John O'Donoghue TD Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, yesterday launched the programme for the China/Ireland Cultural Exchange.
The Festival is part of a major cultural exchange programme between Ireland and China arising from an agreement signed during the visit of Premier Zhu Rongji to Ireland in 2001.
The Irish Festival in China in May and June will be followed by a reciprocal Chinese Festival of Arts and Culture in Ireland in the summer and autumn.
The Irish Festival in China will feature traditional, classical and popular music together with contemporary dance, drama, literature, film and visual arts.
Cinema Ireland is a season of Irish feature and short films, selected in association with the Irish Film Institute, that will be screened in late May at various cinemas in Beijing. The opening film will be Jim Sheridan's Oscar-nominated 'In America'.
Irish literature will be represented with readings from recent Pulitzer Prize Winner, Paul Muldoon and leading Irish language poet, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.
The Chieftains return to China after 21 years with a special concert to open the Irish programme on 9 May as part of the Meet in Beijing Festival. Other music events include a gala concert featuring Mary Black, Cara Dillon and Roisin Elsafty together with Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill.
DJ and soundtrack composer, David Holmes, and recent Meteor Award winners, The Frames, will both perform at Beijing's leading nightclub, the Yan Club.
The Gate Theatre will present their acclaimed production of Beckett's 'Waiting For Godot' at the historic home of the Beijing People's Art Theatre and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. The same venues will also host CoisCéim Dance Theatre's production of 'Mermaids'.
The first event in the Irish Festival in China will be the opening of 'Views From An Island: Irish Contemporary Art' from the IMMA collection at the Millennium Monument Museum in Beijing on 29 April.
At yesterday's launch, the Minister said: "This cultural exchange provides an unique opportunity for both countries to improve the understanding between our two peoples."
