Inspired by Belfast’s summer festival, the CCI presents for the very first time its own TradFest, in July in advance of the inaugural EU concerts curated by CCI for Brussels and Luxembourg. Five days of world-class music and shared learning take centre stage in the heart of Paris with concerts, seisiúin, classes and masterclasses to engage the capital’s international audiences. Irish pop-rock will be well represented with an Autumn concert at CCI by songwriter Paul Noonan and pianist Brian Crosby who have just launched their duo Pilgrims, while folk and electro combine at the CCI in December to create an ‘immersive post-digital space’ - the French premiere of a trans-European tour de force by Irish, Luxembourgish and French composers.
The visual arts programme opens with a forthright exhibition in September responding to Ireland’s housing crisis, bringing together a significant group of artists working across disciplines. Included is an installation of cheese made using mould cultures that come from the walls of a damp, mould-infested apartment once lived in by the artist. Celebrating the tricentenary of Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers Travels is also a starting point in this ambitious programme for an exploration of the modern relevance and lasting influence of this major work of Irish literature across Europe, in the shape of discussions, an exhibition in CCI’s Old Library presented in partnership with Marsh’s Library in Dublin, and an online version in both English and French.
In November, coinciding with Paris Photo, the CCI will present works from the David Kronn Collection in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art, offering Paris audiences rare access to a landmark collection of Irish and international contemporary art. And, in theatre, a major collaboration with Théâtre de la Ville, Paris over the whole month presents contemporary Irish works by Oona Doherty, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Michael Gallen, Jennifer Walshe… as well as performances by Stephen Rea in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, reinforcing the commitment of our two institutions to bold, outward-facing artistic practice.
As a whole, the Centre Culturel Irlandais’ programme reflects the importance of culture as something not fixed within national frameworks, but continually reshaped through encounter, movement, and the ongoing exchange of ideas across Europe.