Broadcast on 9th May 2016
On tonight’s episode of Inside Culture we discuss the 2020 European Capital of Culture bid, hunt ghost signs, take a trip to the existentialist café, use puzzles to escape a room, and look to a future utopia.
Presenter Fionn Davenport explores which area might win the bid to be European Capital of Culture 2020 in a panel discussion, we delve into gaming culture by challenging people to escape from a locked room and we find out how we can find meaning in life through everyday objects and situations.
Ireland’s representative for 2020 European Capital of Culture is in the final stages of being picked. We speak to people from the three areas left in the running: Gary McMahon Senior Executive Officer for Arts, Culture and Communications for Galway City Council, Sheila Deegan Deputy Director and Arts and Culture Officer of the Limerick bid and Michael Quinn, Bid Director of the combined efforts of Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny, bidding under the banner of The Three Sisters. You can find out more on galway2020.ie, limerick2020.ie and threesisters2020.ie
In recent years there has been a growing interest in the old shop signs and adverts still visible on the buildings of our cities, long after the businesses have gone. Two different people have been documenting these ‘ghost signs’ in different ways: Blogger Emma Clarke and writer Antonia Hart. We went for a walk around the city with Emma and Antonia to look up at this fading history. If you’d like to to look at, or add to the catalogue of those signs go to Emma Clarke’s blog, DublinGhostSigns.com. Antonia Hart’s book ‘Ghost Signs of Dublin’ is published by The History Press Ireland.
Sarah Bakewell chats to us about the philosophers who’ve help shape our view of ourselves over the past 100 years. Her book, ‘At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails’, has recently been published and it follows the existentialists’ story, from the first rebellious spark through the Second World War.
AdventureRooms Dublin is our next stop and Zoe Comyns brought a group of people to do a series of interactive riddles & puzzles and that challenges you to think your way out of a locked room. If you’d like more information you can go to adventurerooms.ie.
The Glucksman Gallery exhibit ‘2116 is a forecast of the next century’ takes on board a number of 20th century perspectives on utopia. Visual artists Maud Cotter and Darn Thorne explore predictions and projections, asking how Ireland will look over the next 100 years. We visited the exhibition and talked to curator Chris Clarke. You can visit the exhibition until July 2016, see glucksman.org for more details.
