Culture Night 2009 and Tweak in Limerick

LIMERICK was awash with colour and vitality as people of all ages re-discovered their city last Friday as part of ‘Culture Night 2009’. From 5pm last Friday evening a genuine air of excitement filtered through the city as arts and cultural venues opened their doors to the public for free as part of the national event and thousands of excited onlookers hit the streets. Families, in particular, were a highlight of the evening as parents shepherded their children through exhibits in King John’s Castle, Limerick City Museum, dance lessons in Daghdha and film in the Belltable. Limerick Printmakers and the Hunt Museum proved especially popular with the younger culture seekers. In Limerick Printmakers, based on Robert Street, children were invited to come along and print their own t-shirts, which they did ecstatically. Alan Crowley was one of those helping the children print their shirts in the studio and by about 6.30pm, reckoned he had done “more than 20 t-shirts in the past hour”. “I’ve done so many in the last hour I’ve lost count,” laughed Alan. “I think the kids are really into the DIY-aspect of this activity and it is bringing life into a place that is usually only inhabited by artists and students.” Eight year old Asha Golden from Corbally, told the Limerick Leader that she “loves art”. “We had a great time, I'm really looking forward to collecting my t-shirt,” said Asha. “I'm going to hang the poster I made up on my wall,” she added. Limerick author and playwright Mary Coll was in Limerick Printmakers with her daughters, Ellen and Katherine. “It is great that so many people came out so early in the evening and brought their kids along with them,” said Mary. “The good thing is it is not just all the usual faces that you see at arts events, I think it is important that it seems to be the general public that came out.” In the Hunt Museum, amidst the impressive Sean Keating exhibition and the permanent collection, a large group of kids chattered excitedly as they painted in the lobby of the building. Naomi O’Nolan, administrator with the Hunt Museum, said that the initiative was a “terrific” one. “It is terrific to see so many people here, the kids are having great fun, they are doing their cave art, we have a costume workshop and art quiz, so there are loads of fun things for them,” said Naomi. A huge amount of events took place around the city and all were very well attended, according to Limerick City Arts Officer Sheila Deegan. “It went very well indeed and a lot more people came out this year than last,” said Sheila this Monday morning. “The night definitely captured the imagination and the venues that opened their doors really appreciate the turnout - we are delighted,” she added.

ALSO taking place on Friday evening was the final night of the rather excellent Tweak exhibition in Church Gallery, Clare Street.

A hugely impressive series of electronic art installations, the exhibition saw a great many visitors, housed as it was in the impressive Church Gallery in LSAD.

Tweak also played host to the Digital Slaves and one half of UK dj-duo The Herbaliser on Friday nght; both of whom combined to dramatic effect in the courtyard of Trinity Rooms - the Digital Slaves performing their innovative brand of live performance art through a visual show on the walls of the courtyard, and DJ Ollie Teeba whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his entertaining blend of hip-hop and house tunes.

Tweak Festival, Digital Slaves, Culture Night 2009

Digital Slaves [RT Virtual Calligraphy] from Digital Slaves on Vimeo.

This is going to be a monster post, because there is literally tons of fun stuff happening on Friday night in the city - who ever said there was nothing to do? WAKE UP!
As it is Culture Night 2009 - when arts and cultural venues throw open their doors for free to punters - we are celebrating all things 'culture', but the one thing we are EXTREMELY excited about is the arrival of the 'Digital Slaves' for their very first appearance in Ireland. These innovative multimedia DJs/VJs/artists will be performing their brand of amazing visuals and accompanying tunes - with full projections (like the one above) on the front walls of the Hunt Museum.
This performance is part of the excellent Tweak festival, an interactive art and live electronic music shindig that has been going on all week, courtesy of Nora O'Murchu, a UL Phd student, see piece that follows:

ONE of the most intriguing and innovative festivals ever to grace Limerick returns this week with a wild variety of events.
The second ‘Tweak’ festival - an interactive art and live electronic music festival -began this Monday night with the opening of a quirky exhibition in Church Gallery, Clare Street.
The international electronic arts exhibition will run for five days and feature some renowned Irish and international artists, while a number of workshops and live music events will take place throughout the week.
The festival is the brainchild of Nora O’Murchu, who did an MA in Interactive Media in UL and is currently studying for her PHd. ‘Interactive’ is a watchword for the festival, it seems.

“All the pieces are based on having some kind of engagement with the audience, every piece you can touch and interact with, it is not like going to some gallery - we very much want people to touch and get involved with the artworks,” explained Nora.
“I wanted to curate an interactive, digital arts festival, because there is a lot of talent in Ireland and I felt it was something we needed. I didn't really know what to expect last year but the reaction, not even just locally, but internationally, has been amazing.”
As a result Nora has put together an exhibition and festival that boast artists from “New York to Thailand”, with the result being a festival she hopes will “amuse or amaze” those who go along to the various events.
The exhibition itself is a unique one, featuring pieces such as ‘Carry On’ by American-based artist Fernando Orellana - essentially a pair of suitcases with LCD screens and cameras that capture the onlooker - and ‘Species Dialogue’ by UK artist Julie Freeman, which features two pieces that communicate with each other. The exhibition must be seen to be believed.
A number of workshops will take place throughout the week in order to show people the application of programming languages and electronics, according to Nora.
Also taking place is a number of live performances and talks, beginning with a talk by influential interactive design outfit ‘This Happened’, a first to take place in Ireland. The infamous ‘Noise Night’ will also return on Wednesday night in St. Munchin’s Church and feature a number of Irish electronic artists. Irish sound art composers and practitioners will also perform in the Church on Thursday night as part of ‘Soundings’, while Culture Night on Friday night will see UK artists Digital Slaves perform a special visual performance show on the front of the Hunt Museum at 8pm.
‘Tweak Cinema’ will take place on Saturday at 3pm on Bedford Row, before the festival comes to an end with an after party in Bentley Barkers on Saturday night.
For full details see here.

