Culture Night presents a celebration of Ireland’s arts and creativity

The nineteenth Culture Night will take place on Friday 20 September 2024 and will present a kaleidoscope of creative events and cultural opportunities in cities and towns across the island of Ireland highlighting its rich and varied culture.

Culture Night is a chance for communities to come together and experience the transformative power of the arts. Celebrating the values of openness, discovery and belonging, all activities on Culture Night are free.

Showcasing the best of both the traditional and evolving arts in Ireland, this year’s events take place in every county, in both urban and rural spaces, and will have an enhanced focus on accessibility. Events range from a postcard exhibition in Ryan’s Bar in Kilkenny, to traditional music played by Down Syndrome Tipperary, hip hop performances across Limerick city, and David Gray and Colm Mac an Iomaire performing on the World Heritage Site of Skellig Michael.

Other highlights include Songs and Stories from the Spa – an evening of song, stories, dance and art in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare –, and Rock the Block in West Cork with music from two local bands.

In Dublin, at Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, Travellers will demonstrate some of the traditional skills needed for camp life at the outdoor event featuring recipes from ‘Pavee Peck’ a cookbook by Traveller women. Visitors can also enjoy a special film and performance of Traveller songs.

Roscommon will host a window exhibition, The Light From Here, displaying original mixed media prints that are inspired by plants, and in Claregalway Castle in Galway the young dancers of Youth Ballet West will perform Faerie Dances.

Derry~Londonderry is also planning an evening of vibrant entertainment that will encompass music, dance, visual arts, theatre, heritage, circus, talks, tours, exhibitions and workshops. Details to be announced soon.

Under the Culture Night Late banner there will be even more events running into the wee small hours. These will include an Afro-Brazilian-Irish music and dance collaboration and late-night market in Dublin, and an outdoor theatre performance at the Spanish Arch in Galway city. In Cork, Cruthú Cois Farraige (Creation by the Sea) at Sirius Arts Centre, will be a multifaceted event featuring workshops followed by a vinyl DJ and live electronic music performance. And in Listowel, the Kerry Writers’ Museum invites people to Theatre of the Hearthstone. Inspired by the Irish Rambling House tradition and its sense of togetherness, people are encouraged to gather around the hearth for an outdoor cultural extravaganza in the town’s Georgian Square.

As usual, this year’s programme will also include late-night openings and free entry to art galleries, museums, libraries, theatres, studios, observatories, universities and government buildings. This allows people to explore art, heritage and architecture in places they might otherwise not visit.   

In 2023 over 1.2 million people engaged with some 1,700 Culture Night events across the island and this year even more people are expected to join in the unique cultural celebration.

For more information visit: www.ireland.com