The week-long Future Limerick Climate Arts Festival gets under way on Monday, May 16 across several venues including Lime Tree Theatre, Belltable, Dolan’s, People’s Park and will also include an immersive walking tour along the river Shannon.
The ambition for this inaugural festival is to use art and creativity to engage the wider Limerick community on the issues of sustainability and climate change, and to spark debate about what a low-carbon future could look like.
It will feature acclaimed play Afloat by Sunday’s Child Theatre as well as a host of cultural events including; outdoor aerial performances by Fidget Feet in the People’s Park, bilingual spoken word night REIC, a night of live music in Dolans, a discussion evening with Manchán Magan and Limerick activist Saoirse Exton, stand-up comedy with Colm O’Regan, and an immersive walking performance of RISING by Brokentalkers along the river Shannon The festival will also feature the award-winning documentary RIVER.
For younger audiences, FUTURE LIMERICK is hosting a free Family Fun Day in People’s Park and Music Network returns with extravaganza Wires, Strings & Other Things. The festival will also engage with the wider community through art installations, poetry workshops in schools, a short story competition and a Scratch Night showcasing new writing from Limerick’s theatre talent.
FUTURE LIMERICK: Climate Arts Festival is one of just five arts projects across Ireland selected to receive funding from the ESB Brighter Future Arts Fund. Delivered in partnership with Business to Arts, the fund was established to support artists and arts organisations working on creative projects engaging their local communities around sustainability, climate change and the transition to a net-zero future.
Hildegard Ryan from Sunday’s Child Theatre Company said the project grew from their belief that the arts can play a crucial role in helping people envisage a more sustainable future in Limerick. “As the climate crisis escalates it’s easy to get bogged down in feelings of hopelessness. FUTURE LIMERICK will be an antidote to this, focusing on hope and creativity. Our festival will be engaging and entertaining way to imagine a brighter future and engage on the climate issues that matter most to the Limerick community.”
Louise Donlon, Director at Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable added that the festival will help inspire positive action; “Addressing the challenges we face through the medium of the arts will help to frame them in a way that makes them seem less daunting, and we hope this festival will inspire new & creative ideas for a local-led response to climate change.”
Speaking at the launch, Grave Kelly, ESB Creative Experiences Manager said “Sunday’s Child and Lime Tree Theatre | Belltable have curated a wonderful programme of multi-disciplinary arts events that will creatively engage communities across Limerick and kick start conversations about what a sustainable “Future Limerick” might be.”
