Culture Night 2021 @ SIRIUS

17 September

18.00 & 19.00: Screening of ‘Departures, Volume 3: County Cork’ by Dublin Book Festival. Free; limited capacity (15 people maximum per session).

20:00: Performance by Maija Sofia. Free; limited capacity (25 people maximum); booking via Eventbrite essential: BOOKED OUT. Covid-19 public health guidelines apply. 

SIRIUS presents two events exploring the connection between music, text, landscape and tradition for the 2021 edition of Culture Night: a performance by the singer-songwriter Maija Sofia, who was in residence at SIRIUS early in 2021, and a screening of 'Departures: County Cork', produced by Dublin Book Festival, which is set in Cobh and was partially shot at SIRIUS.

Maija Sofia makes delicate tunes with an ethereal quality using predominantly voice and guitar, sometimes merging acoustic and electronic instruments. She mixes the storytelling aspect of traditional folk songs with lyrics exploring contemporary political and personal concerns. According to the writer Andrea Cleary, her “subject matter is seldom trivial – abuse, mythological stories, feminism and loss are considered with a confident serenity” (The Irish Times, 50 people to watch in 2019: Ireland’s hottest young talent, 8 January 2019). Her debut album, Bath Time, was launched in 2019 to critical acclaim, and she is currently working on her second album. This performance features a mix of her old and new compositions in the intimate setting of SIRIUS.

'Departures' is a series of documentaries looking at how the Irish landscape influences the work of writers and musicians. Volume 3, dedicated to County Cork, features Manchan Magan as host, who is joined by writers Billy O’ Callaghan and Alice Taylor, who discuss the importance and value of storytelling and how their personal and familial histories connect with themes of land. Singer-songwriter Jack O’Rourke performs two songs with accompaniment from Aisling Fitzpatrick, and actress Irene Kelleher treats the audience to readings from O’Callaghan’s Life Sentences (Jonathan Cape, 2020) and a selection of Taylor’s poems. 'Departures', by Dublin Book Festival, was made possible by funding from the Arts Council.