The Culture Night initiative was launched in 2006 in Dublin by Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT), to provide a new and imaginative way for people from all walks of life to participate in the cultural life of the city. Since its inception, the event has grown year on year and in 2011 the event included 156 cultural organisations in Dublin attracting over 160,000 people.

The 2006 event captured both the public imagination and the enthusiasm of artists and cultural organisations and in view of its success, the Department decided to extend the concept to towns, cities and counties across Ireland in 2008. This expansion proved hugely successful and Culture Night grew in 2009 and again in 2010 when 20 towns, cities and counties across Ireland participated. The 2011 event was the largest to date with 30 towns, cities and counties across Ireland taking part including: Dublin, Belfast, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cloughjordan, Cork City, Cork County, Derry-Londonderry, Drogheda, Letterkenny, An Ghaeltacht, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo, Navan, Offaly, Roscommon, South Tipperary, Sligo, Strabane District, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.
Culture Night 2012 will take place place on Friday 21st September.

For further information, please download the Culture Night Guidelines 2012. Please note this information is only for regions outside of Dublin city/county.

Applications must be forwarded no later than 12 noon on Friday 23rd March 2012 to:

Clare Pilkington

Cultural Institutions Unit

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

New Road

Killarney

Co. Kerry

Phone: (064) 6627342

Email: clarepilkington@tcs.gov.ie

Follow Culture Night on Twitter @CultureNight and on Facebook.com/CultureNight

Dublin Culture Night once again saw venues right across the city enjoying record attendance numbers coming through their doors, with a total attendance figure of over 160,000 people visiting 156 venues in Dublin alone.

There were over 6,000 visitors to Trinity College Library and the Book of Kells. The Irish Museum of Modern Art saw twice the same number of audiences passing through its doors compared to last year. Both the RDS and the Mansion House reported 50% increases in numbers attending events in their venues.

Feedback from audiences attending Culture Night events calls for more outdoor events and more car-free zones, so we’ll work with our partners to achieve this in 2012.

Other headline attendance figures this year included 4,500 visiting Christ Church Cathedral, 2,000 visiting Dublin Civic Trust, 2,120 visiting the National Photographic Archive, 1,300 visiting St. Audoen’s Church, 850 visiting the Irish Architectural Archive and the Irish Manuscripts Commission, and 320 visiting the James Joyce Centre.

Our Culture Night photo competition deadline has been extended until tomorrow Friday October 7th so if you have your camera out and about make sure to share htem on our flickr group to be in with chance to win a €300 voucher for Conns Cameras. Enter here>

Dublin Culture Night at The Culture Box, Temple Bar. Image Credit Entertainment.ie

Tweets from Culture Night
Some of our favourite tweets from the night included:

@clairemaryr: 5yo told me she was ‘eggy-hausted’ after #culturenight

@denisedeegan: the atmosphere in temple bar was great and loved Dublin Castle #culturenight

@bhriano: Dublin was hopping tonight so much going on and loads of people going from event to event totally recession busting buzz #culturenight

@andmybaby : @TBCT @CultureNight Had such a great #CultureNight Any chance there will be more each year? It would be fantastic! Too much to do, no time!!

@larissa_og: Great #culturenight in Dublin. Roadworks street art tour from #dubcon11 was the highlight @jorgallery

@D1ARMU1D: Just back from #CultureNight. Great buzz in temple bar. Went to Gutter bookshop, city hall and little fella danced to Ballymun rap!

diylan:In other news, amazing buzz around town for@CultureNight -have been taking in South Georgian Quarter mostly

Comments on Culture Night 2011

“I first heard of culture night in 2009. I first went in 2010. I think I’ll go every year now. I’d say that’s the same for lots of people. Every year more and more people get involved and will stay involved. It’s great and thanks a million for it. I’d say it’s of great value to people and society.” Brian, Culture Night audience

“Firstly it was absolutely amazing, my friends & I managed to attend quite a few events in the night by hoping on our bikes. We found the organisation, venues and the people dressing in costume in conjunction with the overall atmosphere to be absolutely incredible. wow, you guys did such a great job.” Jane, Culture Night audience

“I just wanted to thank all those involved in organizing Culture Night. It was absolutely brilliant. I thought I knew Dublin’s historic quarter around the castle quite well but discovered all sorts of interesting things – Tailor’s Hall, the Revenue Museum, Contemporary Music Centre and much more. Congratulations to all involved, you did a great job.” Gillian, Culture Night audience.

