Be inspired at Culture Night
Dublin Holds My Mind reignites the dialogue between the city and its communities; photo courtesy of Culture Night.
by Ellis Cochrane
After almost 18 months of cultural cancellation, Culture Night Dublin 2021 seeks to show us exactly what we've been missing in the city while cooped up at home.
Taking place on 17 September 2021, this celebration of culture and creativity will see over 200 venues across Dublin open their doors, both literally and virtually, for a series of more than 250 in-person and online events.
A host of buildings that are normally closed to visitors will be open to the public on Culture Night. All events are free to attend, while Dublin Bus (the event's transport partner) will run a number of free routes to allow visitors to keep exploring from 4pm until late.
History enthusiasts can walk in the footsteps of Jonathan Swift by taking a tour of Marsh’s Library on St. Patrick’s Close. Lovers of dance can embrace the return of music and movement by visiting the courtyard of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Royal Hospital Kilmainham to enjoy a programme of works curated by Croí Glan. At Pallas Studios in the Coombe, participants can create their own sculptural installation with help from artist Róisín White.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland said she was honoured to launch Culture Night Dublin after a deeply challenging period for the creative sector.
"The last 18 months have shown that culture is more important in our lives than ever. Dublin is a city with culture at its core and culture allows us collectively to explore and make sense of events, such as the pandemic. The 2021 programme presents an opportunity to start this process of understanding, for us to reconnect with each other and to reacquaint ourselves with our capital city’s magnificent cultural resources.”
Following an open call process entitled Dublin Holds My Mind, which sought to “reignite the dialogue between the city and its communities, emerging from a period of isolation and disconnect, by celebrating its many layers and complexities through the means of creative expression”, exclusive work by three artists was commissioned.
Visual artist Niall Cullen will create a mapped projection artwork to be displayed in Barnardo Square, Dame Street. Irish Modern Dance Theatre has been commissioned to create a new work called Street Symphony that will be performed at the Wood Quay Amphitheatre. And in response to the poem “Dublin” by Louis MacNiece, artists Kevin Bohan and lljin will be live painting two new murals on Bedford Lane, Temple Bar.
2021 Culture Night Ambassador is Ola Majekodunmi, a broadcaster, Irish speaker, creator, co-founder of Beyond Representation and Board of Directors member of Foras na Gaeilge. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised in Dublin, Majekodunmi recently made international headlines for her work in successfully updating the Irish language phrase for “a person of colour” to “duine de dhath”.