Culture Night returns for its nineteenth year this September, with hundreds of events scheduled across Dublin on the evening of the twentieth.
Once again, oft dormant spaces across the city like Meeting House Square, the Wood Quay Amphitheatre and Central Plaza will be brought to ecstatic life deep into the wee hours. As ever, the programme would be far too exhaustive to list in full here. It is the happy circumstance that we simply don’t have the word count to cover everything that excites us this year.
So here are just a few selections, but we would urge readers to parse the full programme online, lest there might be something in particular you’d like to see.
Dancing With Strangers: From Palestine to Ireland
A dancer stands on the streets of Dublin with outstretched arms and a t-shirt that says “Dance With Me”. Will you accept their invitation?”
‘Dancing With Strangers: From Palestine to Ireland ‘is a guerrilla-style, durational, one-on-one participatory work. During performances, dancers invite audiences to dance with them as they ‘stand in for’ four Palestinian dancers who are unable to be present.
This important work is the collaboration between Agour, Just, Khaled and Maryam, Palestinian artists who have been working remotely with Artistic Director, Rita Marcalo [Instant Dissidence], to create dance duets that they would like to perform with the people of Ireland, in a choreographic act of resistance. As they are unable to be present at the performance, they are represented by members of the Irish dance community, acting as ‘body avatars’ for each Palestinian dancer’s role in their respective duets. Through their Irish counterparts, Agour, Just, Khaled and Maryam are asking for their voices to be heard and their bodies to be felt.
“Dance with a stranger and complete the connection.”
Meeting House Square
Meeting House Square will play host to an eclectic mix of dance and music performance, from a Queer Set Dancing, live hip-hop, DJs and much more.
Alexa Moore has been running her Belfast-based Queer Set Dancing class for the past two and a half years, and is bringing it to Dublin for Culture Night 2024, offering a drop-in taster session that is open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Elsewhere on the Meeting House Square programme is the incredible is JyellowL, one of Ireland’s most distinguished independent hip-hop performers, with a sound rooted in rap but fused with afrobeat, dancehall, RnB and soul.
Coinciding with the City Sounds event, a Culture Night Late initiative that celebrates Ireland’s growing soundsystem culture. From 9pm until midnight, experience Dublin’s streets in a brand new light with three immersive dancefloors curated by some of the island’s most innovative soundsystem collectives. Each location will offer its own distinct vibe and rhythm, showcasing the rich diversity of Ireland’s electronic music scene.
At Central Plaza, witness the raw power of Cork’s Rise Up Soundsystem, and act with a reputation for pushing the boundaries of sound, transforming the plaza into a high-energy haven that is true to the roots of soundsystem culture. Turn the corner to Essex Street, where you will feel the rhythm of Belfast’s Bang Bike, bringing their unique, mobile soundsystem to life, promising a fusion of old-school classics and high octane live performance. Across the bridge, on Capel Street, Dublin’s Interruption will be presenting a line up of skilled Dublin natives that champion a classic techno sound.
Meeting House Square will also be reimagined as an open-air dancefloor from nine till midnight, with Culchie Goth (very much the Ronseal of the evenings performers), seamlessly blending their fiddle’s rich, melodic tones with pulsating electronic beats. Local legend, Roo Honey Child will then present her new project, DANCE MUSCLE, which promises to be “an energetic tour” through her work.
Closing out the evening, BPM Energy Ltd. (a.k.a. “B*tches Play Music”) will take the helm for a two-hour set, featuring DJ’s Pixieteeth b2b polyp, DJ Egg and Viva Dean for an electronic music event celebrating community and the spirit of playfulness.
Wood Quay Amphitheatre
An uncommonly eccentric lineup will celebrate the myriad cultures that make Ireland the beautiful place it has become. With Mariachi San Patricio kicking off the Wood Quay Amphitheatre’s amazing evening of music with the nfectious energy of Jalisco. This “moveable fiesta of music, colour and joy” will also be peforming at Meeting House Square later in the evening. A personal highlight for this writer will be the Irland Ornoor Social Club, a Dublin-based Mongolian Ethnic Khuur Band. Pairing the unique timbres of traditional Mongolian instruments, , including the Morin Khuur, or Horse-HeadFiddle), Asian harp, with drums and double bass, the band also features Xoomei (traditional Mongolian throat singing), and will be accompainied by a Mongolian National Dancer for an awe-inspiring performance.
Seisiún Palaistíneach will follow. An event especially comissioned for Culture Night 2024 blending the mournful strains of Irish traditional music with the rich, evocative sounds of Palestinian melodies. Faró members Fergus Cahillane, Róisín Ward Morrow, Ben Strong and Richard Breen, will be joined by Abdullah Al Bayyari, Leen Maarouf and Latif Midoume, and perform a poignant exploration of joy, resilience, and shared human experience that promises not only to entertain, but also to foster understanding and connection between diverse traditions.
