
The latest plaque on the Galway Poetry Trail will be unveiled at 2:30pm in association with Kenny’s Bookshop and Cuirt International Festival of Literature. The limestone plaque will feature the poem ‘Vortex’ by Gerard Reidy – a homage to Galway in which the poet describes his coming to Galway for the first time as a UCG student, from a small area in west Mayo. This is the 25th plaque on the Galway Poetry Trail, which is a series of bronze and limestone plaques dotted around Galway city, each featuring a piece of writing about the place in which they are situated.
Galway Community Circus will host Circus SWAP: the battle of all battles, circus style at 6pm from St. Joseph’s Community Centre. Circus SWAP is a fun, silly, laugh out loud event where professional circus entertainers, Galway Community Circus members and anyone who wants to give it a go, swap, share and battle out their best circus tricks.
Forge Clay Studios will open their doors at 4pm for a botanical press workshop and wheel throwing demonstrations from forge members and professionals Aoife Natsumi Frehan, Anne Rumph and Rory Clark.
Rounding out the evening is ‘The Craic is Back’ at Carroll’s Caravan Club from 6pm till late, a variety show curated by Gerry Hanberry featuring music, poetry, story, comedy. Performers include Paraic Breathnach, Tracey Bruen, Darra MaGuire, Fergal Mac Donnagh, Vibe Tribe, Carrolls Culture Club, James Colohan & Tom Mathews.
Online Events
A 15-minute documentary by Mary Cunningham features interviews with people who swam at Salthill in the 60s. The documentary reflects on fifty years ago this month when the ‘Men Only’ sign was removed from the entrance to Blackrock swimming area.
Moth and Butterfly present a Culture Night Special of Storytelling and Improvisation. Featuring the ensemble and guest tellers, the stories will be a combination of traditional tales, true narratives, and improvised stories – all to the Culture Night theme of ‘Come Together Again’.
Why not learn what Irish people mean when they say “Grand”, “I will yeah!” and “What’s the craic” with Comedian and English Teacher Steve Bennett in the online workshop ‘Culture Through Comedy’. Planet Science will also give a digital workshop to children to explore different topics in Science. Children will gain hands-on scientific experience exploring topics that include but are not limited to Chemistry, Physics, Biology & Geology.
