County is gearing up for culture night 2014

Westmeath’s cultural communities and spaces are gearing up to open their doors, illustrate their artistic practices and welcome new audiences on Culture Night 2014.

The end of September (19th, this year) is an important landmark in the cultural calendar. Unless you have been hiding under a rock the last few years, you will know that all the cultural spaces and places around the county fling open their doors and invite the public to come in (for free) and experience the talent that resides on their doorstep.

Last year Westmeath had 55 events around the county. These ranged from yarn bombing Joe Dolan in the Mullingar Market Square to scheduled tours of Athlone’s new Luan Gallery. Westmeath arts officer Miriam Mulrennan says of Culture Night:

“It’s a day and night with so many perspectives, there is the lens of the new audience, people who have not perhaps been in the venues on their doorstep – and this is an invitation to remedy that.

“It is also about a ground-up day and night of cultural experiences. By this I mean that many of the events are organised directly by the arts community themselves, musicians, writers, dancers, visual artists – organise events, workshops, exhibitions, and in doing so showcase their work in a way that is not always visible.”

Westmeath Culture Night will feature Irish Midlands Youth Orchestra in the Atrium space at the County Buildings, and the event is free on a walk-in basis. Other venues and cultural spaces will be advertising their events via their websites and social media.

If you have an event in mind or would like to make it into the Culture Night 2014 brochure, there is still time to contact the arts office in Westmeath on arts@westmeathcoco.ie.