After having your hearts moved, your bodies may follow with an interactive dance workshop, led by Omar Quatamesh, wherein you will be invited to learn the Dabkeh, the traditional dance of Palestine, performed by Palestinians at a variety of special occasions, spontaneously on the street, as well as in protest and resistance to oppression. Staying within the world of dance, audiences will be invited to see a mesmeric performance from Cida Arcanjo and the talented students of Yalla Belly Dance School, and perhaps learn some introductory belly dance moves themselves, before the close of the evening, Cabáiste Cabaret, who boast Ireland’s only bilingual burlesque show. Featuring a renowned cadre of iconic divas and ingénues, this cabaret showcases the most spectacular talent in the country through the beauty of the Irish language.
National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall has enjoyed a spectacular year, with performances as diverse as Berginald Rash’s monumental ‘From Antiquity to Modernity’ series, the triumph that was Foggy Notions MusicTown, an earthshaking performance from Seattle drone legends Sunn O))) with Foggy Notions, and an evening with Henry Winkler.
Culture Night 2024 will see a seminal performance from the National Symphony Orchestra, with conductor Ryan McAdams and the incredible Elaine Clark on violin, and rounding performances ‘Philip Glass Violin Concerto No. 1’, a loving remembrance of the esteemed composers father, and John Luther Adams’ ‘Become Ocean’, “…the loveliest apocalypse in musical history…”, as per the New Yorker.
Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), Arran Quay
TENI are delighted to be hosting a screening of ‘Homophónia, a film by Alana Daly Mulligan and Luke K. Murphy, followed by a Zoom meeting Q & A session.
The film is an Irish language “queer comedy of errors”, concerned with a closeted couple who must navigate the narrows of their domestic issues as Gaeilge, as their Debs approaches, to stop their classmates knowing that they’re an item. TENI will also be hosting other eventsat their office on the evening of Culture Night, before and after this film screening.
Launch of Flux Dublin, 4 Chatham Row
“Become part of the story for this innovative project for Dublin.”
Flux Dublin have established a brand new and much needed artists studio, gallery and cultural venue in the former Dublin Institute of Technology Music School along Chatham Row. To celebrate its official opening, Culture Night 2024 will see an open studio evening, which will include Members’ exhibition, art workshops and live music from this new grassroots city centre venue, which promises an “exciting, accessible new space where everyone is welcome.”
Abbey Theatre, Lower Abbey Street
Culture Night is renowned for the once in a lifetime opportunities it affords, but this one is something special, a chance to attend the Dress Rehearsal for the Abbey Theatre’s upcoming production, Grania.
Quite literally, a historic event, the play was written in 1912 by Abbey Theatre Co-Founder, Lady Gregory, and yet this evening will see the first time the plat has been performed at the National Theatre of Ireland, brought together by some of Ireland’s foremost theatre-makers. Directed by Abbey Theatre Artistic Director, Caitríona McLaughlin, Grania is based on the Irish legend of Gráinne, Diarmuid and Fionn. A story of love, lust, power and desire, friends are pitted against each other while a woman creates her own destiny, laying bare the tension between duty and passion.
While tickets are free, the event is not a drop in affair, and seats will be allocated via lottery, so interested parties would be advised to register soon as possible.
The Bretzel Bakery, 1a Lennox Street
The Bretzel Bakery has promised a delightful Chat and Tasting event for Culture Night 2024, celebrating the city’s rich cultural tapestry. For those who come along, the chance to indulge in an array of freshly baked artisanal breads and pastries, while enjoying engaging conversations will frame a discussion around the bakery’s storied heritage, as well as its central role in Dublin’s culinary landscape. A unique event offering a sensory journey through flavour and history, and hoping to connect the community through the shared joy of exceptional baked goods.
Phoenix Park
Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council and the Office of Public Works have coordinated to put together a family-friendly, car-free five kilometre bike ride/disco around the Phoenix Park. Inviting cyclists of all abilities, each are welcome to light up their bikes and enjoy the Phoenix Park in a most unique way, with a bike DJ on the night providing tunes. Roads will be closed from 7pm, with the whole affair kicking off at 8pm, starting and ending from the Phoenix Monument on Chesterfield Avenue.
Words: Adhamh Ó’Caoimh
Images: Julien Behal and Paul Blakemore
Culture Night Dublin takes place on Friday, 20 September, with all events free to attend, and welcoming of everyone. The event is brought to you by Dublin City Council with support from the Arts Council. For full programme details visit culturenightdublin.ie
