Galway City Culture Night saw over 200 artists taking part in an array of visual arts, music, film and storytelling.
In Galway City there was a pop up Gaeltacht in Middle Street with barber shop quartets, trad bands, a ceilí music playing phone box, some sean nós and pocket opera. Fíbín sa Taibhdhearc also had performance art on every street corner!
The canals of Galway City's Westend are alive tonight with outdoor musical performances including the teenage Sonic Strings of Orchestra. They are taking part in the Culture Night Claddagh Basin Session with Bádóirí an Chladaigh @rtenews #culturenight pic.twitter.com/JLvdfS935H
— Teresa Mannion (@TeresaMannion) September 23, 2022
Cartoon Festival
The Cartoon Festival kicked off at the Galway Distillery premises featuring the opening of the exhibition Moon Cartoons and the launch of their 2022 Festival Programme. Cartoonists were on hand for caricatures and live drawing sessions and a range of drawing materials for visitors!
It was very much an interactive event with guest cartoonists, illustrators, visual artists, and animators from Ireland and the UK. It was a chance to get your caricature drawn, and learn how to create a cartoon.
Sounds of the Sea
Culture Night in Salthill featured Sounds of the Sea, a night of music and marine life, in the deep ocean depths of Galway Atlantaquaria.
'Thalassa' was a live sound installation by composer Francis Heery with a "psychedelic sonic backdrop" featuring a range of electronic instruments.
Uilleann pipe players, and ukulele artists also performed throughout the evening.
Just Art It
Just Art It was the title of a creative programme in the Westend in Galway City, it featured hands-on print demonstrations as well as Pumpkins and Prosecco workshops, described as a fun and inclusive introduction to ceramics. Participants got a chance to immerse themselves in the decoration, painting and design of their own objets d'arts!
Youth Ballet West
Fairies, Pixies and Goblins were just some of the enchanting mix of dancers at Youth Ballet West as they returned to the magical medieval setting of Claregalway Castle.
'Fairies, come take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame' William Butler Yeats.
The Druthaib's Ball
Members of the public were also invited to join the artists of the Array Collective in a lively chat and Q&A about their Turner Prize winning.
The Druthaib's Ball work is currently on exhibit in the Galway Arts Centre. The Druthaib's Ball is a built-in installation that invited audiences into an immersive experience reflecting the lively community hub of the Irish síbin, a long-established tradition of an illegal bar and space of contradiction, dark humour, and craic.
Walking with your Ears
To mark the 70th anniversary of John Cage's masterpiece 4’33’’ Eugene McKeown held a short presentation on Quiet Spaces and how to Soundwalk. The event included a performance of 4’33’’ by all who participated.
Galway Deaf Culture
Galway Deaf Centre gave an insight into Deaf Culture through a series of workshops at the Galway Mechanics Institute. Each of the three sessions hosted a mini Irish sign language class featuring the ABC in Irish Sign Language as well as an introduction to equipment that deaf people use to access everyday life. Culture Night coincided with International Day of Sign Languages with the theme for the day being 'Sign Languages unite us!'.
Charlie Byrne's Bookshop
The iconic Galway city centre bookshop hosted the now traditional Culture Night literary gathering which invited readings by every author living in Galway who has had a book, published in the 12 months since the last Culture Night.
It is what could be called a carousel event as audiences came and went at intervals over the course of the evening as writers read. There was also a short selection from their published books which feature fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
The Galway Baytones
St Nicholas' Church hosted an informal evening of song by the male acapella vocal group, The Galway Baytones. They performed songs from their extensive repertoire ranging from classical to Irish traditional to contemporary.
Echo Theatre Company
Eva’s Echo Theatre company performed a rehearsed reading of a new play - Stardom - at Pálás Cinema.
The dark comedy explores the glitzy and disorientating world of reality TV. By taking a look behind the curtain these artists are examining why humiliation makes "good TV" and how the media we consume affects our view of reality.
Foxford Co Mayo
In Mayo, there was an evening of traditional music, song and dance with Admiral Brown Comhaltas Foxford. Culture Night saw the premiere of a specially produced half hour video which will be shared on social media.
