The exciting launch of Culture Night took place yesterday in the grounds of the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History in Collins Barracks, Dublin. For the first time Culture Night has spread to Sligo and this year, with the help of the Sligo Arts Office cultural organisations in town shall be opening their doors well into the wee hours of the night.
The Model has a number of exciting and surprising events lined up for Culture Night so far. A Collage Party as part of Reverse Pedagogy, a pop up gig and a film screening are some of The Model events happening to coincide with Culture Night Sligo.
The first Culture Night happened in Ireland four years ago in Dublin. Temple Bar Culture Trust set up the initiative which saw the major cultural organisations around Temple Bar opening their doors to the public late into the evening.
The idea of a whole late night of culture found its origins in major cities like Berlin’s Long Night of Museums, Paris and Toronto’s Nuit Blanche, and the Russian White Nights festival.
In Berlin, the city celebrated the first Long Night of Museums in 1997 with just 12 venues taking part. These days there are more than 125 institutions and exhibitions participating with the main focus of drawing new audiences to the spaces.
The first Nuit Blanche in Toronto gathered an estimated 425,000 people for the inaugural. Deputy Mayor of Paris Christophe Girard first established the idea in Paris in 2002 and brought the idea to the Canadian city in 2006.
In Paris the first Nuit Blanche took place in 2002, with over half a million people flooding the city. Crowds gathered throughout the night and only dissipated as sunrise approached.
The White Night festival in St. Petersburg, Russia began as a celebration of the twilight evenings of the season of the midnight sun. Every year during the summer months, visitors and locals are provided with an immense amount of cultural activities such as ballet, music and opera into the bright hours of the morning.
The White Nights, Nuit Blanche and Cultural Night craze has spread rapidly in the past ten years and The Model is delighted to now be part of the first Culture Night Sligo this September Friday 25th. Mark that date in your diary for a late night of culture, surprises and fun.
The Culture Night Sligo programme brochure is available for download from the Sligo Arts Office website here.
The Model acknowledges the support of the Arts Council, Sligo County Council, Sligo Borough Council, Sligo Arts Service/Culture Night, Sligo Leader, the Canadian Embassy in Dublin, and Resource House Project, Cranmore.