Videos from Culture Night 2011

RTE News Coverage – click to open

Community Media shop-front studio, Scarlet Row, The Old City, Temple Bar

As part of Dublin Culture Night 2011, Radio Culture Night brought the buzz of the Dublin streets to the airwaves across Dublin city.

Near FM, in association with Dublin South FM, Phoenix FM, West Dublin Access Radio, Radio Na Life and Temple Bar Cultural Trust broadcast live from Dublin Culture Night in Temple Bar. This special event took place from the Community Media shop-front studio, run in partnership with Dublin Community Television www.dctv.ie, in Temple Bar’s Old City. You can now listen back to some of the podcasted interviews from the night online:

• Noel McGuinness talks to Emma Connors, Youth Leader and young musicians Ryan, Keith and Leah from the Axis Youth Music Project. Listen here>
• Gerard Larkin is on the streets of Temple Bar and he talks to Nicole, Lauren and Charlotte from the Dizzy Footwork Dance Academy who are based in Tallaght. Listen here>
• Noel McGuinness talks to Temple Bar Cultural Trust CEO Dermot McLaughlin and gets a general overview of Culture Night. Listen here>
• Debbie Hutchinson takes a tour of Dublin’s Freemasons Hall on Molesworth Street, exploring the History and Rituals of Freemasonry in Ireland. She speaks to Morgan McCreedy, assistant to the Grand Secretary of the Lodge. Listen here>

Radio Culture Night interviewing The Dizzy Footwork Dance Academy

Radio Culture Night: Pearse McLaughlin with Enda Roche

Niamh, from Dublin  (aged 35 – 44; attended with family/young children)

Favourite venue: Freemason’s Hall

Best memory: To hear members of the Freemason talk about membership and to see the place that has held a level of mystery for many years

Tip for 2011 visitors :Ensure you allow plenty of time for the visit

Diana, from Dublin (aged 35 – 44; attended with family/young children)

Favourite venue: Culture Night/Multiple Venues

Best memory All the venues were fantastic, we did the Liffey Cruise which had a storyteller for children on board – excellent. We visited small art galleries and photographic galleries, everybody we met were fantastic and welcoming. We met the parade of dancers, dancing through Temple Bar. Everything was great, from the Long Hall in Trinity College to An Post in the GPO it was an excellent experience
and my daughter who is 6 was amazed at all the activities going on.  

Tip for 2011 visitors: It’s one of the best nights of the year – friendly atmosphere, great craic, welcoming – one to be there for!

WHAT ARE YOU MADE OF!

To celebrate Year of Craft 2011 on Culture Night, several craft organisations are running free craft workshops, where participants will use their county colours to create a piece of craft. Participating venues include:

Venue: The Culture Box, 12 East Essex Street Temple Bar, Dublin
Time: 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/ptoYrO

Venue: Groundworks Studios, Lyrr Building 3, Mervue Business Park, Galway
Time: 5.00pm – 9.00pm
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/qNK3D8

Venue: Louth Craftmark at Highlanes Gallery, Laurence Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Time: 4.00pm – 6.00pm
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/pSgO2d

Venue: The Leitrim Design House at The Dock Arts Centre, St. George’s Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
Time: 4.30pm – 6.00pm
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/poEuiX

Venue: Workhouse Studios, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford
Time: 3.00pm – 8.00pm
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/rqCXNu

Venue: Core Crafted Design, The Old Schoolhouse, Ballinahown, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
Time: TBC
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/oTrxif

Venue: National Craft Gallery, Castle Yard, Kilkenny
Time: Morning
Link to more info: http://bit.ly/mOMlTD

1) Claire, from Dublin (aged 25 -34; attended with friends) 

Favourite venue: An Post – GPO, O’Connell Street.

Best memory: Loved playing with the old telephone exchange!

Tip for 2011 visitors: Come early – there was a queue

2) Ellen, from Dublin (aged 25 -34; attended with friends)

Favourite venue: The Guinness Storehouse, St. James’s Gate, Dublin 8

Best memory: Looking down at the view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar and knowing that the streets were full of people rushing from venue to venue, soaking up culture! Looking out over the city with two good friends, surrounded by people who are passionate about seeing the best of Dublin, was a great moment. 

Tip for 2011 visitors: Go early! It gets crowded and is quite far from some of the other venues so go early for comfort and to leave lots of time for other things afterwards.

