THE city’s fifth annual Culture Night on Friday September 21 is designed to have all creeds and ages out on the street to explore performances and venues. Starting at 5pm on Friday 21, a rainbow of free events and engaging programmes will glow as late as midnight. According to architect of it all, arts officer Sheila Deegan working with the heads of museums, libraries, castles and theatres, this year’s budget of €8,000 was uncut by the Department of Arts and allows for “lots of new events this year. We have two free concerts, one the National Chamber Choir of Ireland conducted by David Hill in St Mary’s Cathedral at 8pm.
The choir will be around to conduct workshops for voice and song in the cathedral during the afternoon.
“The second free concert is with Honor Heffernan with band in Belltable Arts Theatre at 10pm and will have a jazz theme, looking ahead to the coming festival [see Lianne Caroll story]”.
Heffernan is preceded by Chas Mredith’s 7pm talk on The History of Jazz and 8pm screening of ‘Round Midnight.
The late gigs are not for everyone but all ages are welcome at Conradh na Gaeilge, 18 Thomas Street. Sheila feels this Culture Night evening is a hidden treasure of storytelling, music, ballads and there’s a huge welcome for everyone in this diversity. Check out Orchard Theatre’s co-production ‘Terninus’ with Angie Smalis, Simon Thompson and Peter Delaney, original performance inspired by Edit Wharton’s eponymous poem.
“The Hunt Museum and Limerick City Gallery of Art will be hives of activity with busy programmes for all ages. The Polish Art Festival is running simultaneously at the Hunt too, and there will be tours and trails and workshops. Limerick Writers Centre is putting together a Flash Fiction mob to create Flash Fiction Dashes around town, performing in different places and the centre itself has a workshop in writing memoirs”.
Our city arts officer also tips City Library in The Granary, the Frank McCourt Museum in Hartstonge Street, Limerick Printmakers’ mapmaking art challenge and at Raggle Taggle Consortium, Sarsfield Street, a workshop in making chainmail from wire with all materials supplied.
Pick up a programme and track your art pilgrimage’s progress, from Walks of the Old Walls of Limerick from King John’s Castle at 5pm to visiting the artists at work in their studios at Contact’s network in St Joseph’s Hospital grounds; also Wickham Street Studios and Faber’s outfit at Henry Street.
