A new art gallery housing the city's municipal collection will be open to the public for the first time in Waterford later this month as part of this year’s Imagine Arts Festival.
The programme for the 18th annual Imagine event includes a guided tour of the collection at the brand new gallery on O’Connell Street, which is part of the planned cultural quarter in Waterford.
The tour will be conducted by Dr Eimear O’Connor, honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, and will be one of many free events taking place at venues across Waterford between 18 October and 27 October.
Imagine is an umbrella brand for three popular festivals, including the arts festival itself, the John Dwyer Trad Weekend and the Waterford Writers Weekend.
It will also feature a public interview with author Megan Nolan, originally from Waterford and now based in London, whose debut novel Acts of Desperation has just been bought by publishing giant Jonathan Cape and will be published in 2021; and her father, well-known and award-winning playwright Jim Nolan whose latest play The Red Iron will be staged in the city next month.
The new Waterford City Gallery will be 597sq.m in area, almost double the previous public space in Greyfriars, and will allow the city to host a greater range of exhibitions, performances and other artistic activities. Imagine will include a retrospective exhibition by Rosemary Higbee and a visual art trail.
Meanwhile, the John Dwyer Trad Weekend will see performances by John Dwyer himself, now in his 80s and the traditional music and dance programme will feature a gala concert starring John Dwyer on fiddle who will be joined by some of the country’s top trad musicians.
Sean-nós singer Ann Mulqueen, singer and accordion player Breda De Paor, internationally acclaimed uilleann pipe player David Power and poet Mark Roper will host a special evening, 'In High Places,’ a unique collaboration between musicians and a poet, based around the mysteries of the Comeragh Mountains.
The Waterford Writers Weekend has 24 different events and highlights include the announcement of the national Waterford Poetry Prize and Sunday Miscellany in the Theatre Royal.
A conversation with authors Sheila O'Flanagan, Ciara Geraghty and Melissa Hill, a reading with Willy Vlautin, a chat between crime writers Andrea Carter and Jo Spain and Sunday Brunch with Jim and Megan Nolan.
Comedy will also headline at this year’s festival, with stand-up legend Kevin McAleer bringing his new show Guru to town; and there are also dance and theatre events.
