HOSTING internationally acclaimed musicians who perform at sell-out concerts that run side-by-side with hugely entertaining community events accounts, at least in part, for the success of this year’s Skibbereen Arts Festival.
The turnout for Skibbereen’s own Olympic-style opening at a street party on Friday night, complete with its own parade of flags and torch relay, set the tone for the 11-day festival.
Rich local talent has been on show throughout. For example, film director, and festival founding member, Pat Collins, screened his award-winning film That They May Face the Rising Sun at Skibbereen’s town hall; and Skibbereen filmmaker, Adrian McCarthy, screened their 2016 documentary Pull Like a Dog, as well, which follows Skibbereen Olympic medallists, Gary and Paul O’Donovan, upon their return from the Rio Olympics.
The town hall serves as ticket office throughout the July 26th to August 5th programme and has proven an ideal event venue, according to festival chairman Brendan McCarthy.
So too is nearby Liss Ard estate which, this weekend, presents Jony Easterby’s incredible show The Garden of Shadows, a spectacle that attracted 6,000 visitors at its last showing in Dublin.
‘The sell-out success of events – such as the concert by sixteen-time Grammy winner Jerry Douglas, with the upcoming star Muireann Bradley, as well as the legendary John Metcalfe’s rare live performance of his latest album Tree, out on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records – is a clear indication that the festival has become well and truly established,’ said the chairman.
The festival brings a huge cultural and economic boost to the town due to the fact that the programme is so broad and engaging and that the community has embraced it so completely.
‘Generous funding from the Arts Council and Cork County Council have helped to make it so,’ said Brendan, who also praised the local sponsors and Friends of the Festival, as well as the enthusiastic audiences who snap up tickets as soon as they go on sale, and, of course, the volunteers.
‘It costs around €100,000 to stage the festival but it’s very well run thanks to our 30-plus volunteers – without whom it would not be possible,’ he said.
An excellent programme of events for children, plus lots of free community events, and the early morning showing of all of the Skibbereen Rowing Club’s Olympic races at the town hall have added to the positive response to the festival.
Creating the community and performance space at The Rock is already showing a return on investment with several outdoor concerts taking place at its stunning new amphitheatre.
Another venue of which Skibbereen is justifiably proud, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre, is the site of a major retrospective exhibition featuring the work of artist and writer Brian Lalor, which runs until October 12th. Curated by art historian Vera Ryan, and including work from the seventies to the present, this exhibition provides an opportunity to explore the breadth of Brian Lalor’s practice over almost six decades and serves as a tribute to his lifelong dedication and contribution to Ireland’s cultural heritage.
Uillinn was also the venue last Saturday for the opening of the in:form exhibition. This was followed shortly afterward with the opening of seanua, a collection of works that welcomes back old friends and introduces new artists that have recently arrived in West Cork.
There’s still plenty to see and do, so call into the town hall and get yourself a Skibbereen Arts Festival programme and booklet.
