A feast of art and culture for everyone at Culture Night 2025
People of all ages are encouraged to immerse themselves in the wide range of events taking place across Westmeath as part of Culture Night this Friday, September 19.
From drop in sculpture workshops to learning how to make your own paper character, and with musical performances by ukulele groups and an art demonstration set against the backdrop of an indie music set, Culture Night in Westmeath promises an array of events to suit everyone.
Westmeath will stage over 30 free cultural events across the county as part of Culture Night 2025, with one of the most eagerly awaited of these being the launch of a powerful photography exhibition by Athlone Photography Club members called 'The People of Athlone'. The exhibition, which celebrates the richness, diversity and character of the town's people, will be launched at 7pm on Friday evening in the Abbey Road Artists' Studio with a free wine reception. No booking is required, and the exhibition is suitable for all age groups.
Also taking place locally is a drop in Sculpture Workshop at the Luan Gallery from 5pm until 8pm, which is inspired by the Gallery's current exhibition 'System Arming.' Participants will be invited to create symbolic artefacts from staffs and swords which will tell a story of survival, resistance or adaptation in an AI and tech driven world. The workshop is suitable for all ages and no experience is needed.
Other highlights locally include a collaboration of art and music in Dead Centre Brewery at 7pm with artist Claire Guinan running an art demonstration alongside an indie music set performed by Prssurised Container, and a very novel artistic colloboration project at The White Gates, between 4pm and 6pm, where artist Rosemary Langtry will create two art pieces using nature material collected by people who use the Old Rail Trail Greenway between Garry Castle and Abbey Road.
The Shambles Art Studios Art Exhibition is a perennially popular Culture Night exhibition. Hosted in an open studio at Arus Brid, Excise St, Athlone, where they will exhibit new and experimental work not previously shown at the Shambles Art Studios, this event will run from 6pm to 9pm.
The Athlone Bookshop on Lloyd's Lane will be the location for a night of poetry and storytelling this Friday between 6pm and 8pm titled 'Come Over to the Far Side' while Athlone Castle Visitor Centre will host guided tours of the Castle's historical garden also between 6pm and 8pm.
In Moate, the Intercultural Ubuntu Choir will give a free performance in Tuar Ard Arts Centre fromn 8pm to 8.30pm while Dún na Sí will host a night of celebration to mark Culture Night.
Also taking place in Moate is a paper character workshop which invites the public to craft their own paper characters as charming props for storytelling. Each piece will be designed, coloured and decorated using markers, pencils, fabrics and other mixed media in a workshop setting hosted by visual artists Teresa Doyle and Claire Guinan in Moate Library between 4pm and 5pm.
Roscommon also has a packed schedule of free events to mark Culture Night this Friday, including a celebration of local creativity and talent hosted by Moore Community Council in the local hall. Among the events on offer are an exhibition of local arts and crafts; poetry readings by Amy Abdullah Barry; peformances by children from Clonown NS; live entertainment, including music, singing, dancing and recitations. Their will also be a special art exhibition called 'Our Crucial Callows' by Dee McKiernan, which will run in Moore Community Hall from 6pm to 9pm.