by Rose Rushe
LIAM O’Brien of Bottom Dog Theatre Company floats an altruistic concept to those, like him, who received funding from City of Culture’s €6m purse. Briefly:
“109 projects were funded in the Made in Limerick strand of programming. I think we should kick 2015 off with a bang, everyone of those projects who received support taking it on ourselves to do something for the month of January. Ideally find 31 groups / individuals to put something on for each day”.
Sounding out Culture House staff, artists and then wider community by talk and social media, the response is growing.
“There’s no hokiness about it,” he pointed out to Arts page while en route to UCH to rehearse with Jason Donovan. “I am coming from a place of real gratitude. There was a huge commitment in town that could not have happened without this investment”.
Invoking the methodology of Elemental Arts and Culture Festival which platforms most events free, albeit from a funded basis (this year), O’Brien reasons, “I am only a theatre maker myself but there’s a crossover with City of Culture to crafts, visual artists, you name it. Can we do something on a basic level?”
He advocates for “31 days, 31 events.
“This is how we say ‘thank you’ and show audiences we are not just Made in Limerick but we stayed in Limerick”.
The case for legacy evidences in the reaper month of January 2015 rests.
