Cork Culture Night paints picture of vibrant art life

Legendary GAA commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh has been appointed cultural ambassador for Cork Culture Night, which unveiled its largest-ever programme yesterday.

The event will take place on September 18 featuring the best of local music, literature, food, theatre, film, and visual arts.

Featuring more than 100 venues and 200 free events, it is far bigger than previous years.

The programme includes Gael-Taca hosting an evening as Gaeilge with puppet shows, workshops, songs, and a discussion on the experiences and memories from past pupils of preparatory colleges. Mr Ó’Muircheartaigh will share his memories from his time in Coláiste Iosagáin.

Cork Culture Night Coordinator Brian Mac Domhnaill has his portrait painted by Gasp Artist Yvonne Condon @glucksman pic.twitter.com/TOi5D98E4X

— Cork City Arts (@corkcityarts) September 1, 2015

Cork Ignite will showcase a dazzling mix of technologies as the front of Cork’s College of Commerce is brought to life through wild projections accompanying music score. Working with the National Sculpture Factory and Create, renowned international artist Simon McKeown has collaborated with local artists and disability agencies to create a spectacular live art event.

Cork’s newest music festival, Sounds of a Safe Harbour, will present a number of free music concerts, including A Journey from Mountain to Sea with Cork Concert Orchestra; the European premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Music for Wood and Strings in Fitzgerald Park, and the much-anticipated Cork Culture Night secret gig.

Here's a recap of Culture Night 2014, this year there are even more venues and events! #CultureNightCork2015 https://t.co/COuEOnhtMc

— Cork City Arts (@corkcityarts) August 21, 2015

The Cork Uileann Pipers Club and the Dust Busters Light Orchestra will perform in Cork Bus Station, while free Bus Éireann buses with live musical performances will take people all over Cork City as part of the culture night.

Dance performances will take place in Firkin Crane, while UCC’s school of English will celebrate writers and key literary works from the Renaissance to 20th-century Ireland. Enjoy poetry slams, storytelling, rapping, book readings, and a choral performance from the Cork University Hospital choir, Scrubs.

Access English Academy Cork will serve tapas with an Irish twist. L’Attitude 51 will retrace the footprints of Cork’s Wine Geese families — the street names, buildings, and people originally from Cork connected to some of the famous wine families of the world. The English Market will open late and serve a variety of delicious Cork dishes.

Fun times at the #Culturebus #CultureNightCork2015 photoshoot pic.twitter.com/ssMO8sSyid

— Cork City Arts (@corkcityarts) September 1, 2015

People can take a step back in time as Triskel Christchurch screens Viva VHS — a collection of classic and cheesy trailers sourced from hundreds of 1980s videocassettes.

Meanwhile, 60 years of the Cork Film Festival will be toasted in a photographic exhibition in the atrium of Cork City Council, while Olivia Frawley will give a talk in the Unitarian Church on the George Boole 200 Family History Project.

Follow Cork Culture Night on @corkcityarts on Twitter and on www.culturenightcork.ie