As part of Tweak, Ollie Teeba (above), better known as The Herbaliser, will be performing in the Trinity Rooms courtyard on Friday night. Teeba, one of the foremost UK
producers and dj's with releases on Ninja Tune, K7 and more, is actually one half of Herbaliser, a tight-funk duo who like to lavish their tunes with dollops of jazz and electronica. They are responsible for seminal release "Same as it Never Was" - and this performance will also feature live visuals from Digital Slaves, as well as support from Code and Razor. Admission is FREE before 10pm and just a mere 5 bobs afterward, with admission to the club thrown in!


Taking place throughout the evening, from 5pm, is Culture Night 2009, in venues all over town. Full piece below, click on the links for full details of events, times and places, etc.

FOR all those living in Limerick City completely unaware of the depth of culture around them, this Friday is the chance to “see all sorts” as the city throws open the doors of its cultural venues to the public for free.
Culture Night 2009 aims to celebrate the rich arts and cultural life in the city with a vast programme of events that will leave you “spoiled for choice”, in the words of Limerick City Arts Officer Sheila Deegan.
“This year you have five hours to go around the city; you can participate in ‘Dance Chaos’ in Daghdha, print your own T-Shirt in Limerick Printmakers, see Limerick Youth Theatre in Limerick City Gallery of Art, get free tours of the Sean Keating art exhibition in the Hunt Museum - so you are spoiled for choice,” explained Sheila.
This is the second year Culture Night will take place in Limerick, with over 5,000 people turning out last year to visit the various venues located around the city.
Sheila further explained that the night offered an opportunity to “become an ambassador” for the city.
“The idea is that by participating in this you are able to become an ambassador for your own city because you are able to tell people what to go and see,” explained Ms Deegan.
“The idea is that culture, obviously, is made up of all sorts of things - it is from the past, the present and you could possible say it is from the future, for example we have the Tweak festival, which is a digital arts media festival at the Arts College.
“We are encouraging people to come out and experience the past through the museums that are here, as well as the present through the people living and working as artists in Limerick and also the venues that provide culture to us on a daily basis,” she said.
For full information on Culture Night 2009 see here.

News, news and more news

I'm still catching my tail a bit having been off on holidays, gallavanting at the various festivals around the country. Here is some garbled news that has arrived on my desk over the last few days/weeks:

• Vampire Weekend are to release a follow up to the superb debut xxx on January 8th in Ireland. It's called Contra and will be out on XL Recordings. Track-list:

1. Horchata
2. White Sky
3. Holiday
4. California English
5. Taxi Cab
6. Run
7. Cousins
8. Giving Up The Gun
9. Diplomat’s Son
10. I Think Ur A Contra

See here for more details.

• The mighty Modest Mouse are to play in Dolan's Warehouse on December 5, very very exciting news, as reported by State. More details when I sniff them out.

• The Coors Light Peak event takes place this Saturday from 7pm on Limerick Docks, featuring Reverend and the Makers, RSAG, Dark Room Notes and local lads Walter Mitty and the Realists and Brigadier JC. Woop! FREE tickets available here... Previous story with more details here.

• On the Beat favourites The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra have released a delightful new single 'Soon', the second release from their forthcoming album Lowering the Tone, available 'soon' we are told! Available for download here.

• The second Tweak festival starts on Monday and we are very excited about it. Full piece below.

ONE of the most interesting and innovative festivals to take place in Limerick in recent years was “Tweak”, an interactive art and live electronic music festival that was run to huge success last year.
The festival is returning again this year and will run for six days beginning next Monday, with the aim of promoting “understanding of the use of technology within our cultural, social and digital world with a contemporary approach to interactive art and live electronic music performance”.
Nora O’Murchu is director of Tweak and explained that the festival’s “primary focus is on interactive art and audience engagement”.
“Installations and performances are chosen both upon their ability to connect with their environment and viewer inclusion in this exchange,” explained Nora, “and while the template is largely the same as last year, there has been a shift towards evening events and exhibitions this year.”
The festival will host an international array of speakers, performers, designers, exhibitions, films, visual artists, and djs from an eclectic range of backgrounds.
There is also an educational element to Tweak and as such three full-day workshops with leading practitioners in the field of programming, electronics and interactive design will take place over the course of the week.
There will also be a five day international electronic arts exhibition, along with a collection of sound-works from contemporary Irish composers and access will be completely free of charge. Several of the events will take place in the atmospheric surroundings of St. Munchin’s Church, in keeping with the theme of utilising spaces in new and inventive ways.
For full information see www.tweak.ie. Tweak begins on Monday, September 21 with a launch and exhibition in the Church Gallery on Clare Street at 7pm.