Culture Night beckons - Take part in the arts’ party

It is an extraordinary, curious and life-affirming juxtaposition that in a world where Isis have made public crucifixion an almost everyday expression of humanity’s capacity for barbarism; in a world where Scotland may cede from the United Kingdom; in a world where an 82,300 capacity Croke Park might be filled twice over for a football final that does not involve Dublin, that we can still find the time and enthusiasm to organise 900 arts events to mark Culture Night.

This annual all-island public event that celebrates culture, creativity and the arts, takes place tonight and all events are free. In less than a decade — the first Culture Night was held in 2006 — the jamboree has gathered an impressive momentum and encouraged levels of participation in the arts that must benefit everyone who chooses to be involved.

For a considerable proportion of the year the arts, at some levels at least, can seem remote from everyday life and it is not always easy to shrug off the accusation that elitism plays a role.