Come along and visit the Greenhouse @ 17 St. Andrew Street,  Dublin 2 for an evening of environmental activity and sustainability challenge.   The Greenhouse, home to ECO-UNESCO and Cultivate, will be a hive of activity for young and old alike.  There will be interactive creative recycling workstations for young people, a film viewing station, a Waste island exhibition by children, childrens story telling, an  artistic coral reef exhibition and much more.  There will also be free information and  advice on ECO-UNESCO’s and Cultivates many programmes and services. The Greenhouse is open to all, and of special interest to children, young people, parents and anyone interested in environmental and community culture and learning for a sustainable world.

ECO-UNESCO is Irelands’ environmental education and youth organisation.

Cultivate’s mission is to promote sustainable living, community resilience and environmental causes through education, events and by bringing people together.’ www.cultivate.ie

Christine Dwyer Hickey (fiction)

Alan Glynn (fiction)

Tom Mathews (poetry)

Writers will read from 7:30pm until 10:00pm.

Venue: Sweny’s Chemist, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2

Katie Donovan was born in 1962 and spent her youth on a farm near Camolin in Co. Wexford. She studied at Trinity College Dublin and at the University of California at Berkeley. She returned to Dublin where she worked as a journalist for the Irish Times for 13 years. She has published four books of poetry, all with Bloodaxe Books: Watermelon Man in 1993; Entering the Mare in 1997; Day of the Dead in 2002 and Rootling: New and Selected Poems in 2010. She lectures part-time in Creative Writing at IADT, Dun Laoghaire. She has two children, Phoebe and Felix.

Christine Dwyer Hickey is the author of The Dublin Trilogy – The Dancer, The Gambler and The Gatemaker – the story of a Dublin family from 1913 to 1956.  Her novel Tatty was short-listed for Irish Book of the Year in 2005 and was also long-listed for The Orange Prize. Her novel, Last Train From Liguria, published in 2009, was nominated for the Prix d’Europe. Her sixth novel, The Cold Eye of Heaven, has just been published. She is a member of Aosdána.

Alan Glynn was born in 1960. He studied English Literature at Trinity College and has worked in magazine publishing in New York and as an EFL teacher in Italy. His first novel, The Dark Fields, was published in 2002 and its screen adaptation, Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro was released this year. His second novel Winterland was published to critical acclaim in 2009 and his latest, Bloodland, has just been published by Faber. He is married with two children and lives in Dublin.

TOM MATHEWS was born in Dublin in 1952. He studied Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. He has been a freelance cartoonist, writer and critic since 1975. His work appears weekly in the Irish Times and the Sunday Independent. He has had thirty one-man shows and his paintings have been exhibited in Living Art, the National Portrait Show and at the RHA. In 2009 Dedalus Books published The Owl and the Pussycat, a collection of parodies and poetry.

CROSBHÓTHAR is a series of simultaneous outdoor projections throughout the Gaeltachts on Culture Night 2011

Each projection features the work from artists based in orwith a connection with An Ghaeltacht.

It brings together the work of over 80 visual artists includingGeorge McClelland, Maria Simonds-Gooding, AnthonyHaughey, Bernadette Cotter, Tomás Ó Cíobháin and KatieHolten.

The project is being curated by visual artist Andrew Duggan.

“So many artists have moved to the Gaeltacht that there is now a very strongartistsic momentum” – Micheal Mac Aoidh, arts officer for Donegal speaking to The Irish Times, Thursday 18th August, 2011.

Many of the artists featured have chosen to live in the Gaeltacht, others are from there while others have spent time making work there.”One of the major Gaeltacht events for Culture Night is thesimultaneous projection of work of Gaeltacht based visualartists on gable walls in Kerry, Connemara, Donegal andDublin.” – The Irish Times

See last year’s projections in Dingle Ó BHALLA GO BALLA on Flickr.

Dublin
The location for the Dublin Crossbhóthar screening will be on the front of the National Gallery of
Ireland from 8pm – midnight.

Are you exploring the South Georgian Quarter as part of Dublin Culture Night this year? Well we have a treat in store for you! Brooks, a four star boutique hotel located in the fashionable heart of Dublin city centre on Drury Street, is offering you a chance to win dinner for two in the
modern and stylish Francesca’s restaurant this Friday night for Culture Night! A dedicated member of Good Food Ireland, Francesca’s uses the finest of Irish produce and fresh herbs from its urban garden. Creative cooking prepared by their  Award Winning Chefs with an overall emphasis on achieving standards of excellence is promised in a relaxed and convivial setting!

To win, simply answer this question, what Dublin Culture Night quarter is Brooks Hotel located in?

1. Temple Bar + North Liffey
2. Historic Quarter
3. South Georgian Quarter

*THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*