Our in person, digitally native, online and virtual programme continued to highlight our ambition at Carlow Arts Festival to carve out new territory in 2021. In addition to commissioning numerous projects this year, we found ourselves being producers and co-creators. Bringing artists together from different backgrounds, planning, readjusting, reimagining together – this became the main order of business in the past year.

Woman in the Machine which we co-created with VISUAL allowed us access to the incredible landmark Braun building. This project had been gestating for quite some time and the opportunity of being part of Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh made it possible for Festival Director Jo Mangan, and VISUAL’s Emma Lucy O’Brien, to dream big.The project involved 50+ artists and the people of Carlow, who have such a deep relationship with the site.

We have been building significant expertise in the digital realm over the last number of years with our Virtual Reality film programming alongside digitally native work. As well as creating an entirely immersive 360 Virtual Festival Campus to house events this year, we platformed the best boundary-leaping work in the digital realm from overseas as well as Ireland.

It was a joy to have 3 distinct Curators work with us this year, Cecelia Kuska who created our Latin American Dance Film programme, Maeve McGrath who narrowed down a field of immense talent to bring our Irish Shorts Season to light as well as our Architecture on Film programme, and Camille Donegan who again brought her deep knowledge to the VR strand of films.

Through careful planning we delivered and commissioned work that a limited audience experienced live, including the stunning Irish National Opera/Michael Trainor sound and light installation Invisible Opera, Fidget Feet’s epic Handful of Dreams, AlanJames Burns’ brain-wave melting installation Open Mind, Closed System, and Cian Kinsella’s site-specific (on his own farm) Grow.

Our Visual Arts offering went outdoors with the incredible Maser creating his magic in a once neglected corner of Carlow, whilst Spraoi created installations through the town centre. The Artworks Exhibition was also bigger than ever this year and across the Digital realm as well as at VISUAL and the former Braun factory.

Please check out the 2021 Carlow Arts Festival programme below.