It's that time of the year again ... The semester has started up again and Dublin's Culture Night is upon us. Katie Larkin gives you the student-oriented run-down of this year's edition.
This Friday, Dublin’s famous culture night will inaugurate its 18th Edition. The event, known for the large number of events it hosts in a limited time, will place diversity and culture front and center. The Culture Night portal shows almost 200 events across the city, which may seem overwhelming. You're in luck. Sit back and enjoy our student guide to Culture Night 2023.
1. Strawberries Queer Party at Meeting House Square
"Queer Party Strawberries invites audiences to come and get immersed in an electronic music event that will illuminate Meeting House Square for Culture Night Dublin 2023. Let the enchanting beats and melodies honor diversity and unity, while the music guides you in a safe and open setting. Get ready to dance, connect, and create lasting memories at this extraordinary occasion.”
2. A Special Screening of Sing Street at Screen Ireland from
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the national agency for film, television, and animation, will host a special themed screening of director John Carney's 2016 musical-comedy film Sing Street at secondary school Synge Street CBS - one of the key locations where the film was shot in Dublin. This screening celebrates the 30-year anniversary of Screen Ireland and 30 years of public funding for Irish film, bringing to life the essential place film has in our story, across culture and community.
3. Tøn
On Culture Night, Tøn welcomes the public to join them and enjoy an eclectic mix of visual art and live poetry readings in the heart of Temple Bar from Helen Kirk from Boston, Massachusetts, Mark Redden from Dublin, Francesc Ruiz Abad from Catalonia, and Tom Campbell from Scotland. The artists will present a collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and performance pieces that demonstrate contemporary idiosyncratic narratives aimed to re-think commonly held perspectives. By bringing these artists together, audience members are encouraged to fulfill their own modes of self-expression.
4. A Meditative Evening To Expand The Heart at Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre
Visitors are invited to the Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centre to experience a meditative evening of visual arts, music, and poetry. Expand the heart through meditation workshops, an exhibition from a prolific artist and humanitarian Sri Chinmoy, a concert of meditative music, art sessions, and a mantra sing-along.
5. Connect With Contemporary Music From Ireland at The Contemporary Music Centre
Immerse yourself in new music from Ireland at the Contemporary Music Centre (CMC) on Culture Night! Come along for a special event curated by composer Paul Scully, taking place in CMC’s historic building at 19 Fishamble Street at the site where Handel's Messiah was first performed.
6. Irish Whiskey Museum – Classic Tour
Take a journey back through time at the Irish Whiskey Museum. Learn the origins of Irish whiskey, its rise to glory, and its dramatic fall while discovering some new Irish whiskey brands. Enjoy the wonderful stories told by our entertaining guides as they bring you through the ages of Irish whiskey. At the end of the tour, you will become a true master of whiskey tasting over a little tipple of 3 perfectly crafted Irish whiskey tastings.
7. Late Open At The National Gallery Of Ireland
Enjoy the national collection alongside live art and performances at the National Gallery of Ireland. In collaboration with the Embassy of France in Dublin, visit our Painting Mirrors exhibition where we project your artwork onto the historical façade of the Gallery building. See your masterpiece on a grand scale by submitting your landscape or cityscape to the Gallery in advance. Join a fascinating tour to learn more about the masterpieces of the collection or stop by Ireland’s favorite painting, ‘The Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ by Frederic William Burton. Visit the new exhibition ‘It Took a Century: Women Artists and the RHA or pop into the print gallery for a chance to see our other new exhibition ‘Shelter’. Shop and Café open until 9.30 pm.
8. FUNDAMENTAL: A Series Of Queer Artworks & Photography at Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre
Dublin’s dedicated LGBTQ+ center, Outhouse, presents FUNDAMENTAL - an evening of community collaboration through art and storytelling from a variety of artists and community organizations. A Series of Queer Artworks & Photography is a divine artistic showcase spanning decades, from the 1970s to the present day. Outhouse welcomes back photography from Flikkers: Come As You Were and Unshrinking Violets: 50 Years of Lesbian Activism curated alongside illustrations and textile works from contemporary visual artists, Hannah MacArtain and Daniel Mooney (MUNDO MOO).
Plenty more can be found on the Culture Night official website, for people of all interests. Hopefully, something appeals to you to get out and celebrate everything Dublin has to offer!