Creative Connexions: exploring the art of Ireland and Catalunya

A two-part festival showcasing the connections between Irish and Catalan culture, called Creative Connexions, will take place in March in Barcelona and May in Dun Laoighaire. The festival will feature film, music and literature from both countries, and with both Spanish and Irish performers.

Contemporary music features heavily on the programme, with two short films featuring music by Irish composers. Three short films inspired by the writings of James Joyce, together titled Rejoyce, have music commissioned by the Contemporary Music Centre by Benjamin Dwyer (Afterjoyce I), Vincent Kennedy (The Great Leveller) and Michael Holohan (His Final Journey). A second film by Ellen Cranitch, titled Dun Laoghaire: A Life in the Day, includes a soundtrack by Ronan Guilfoyle.

A concert of contemporary Spanish and Irish music performed by Izumi Kimura (piano), Kenneth Edge (saxophone) and Donnacha Dwyer (uileann pipes) will feature the work of Catalan composer Ramon Humet as well as the Spanish premiere of the multimedia work Strange Country by Benjamin Dwyer. Dwyer's work explores the ancient sheela-na-gig carvings found across Ireland and is written for uileann pipes, narration (by poet Kimberly Campanello) and tape.

The event will be held at Sitges in Barcelona on 15 – 17 March, and in Dun Laoighaire on 24 – 26 April.