THE SIXTH annual Kinsale Arts Festival assumes an equestrian theme this year with a mascot in the form of a racehorse named Kinsale Arts Week.
“Expect the extraordinary” is the slogan for the 2011 event, taking place from July 9th to 17th.
Organisers have focused activities on two primary themes, the horse and the sea – to be celebrated in a range of forms including music, theatre, visual arts, architecture and comedy.
Launched last night, festival highlights include an exhibition examining depictions of the horse through art, entitled The Horse Show, and a companion exhibition, Point to Point, in which artists respond to a request to play with equine ideas.
Drama from award-winning UK company FZ, entitled Horse, forms part of the line-up and was premiered at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe festival.
The story of a sea captain who murdered seven crewmen before sailing into Cork harbour will be revealed in book readings from the authors of The Ship of Seven Murders, from authors Alannah Hopkin and Kathy Bunney.
There’s a photographic exhibition of former estate houses, Abandoned Mansions, a poetry reading by presidential election hopeful Michael D Higgins, live music from the Undertones and Nouvelle Vague at Charles Fort and a food trail featuring local restaurants.
The Rubberbandits, the Limerick comic duo responsible for the YouTube hit Horse Outside, will perform the festival’s closing show on Sunday, July 17th.
kinsaleartsweek.com