Of course, every day and night should be suffused with culture in our books. However, if you do want to put in some steps and explore places, spaces, pop-up performances and concepts; here’s some contenders for Culture Night 2022. And needless to say we’d love to see you drop into the Fruit ’n’ Veg market also for our own intervention with Nialler9 (see more here).
ACID GRANNY @ Spencer Dock at 6.30pm and throughout the city
Our June cover stars will have the trinity of Glasto, All Together Now and Electric Picnic in their trolley before they get back to where they belong – the streets of our city. Commissioned as part of the DCC ‘Awaken the Metropolis’ fund, the motley collective will roll their wonky, improvised, beats across the city. Down Spencer Dock, Waterways Ireland has a full programme of events throughout the evening including live musical performances from a boat moored in the dock featuring Roxanna NicLiam, Zeztra, John Cummins and Ruby Moss.
North Walls is an outdoor street art / mural exhibition with live painting on the evening curated by Fionnuala Halpin (another ‘Awaken the Metropolis’ recipient), there’ll be guided walks curated by the Five Lamps Festival and a couple of creative, drop-in, workshops with artists Rosie O’Reilly and Louise Gambrill and poet John Cummins.
100 Years of Ulysses from The Spire at 5pm
What have Lemon’s sweets, Brown Thomas and Davy Byrne’s got in common? They all are stops along the route – traced by pavement plaques – marking the lunchtime journey taken by Leopold Bloom through the Dublin of 1904 in James Joyce’s Ulysses. While the streets remain more or less the same, many of the businesses and buildings have changed. This 45 minute stroll will bring you back in time.
A New Culture of Sustainability from Mud Island Community Garden, North Strand at 4pm
Diane and Nathalie from social enterprise The Sustainable Life School tour Drumcondra and local surroundings highlighting sustainable practices and practical tips. The only requirement for participation is is a bit of curiosity and the desire to live more sustainably whilst learning with others.
Exploring the rebel history of the area between Capel Street and Collins Barracks, this tour covers the United Irishmen, including Robert Emmet and the Brothers Sheares, the Irish National Invincibles, the 1916 Rising and the North King Street Massacre, Kevin Barry and the 1919-21 war, and the civil war in its centenary year.
The R.A.G.E. – Djackulate, Henry Earnest, Banríon & Ispíní na hÉireann from 9pm
Intimate basement record store vibes with an eclectic mix including two-time free-style scratch world champion Djackulate and Henry Earnest’s shapeshifting synth pop whose Dream River LP release is worthy of more fanfare.
Sex, Drugs, Saunas & Clubs: Queer Social Spaces in History from Trinity College at 4.30pm
Nobody does queer history like Tonie Walsh because he’s been there and lived it in all its pain and glory. Shining a light on landmark locations which paved the way for contemporary queer culture, Tonie will have a tale or three to tell too.
Talking Shite: Dublin’s Sanitation from the 18th Century to Present from St Audeon’s Park at 6pm
Hands down winner of event title on Culture Night, Talking Shite will link putrid open cesspools and disease epidemics to modern day waste management and sewage related litter, if you ever wanted to get down and dirty with Dublin’s sanitation history, this is your moment.
Culture Night is on Friday September 23 throughout the city.
A full programme of events can be viewed at culturenight.ie/dublin
Feature Image: Toni Walsh by Luca Truffarelli
