Kilkenny Arts Festival
Kilkenny Arts Festival | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Arts festival |
Date(s) | August |
Frequency | Annual |
Location(s) | Kilkenny |
Country | Ireland |
Years active | 1974–present |
Most recent | 2019 |
Website | kilkennyarts |
The Kilkenny Arts Festival, formally known as Kilkenny Arts Week, is an arts festival which was founded in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1974. The festival covers a number of art forms, including classical music and performance. The playwright and poet Seamus Heaney gave a reading of some of his works during the inaugural event.[1]
As of 2016, the event included theatre, dance, visual arts, as well as other forms of music and literature. The festival commissions works for the event locally and from abroad.[2]
Format[]
The ten-day festival takes place each August in Kilkenny and is intended to be a showcase for Irish and international arts.[citation needed]
Around 50,000 people have attended previous festivals, with performances taking place on the streets as well as in indoor venues. Former venues across the city have ranged from rooms in pubs, to St Canice's Cathedral and Kilkenny Castle.[3]
The festival's annual schedule includes a parade through the centre of the city.[citation needed]
Performers[]
Performances have included US poet laureate Robert Pinsky, pianist Sir András Schiff, Malian virtuoso Toumani Diabaté, musician Alexander Lingas, historian Roy Foster, Irish portraitist Mick O'Dea, Iranian harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, and Chinese-born pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei. Other performers have included Brooklyn Rider, Jordi Savall, Garrison Keillor, Susan Philipsz, Colm Tóibín, and Dawn Upshaw.[4][5][6] Giant inflatable sculptures by Architects of Air have previously been a fixture.[citation needed] Other notable performers have included Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Company, Liz Roche's Company, Martin Hayes, and Junk Ensemble.[7][8][9][4][10]
Gallery[]
Gottfried Helnwein exhibit, 2001
Macnas Street Parade, 2013
Macnas Street Parade, 2013
Caravan Club Sounds, 2015
References[]
- ^ "Kilkenny Arts Festival". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Visit Kilkenny". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Visitors numbers". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Kilkenny Arts Festival goes back to Bach and the shock of the old". The Irish Times. 15 July 2015.
- ^ "Kilkenny Arts Festival announces 2015 programme". RTÉ.
- ^ "Pinsky leads readings of favourite poems in Kilkenny". irishtimes.com.
- ^ "Kilkenny Arts Festival kicks off its jam packed programme". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Kilkenny Arts Festival". Journal of Music. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Highlights of 2014 Kilkenny Arts Festival announced". irishcentral.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "9 things we learned at Kilkenny Arts Festival". Irish Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
External links[]
- Annual events in Ireland
- Arts festivals in the Republic of Ireland
- August events
- Parades in Ireland
- Festivals established in 1974
- Summer events in the Republic of Ireland
- Kilkenny (city)