Campaign promotes city’s cultural side

A CAMPAIGN was launched yesterday to promote Limerick as a cultural break destination.

A spokeswoman for the Limerick Co-ordination Office said: “We have a wealth of cultural activities going on in Limerick this summer that need a promotion nationally and that is why this office decided to organise a joint campaign.”

She said the inspiration for the campaign came from an article in the Irish Examiner which dubbed Limerick city “The Real Capital of Culture” at a time when Cork City held the title of European Capital of Culture.

The spokeswoman said: “This accolade for Limerick did not go down too well in Cork, which at the time was pumping millions of euro into promoting the city as the European Capital of Culture. But the fantastic variety of cultural events going on in Limerick city this summer inspired us to organise this national campaign to bring the events to a wider audience.”

The promotional campaign is being jointly funded by Shannon Development, Limerick City Council, the Hunt Museum, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Limerick City Gallery of Art and the Limerick Co-ordination Office.

The promotion lists the variety of cultural events going on this summer, starting with the 1950s Chic and 1960s Cheek Fashion and Photography Exhibition running in the Hunt Museumuntil August 26.

The office spokeswoman said: “This unique exhibition explores how women are portrayed through fashion and photography of the 1950s and 1960s. Clothes by leading designers of the time including Christian Dior and Mary Quant are on display, as well as works by famous photographers like Norman Parkinson and William Klein. The Cultural Limerick promotional advertisement also features the MBNA Shannon International Music Festival with the Irish Chamber Orchestra which runs from July 11 to 15.”

This features Sinead O’Connor, Honor Heffernan and the National Chamber Choir.

The Limerick City Gallery of Art’s three diverse summer contemporary art exhibitions also feature in the national radio advertising campaign.

This includes: Family Man, Joe Duggan’s photographic contemplation of modern family life; Blind Spot, new paintings by artist Diana Copperwhite and Colour of Surprise, new works by Jeannette Hillig, Michele Horrigan and Melanie O’Rourke.

These exhibitions run from July 6 to August 28.