Northern Ireland

Culture Night Belfast will be `an on-site installation that people can drop into and enjoy'

Susan Picken, Director of Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast, said the challenges of the past year had given everyone a chance to reflect on the shape of the event
Susan Picken, Director of Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast, said the challenges of the past year had given everyone a chance to reflect on the shape of the event Susan Picken, Director of Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast, said the challenges of the past year had given everyone a chance to reflect on the shape of the event
By Marie Louise McConville

Culture Night Belfast is to return to the city in September but will this year take the form of "an on-site installation that people can drop into and enjoy over the course of the weekend".

The team behind the new approach believe it offers a "Covid-safe, post-pandemic environment".

Running from September 17 -19, Culture Night Presents The City Garden will transform Cathedral Gardens, Writers’ Square and the area around into a colourful, nature-inspired place for play, enjoyment and relaxation, all evoking the feeling of a garden in the heart of the city.

Susan Picken, Director of Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast said that the challenges of the past year had given everyone a chance to reflect on the shape of the event.

"The arts and the wider community have had a particularly difficult time over the past 18 months," she said.

"We have made a continued effort to support the arts through our website, social media and mailshots and now we are back we want to make sure we continue to actively support our cultural sector, now and in the future.

"We have taken a very different approach to what we are doing in September and are really looking forward to Culture Night Presents The City Garden".

The Culture Night Belfast director said prior to the pandemic, the event had been one of the city's largest free events and a cultural celebration, which that attracted almost 90,000 local, national and international visitors.

However, Culture Night 2021 "will be much smaller in scale and scope and will take the form of an on-site installation that people can drop into and enjoy over the course of the weekend - this different format will allow us to focus on safety as well as making sure everyone has a great time".

In addition, a key difference this year is the decision to suspend the previous open submission programme and instead focus on one creating one central experience working directly with artists.

"Culture Night Presents The City Garden is something new for us and for the city and we can’t to wait to see what everyone thinks," she said.