Galway artists to fore in First Fortnight Festival

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Workshops in dance and sculpture as well as an in-person children’s reading with author Patricia Forde are taking place in Galway as part of the 11th annual First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival which runs until Sunday, January 16, online and in locations across the country.

This hybrid festival is about creating a space in which to challenge mental health stigma through the arts and conversation, according to First Fortnight CEO, Maria Fleming.

“The last two years have opened the conversation around mental health in new ways and there’s a welcome awareness of our fragility and resilience when it comes to our mental health,” she says.

“However, the crucial question for First Fortnight is how the conversation has changed, if at all. There is more to do and we’re ready to take on the challenge.”

About 40% of the festival’s 50+ events are online and accessible to audiences countrywide  That’s in addition to in-person activities.

Next Monday, January 10, award-winning children’s author Patricia Forde – formerly of Baboró and Galway Arts Festival –  will read her picture book, Imagine! at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop on Middle Street.  It’s a story of how a little girl tells her grandmother about her fears and her granny teaches how to make scary things funny by using imagination.  It’s a free event.

Next Thursday, January 13, at midday, Booker-longlisted author Sam Thompson will read from his book, Wolfstongue. This online event, entitled Neurodiversity in Children’s Books, will also include a Q&A session.

Galway based sculptor, Glenn Gibson who has taken part in previous First Fortnight festival will return this year to host community workshops

This series of wire sculpture workshops, One Tree, is aimed at bringing people together and will take place at Art In Mind Gallery in Galway’s Liosbán Business Park next Thursday and Friday, January 13 and 14, from 9am-4pm daily.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.