A work of art: Kilkenny Arts Festival unveils exciting programme for 50th year

An vibrant, exciting programme featuring renowned international, national and local performers has been announced for the Kilkenny Arts Festival, celebrating its 50th anniversary in August.

The programme ranges from classical music to contemporary dance; visual art to immersive theatre. It will see collaborations platforming new voices and familiar faces.

Highlights include an audio visual installation projected on the walls of Kilkenny Castle; the return of the Architects of Air; the premiere of The Local, a new site immersive theatre work from Asylum Productions; a musical programme ranging from Beethoven’s 5th Symphony to Grammy Award winning Malian Wassoulou musician Oumou Sangaré; a visual arts exhibition exploring The Art of Sport.

Philip Selway, the drummer of Radiohead

The Hubert Butler lecture this year will be delivered by acclaimed journalist Ben Judah; while there will be a special performance by Iarla Ó Lionáird and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Neil Martin’s Sweeney, with narration by Ciarán Hinds.

A discussion series will also commemorate Seamus Heaney’s appearance at the very first Kilkenny Arts Festival 50 years ago.

“We’re very excited to announce this year’s programme,” said Festival Producer Marjie Kaley.

“It’s a landmark year for the festival, and although it’s not been without its challenges, we believe that this year’s festival represents the very best of what has put Kilkenny Arts Festival on the map for half a century — world class talent from across a diverse spectrum of arts practices, transforming — and being transformed by - Kilkenny’s truly unique places and people.”

To kick off the 50th Festival a specially commissioned audio-visual installation called ‘In Good Hands’ will be projected on the walls of Kilkenny Castle. This film, inspired by Damien Harrington, is a breathtaking tribute to the beauty of handmade art and design.

Kilkenny Castle Parklands will also be hosting the return of Architects of Air and the highly anticipated Luminarium, Timisien, a giant inflatable structure filled with colour and light.

The KAF team has been working with members of the migrant communities based in Kilkenny and John Scott of Irish Modern Dance Theatre, to create Migration Sonata, a moving exploration of our similarities and differences through a rich blend of movement and song which will premiere in the Watergate Theatre.

KAF 2023 will see the return of festival stalwarts Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) for two concerts. The first features a special collaboration with Philip Selway, the drummer of Radiohead, while the second will feature Thomas Zehetmair performing pieces including Beethoven's iconic fifth symphony, alongside Cork composer Linda Buckley’s ‘Fall Approaches’.

Barry Douglas will also make his eagerly awaited return for a solo piano recital featuring a programme of Schubert and Liszt. This year the festival has partnered with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra for a song cycle based on Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Sweeney Astray’.

KAF 2023 Poet-in-Residence will be Kwame Dawes

Two Kilkenny based companies lead the theatre programme this year. After their award winning show ‘The Big Chapel’ in 2019, Asylum Productions are back with ‘The Local’ - an immersive theatre experience based in a pub in 1992s. Barnstorm Theatre have teamed up with KAF to bring a trilogy of exciting site-specific plays to various benches around Kilkenny, turning the audience into sleuths and spies.

Two of Ireland’s leading artists, fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain and dancer Colin Dunne will also take up a residency at this year’s Festival, while the KAF 2023 Poet-in-Residence will be the distinguished Kwame Dawes from Ghana (Progeny of Air).

Crash Ensemble make a welcome return to Kilkenny, and as part of a festival residency will present Andrew Hamilton's Friendly Piece twice in the Cathedral Garden, one performance being specially tailored for families in a relaxed environment. Crash Ensemble will also collaborate with Diamanda La Berge Dramm and Sam Amidon, delivering mesmerizing compositions as part of a double bill in the Watergate Theatre, while a Crash quintet will join Japanese virtuoso Ichiko Aoba to perform new arrangements of her delicate, haunting songs. 

The Marble City Sessions return with a an exciting line up, including a duo performance by Martin Hayes and Kate Ellis in the Watergate, a solo show from the exciting young Scottish piper Brighde Chaimbeul in Rothe House, to unique collaborations with Iarla O'Lionaird, Cormac McCarthy, and Matthew Berrill in the Set Theatre. 

The Rollercoaster Sessions are back with a diverse selection of local & International acts, including the indie-folk melodies of BBC Folk Award Winner Josienne Clarke and the avant-pop sounds of the Scottish band Broken Chanter, both for late night shows in Cleere’s Theatre. Katie Kim and Elaine Howley, two singular voices in the alternative Irish music scene, will deliver individual performances alongside a short film screening by Bob Gallagher.

Dónal Dineen will treat us to a late-night DJ set in the Set Theatre and the Rollercoaster Session DJs will take turns spinning vinyl records at the Smithwick's Barrel Yard. A premiere of Dave Holland’s Wicked Little Atoms in The Fragments of the Long Waves, a Kilkenny Arts Festival commission, will be performed over two nights in Cleere’s.

The Secret Garden Music series will be free events scattered across gardens in special spaces including Rothe House, Butler House and the Heritage Council, with the artists remaining a secret until the show begins.

Dumbworld wowed audiences at KAF 2021 with their installation in the Abbey Quarter skatepark and will return this year with two installations, including A New Topography of Love, an opera video game played on a bespoke arcade console, and Scorched Earth, a series of three apocalyptic street art operas.

The Butler Gallery in partnership with Kilkenny Arts Festival will present an exhibition featuring a stellar line-up of artists, exploring the relationship between art and sport.  The Art of Sport explores how artists have captured the spirit of sport in their work conveyed through disparate mediums such as video, photography, painting, print and sculpture.

It will include works by Josh Begley, Charles Brady, Paul Carroll, Vincent Cianni, Michael Craig-Martin, Dorothy Cross, Vanessa Daws, Rineke Dijkstra, Andy Fitz, Jona Frank, Marcus Harvey, Nicolai Howalt, Nevan Lahart, Louis le Brocquy, Jeannette Lowe, Colm MacAthlaoich, Colin Martin, Fearghus Ó Conchúir, Kenneth O’Halloran, Mandy O’Neill, Tony O’Shea, Julian Opie, Martin Parr, Paul Pfeiffer, Luis Alberto Rodriguez, Amelia Stein, Sarah Walker and Elinor Wiltshire. 

This year, the Festival Gallery plays host to the work of Cork-artist Deirdre Frost. Big Crush looks at the phenomenon of desire, considering how it shapes the world in which we live.

Ciara Sugrue, Head of Festivals and Events, Fáilte Ireland said: "Festivals and events are a key element of the tourism offering in Ireland, and Fáilte Ireland is pleased to support this year’s Kilkenny Arts Festival, which will showcase the very best of Irish arts, heritage and culture to domestic and international visitors.

"Developing unique and immersive visitor experiences like Kilkenny Arts Festival plays an important role in the recovery of the tourism sector for the county and the wider Ireland’s Ancient East region. Festivals like Kilkenny Arts Festival create new and compelling reasons for visitors to explore Ireland and experience first-hand our world-famous arts and culture. They have the ability to drive footfall for local businesses, which in turn generates revenue and supports jobs in communities and revenue generation."

These are just some of the many different performances and installations set to take place. For the full programme, see www.kilkennyarts.ie, where booking is now open online.

Or by phone and in person from July 19 at 056- 7752175 and the festival box office at 76 John Street, Kilkenny.