The 8th annual Culture Night Sligo takes place tonight Friday 22nd September. Arts organisations will open their doors until late with free events, workshops and performances. 29 free events in 23 venues across Sligo showcase the best of what the county has to offer, with something for everyone. With typical enthusiasm, Sligo Food Trail members are getting involved too.
The 2017 programme is available across County Sligo in venues, cafes and shops, so make sure to pick up your copy. This years programme is coordinated by The Model on behalf of Culture Night Sligo partners, Sligo County Council Arts Service, the Hawk’s Well Theatre, The Model, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company and Sligo Youth Theatre.
Visual Art
Visual art aplenty is on view for Culture Night with exhibitions spanning drawing, painting, sculpture and video. The Painters Perspective showcases six talented artists’ work in six Sligo Food Trail member premises: Lyons Cafe, W.B.’s, Heart’s Desire, Sweet Beat, Kate’s Kitchen and Osta Cafe. An exhibition of charcoal and ink drawings by Sorca O’Farrell and ANAMNESIS works on found paper by Lisa Gingles are on view at the Hamilton Gallery, Castle Street from 10 am – 6pm.
Galleries are open at The Model from 10 am until 10 pm on Culture Night. At 6pm artist Barry McHugh will discuss a film by Oliver Laric, a special tour of Lives, an exhibition exploring the pen and ink drawings and iconic oil paintings of Jack B. Yeats will take place at 7pm and 8pm Suzanne Walshe will create a live, immersive soundscape surrounded by the work of Dutch artists Arno Kramer and Henk Visch.
Artists Andy Parsons, Anna Spearman, Sean Larkin, Ruth Le Gear and Michael Wann will open their studios at The Model from 5pm to 9pm. An exhibition by Michael Wann in the Models Process room titled Artists Select will also be on view.
Gary Reddin will be opening the doors of his studio with 100 commissioned art pieces on display that he has completed in the last 4 years. Jonathan Cassidy invites you to see the process of oil painting in action at his Open Studio, and outside of Sligo town Open House, an exhibition of crafts, highlighting the creativity in a small rural community is open from 5 – 9 pm in Aclare.
Family Events
Kicking off on Friday morning at 9.30am in Ballymote Library, Artist Wayne O’Connor will host workshops with local Primary Schools under the Primary Colours Programme. From 2pm in Sligo town BiG Street PLaY welcomes young and old to join in playing some of our favourite old time street games, accompanied by street rhymes and songs.
Moving indoors at 3 pm and again at 4.30 in The Model, Monsieur Gusto’s large scale theatrical show Hanging About is sure to enthral children of all ages. Early years are also catered for at The Hawks Well Theatre with The Shape of Things, an interactive story told through puppetry, object theatre, music and sound at 3 pm and 4.15 pm.
All Ages
New for Culture Night is Sligo Shelly Streets Parklet! During Culture Night this miniature ephemeral park will be home to an art exhibition and lots more and invites one and all to enjoy the space from 5 pm to 10 pm.
Children and adults are welcome to make sculptures in clay under the tuition of artist Bettina Seitz in Connollys Pub and model making for all the family in The Swagman between 4.30 and 5.30 pm as part of ‘Pub Culture.’ Sculpture workshops will also take place with Bettina Seitz in The Factory performance space from 6-7pm and 8-9pm.
Aerial – Capoeira – Dance – Drawing & Yoga workshops for all ages and abilities will take place in the Nest from 6 – 9pm. Or you can take part in a live art experience creating your own unique print in the Gallery Café with Pulled Screen Print from 7 – 9pm.
As Gaeilge
A number of Irish language events are also taking place. You can hear Yeats read in Irish and other languages in the Yeats Memorial Building at 4pm Sharp. The Model Cinema will host a special Irish language screening of Amhrán na Mara (Song of The Sea) at 6 pm followed by Cupán & Comhrá with the musician, Rossa Ó Snodaigh in the Model Café. Over at the Hawk Well Theatre at 8pm Aoife Porter will host an Irish language book club, join her for a glass of wine and a chat about Aiseirí le Alex Hijmans.
Performances
Spike Sligo perform ‘Can I wear sandals to a funeral?’ in Hearts Desire Barista Bar at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Sligo Youth Theatre perform Away With The Fairies at The Factory with shows at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm. George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London adapted for the stage by Phelim Drew, will be performed by CMD talent at The Hawks Well at 8pm and Blue Raincoat Offsite presents A Play, A Piece of Monologue and Footfalls by Samuel Beckett at the Old Saehan Factory, Hazelwood House with 30 Free tickets available for Culture Night. (Book: 071 917 0431)
Seisiún Oidhreachta in Haydens Pub Ballymote from 9 pm will feature the cultural heritage of South Sligo music with musicians from C.C.E Paddy Killoran. And to finish off a great Culture night Earl Okin, one of the world’s finest songwriters, jazz singers and comedians will perform his blend of comedy and music at The Hawks Well at 10pm. Having performed more ‘encores’ than just about anyone around what better way to wrap up culture night Sligo 2017!
