Culture Night – National Coordinator

Culture Night, September 23 2022

Openness | Discovery | Celebration | Belonging 

Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir is a national moment, celebrating all that makes up the richness and diversity of Culture in Ireland today, connecting people to cultural activities locally and nationally and aims to open up pathways to ongoing engagement.

An annual, all-island public event which takes place each year on the second last Friday of September, Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir celebrates culture, creativity and the arts and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day.

Special and unique events and workshops are specifically programmed at participating locations and, thanks to the continued support of the Arts Council and local Authorities across the island of Ireland, all activities are made available to the public free of charge.

Milestone is the National Coordinator (for The Arts Council) for this annual initiative delivered through the 31 local authority Arts Office which takes place on the second last Friday in September each year.

In 2021 Coordinators nationwide were faced with the challenge of creating a programme that was flexible and adaptable – planing for live events but with the possibility on having to pivot back to online given the uncertainty around pandemic restrictions as Ireland began to reopen again.

In 2020 the majority of the Culture Night Programme was online but in 2021 and with the focus very much on ‘bringing people back together again’ the programme was primarily comprised on in person events.

As well as devising a series on information webinars covering topics like Programme Development
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Marketing and Communications and Research and Evaluation Milestone held a series of weekly clinics focusing on programming and production issues as they arose.

Focus was pivoted towards Night-time economy events and as well as venues and cultural institutions nationwide opening their doors later than was usual 3 site specific events were held in Galway, Dublin and Limerick which had club culture and it’s music at their core.