Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir is an annual, all-island public event that celebrates culture, creativity and the arts. This year, it will take place on Friday 18th September. On Culture Night arts and cultural organisations and venues of all shapes and sizes, from independent studios and art-spaces to national cultural institutions, extend their opening hours to allow increased access for the public.
The pandemic has seen many events cancelled but NOT Culture Night! Here’s your guide to ONLINE and OFFLINE events taking place in North Mayo and West Sligo as part of Culture Night 2020.
Ballina
Art, Music & Drama – Online
Location: Ballina Arts Centre
Time: 6pm – 10pm
Genre: Poetry / Spoken Word
Tune in to the Ballina Arts Centre event for an online video featuring poetry readings recorded especially for Culture Night.
Booking: No booking required
Link to access: Coming soon
Made in a Day – Offline
Location: Ballina Arts Centre
Time: 7pm – 9pm
Genre: Visual Art
In Ballina Arts Centre there will be an opening of a new exhibition called Made in a Day
Made in a Day will see a number of artists come to Ballina Arts Centre on Saturday 12th of September to make a piece of art from start to finish here on the premises.
These pieces of art will be exhibited in the Art Gallery in Ballina Arts Centre on Culture Night.
Booking: No booking required.
Shows @ Ballina Arts Centre – Online
Location: Ballina Arts Centre
Time: 4pm – 11pm
Genre: Theatre / Visual Art
Join Ballina Arts centre online on Culture Night for a collection of art and music videos. TBC
Booking: No booking required.
Link to access: Coming soon.
Visit The Jackie Clarke Collection – Offline
Location: The Jackie Clarke Collection
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Genre: Museum
The Jackie Clarke Collection is the most important private collection of Irish history material in public hands, comprising over 100,000 items spanning 400 years. It includes artefacts associated with Theobald Wolfe Tone, plus letters from Michael Collins, Douglas Hyde, Michael Davitt and O’Donovan Rossa.
It also contains rare books, proclamations, posters, political cartoons, pamphlets, handbills, works by Sir John Lavery, maps, hunger strike material and personal items from Leaders of the 1916 Rising. Come along to visit the collection, with other entertainment on the night too.
Booking: No booking required
A Journey in Clay with Henri Hedou – Online
Location: Terrybaun Studious
Time: 4pm – 10pm
Genre: Arts and Crafts / Tour / Workshop
Join Henri Hedou for an online workshop and talk in the Terrybaun studios. Ireland’s oldest pottery studio fired its first kiln in August 1950.
Henri has carried on the tradition of producing beautiful slipware using the same techniques, designs and unique glazes that Terrybaun is known for. Even with modern technology, traditional methods are still very much alive at Terrybaun.
Along with the online event, the studio doors will be open for in-person visits from 7pm – 9pm.
Booking: No booking required
Link to access: Coming soon
Taoist Tai Chi Set. – Offline
Location: Unit 6, Abbey Business Park, Ardnaree, Ballina
Time: 8pm – 9:30pm
Genre: Live Demo / Performance / Workshop
Taoist Tai chi Society in Mayo will give a live demonstration of Taoist Tai Chi Set.
The set takes approx 15 mins. There will be 4 sets and in between each set there will be an explanation of the art and of the Society in Ireland.
Contact: 085 1742358
Booking: No booking required.
Ballycastle
Artists, Art, Teachers, Learners and Awards: A celebration of all we do. – Online
Location: The Ballinglen Arts Foundation
Time: 5pm – 9pm
Genre: Museum / Talk / Visual Art
Join the online video presentation from The Ballinglen Arts Foundation, with talks by visiting Fellows and bursary awardees, their work, a demo and a brief tour.
Booking: No booking required.
Link to access: Coming Soon.
Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art: Inaugural Exhibition – Offline
Location: The Ballinglen Museum of Art
Time: 3pm – 7pm
Genre: Museum / Talk / Visual Art
Come along for a social afternoon and evening in the newly opened museum, with an exhibition of works from artists who have spent time on residency at The Ballinglen Arts Foundation. A wonderful opportunity to visit this beautiful new museum. There will be a video presentation running and refreshments will be served.
Booking: No booking required.
Ballycroy
A Virtual Walk Through Time Along The Bangor Trail – Online
Location: Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park
Time: 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Genre: Audio Visual / Heritage / Talk / Tour
Hear stories from the wild landscapes of the National Park. Sit back and discover mythological tales from the area, learn about historical uses for the park, and get to know the noteworthy characters that have explored these lands.
Booking: No booking required.
Link to access: Coming soon
Easkey
Short Film: Illumination – Online
Location: Easkey Street Festival Facebook Page
Time: 8:30pm – 9:15pm
Genre: Film
A short film celebrating the creativity, community spirit and pride of place in a little village by the sea. In August a chain of light was created by the local community along the shoreline at Easkey. Even though they had to remain apart in recent months members of the community lit their lanterns, one by one, symbolising the link between them and showing solidarity in challenging times.
Produced by Fionn Rogers Productions with spoken word by writer Jack Harte. Community project facilitated by Workhouse Arts Studios and funded by the Creative Ireland Programme (Sligo) 2018 – 2022.
Booking: No booking required.
Foxford
Foxford Woollen Mills Virtual Tour – Online
Location: Foxford Woollen Mills
Time: 6pm – 10pm
Genre: Arts and Crafts / Heritage / Talk / Tour
Join the folk at The Foxford Woollen Mills online for a pre-recorded virtual tour on their YouTube channel.
The team will talk about the history of the mill from its establishment in 1892 to the famous people associated with the brand and how it faced adversity throughout the decades and in 2020.
Booking: No booking required.
Link to access: Here
CCÉ Admiral Brown Concert – Online
Location: Admiral Brown Promenade Foxford
Time: 6:30pm – 6:45pm & 7:30pm – 7:45pm
Genre: Dance / Music / Performance
Join Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Admiral Brown for special online performances on Culture Night.
The Admiral Brown branch of Comhaltas are based in Foxford but have members from around Mayo. On Culture Night there will be two sessions of music, song and dance led by Tom Doherty.
Junior Session will go live on their Facebook page at 6:30pm
Teenage Session will go live on their Facebook page at 7:30pm
Booking: No booking required.
Link to access: Here
Swinford
Artists at Heart – Lockdown Journals. – Offline
Sadly this event is now cancelled.
Location: Swinford Cultural Centre
Time: 6pm – 8pm
Genre: Arts and Crafts / Live Demo / Storytelling / Workshop
Swinford Arts group will give a workshop on Culture Night.
Many of their group cocooned over the past months, and while doing so they made “lockdown journals”.
On Culture Night the group will display these journals and give a workshop in how to make them. The journals were made from recycled materials. This promises to be an interesting and unique event.
Booking: No booking required.
So there you have it, all the events taking place across the Mayo North region on Culture Night. For more events taking place in across County Mayo click here or any part of Ireland here!
Please remember to support the arts. They need your support now more than ever.