12th August

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
My first festival

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

Their raw, exuberant sound, melding hip hop with jazz, is like the soundtrack to the coolest movie you ever saw.

Sold Out

event details

Drums Off Chaos and Philip Jeck
My alternative festival

Drums Off Chaos and Philip Jeck

Fri 12th Aug
Set Theatre

Since 1982, Jaki Liebezeit, Reiner Linke and Maf Retter have been creating headspinning storms of multi-layered groove using odd meters and unconventional rhythms.

Sold Out

event details

Birdsong Workshop

Birdsong Workshop

Workshops by musician Laoise O'Brien and visual artist Lorna Donlon.

Sold Out

event details

Emmy The Great
My inspiring festival

Emmy The Great

Fri 12th Aug
St. John’s Priory

Emma-Lee Moss's exquisite melodies and thoughtful lyrics guarantee this to be one of the stand-out gigs of the festival.

Sold Out

event details

Supreme Criticism

Supreme Criticism

Fri 12th Aug
Butler Gallery

Young Critics panel discussion

Free

event details

Holy Mary

Holy Mary

Fri 12th Aug - Sat 13th Aug
The Watergate Theatre

A magical and hilarious new play by Eoin Colfer, bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series, that takes an honest look at life through the eyes of eight-year-old Majella Barnes

Sold Out

event details

Rebecca and Kirsten Capova
My surprising festival

Rebecca and Kirsten Capova

Two sisters, both accomplished pianists, pool their considerable talents (and four hands!) for an exhilarating programme of piano duets

Sold Out

event details

John Banville writing as Benjamin Black
My inspiring festival

John Banville writing as Benjamin Black

Fri 12th Aug
The Parade Tower

The acclaimed crime writer discusses literature, crime and alter egos with literary critic Michael Wood

Sold Out

event details

Alessandro Taverna
My inspiring festival

Alessandro Taverna

An outstanding young Venetian pianist presents a mouthwatering programme of popular favourites

Sold Out

event details

Title & Deed
My inspiring festival

Title & Deed

Wed 10th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Barnstorm Theatre

Gare St Lazare Players Ireland are back with the world premiere of Title and Deed, a new piece specially-written for the company by acclaimed American playwright Will Eno

Sold Out

event details

The Big Deal
My alternative festival

The Big Deal

Wed 10th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Barnstorm Theatre

Una McKevitt returns to Kilkenny with the extraordinary real-life story of two women who knew from a very young age that they were born into the wrong bodies

Sold Out

event details

Solas Supreme Workshop

Solas Supreme Workshop

Mon 8th Aug - Fri 12th Aug
Butler Gallery

Come along to these outdoor children's workshops using household objects to create fantastical sculptures

Sold Out

event details

anybody waitin’?

anybody waitin’?

Mon 8th Aug - Sun 14th Aug

ponydance are back, and this time they’re free! Join these incorrigible flirts on their quest through the streets of Kilkenny to find a man

Sold Out

event details

Other Selections - Blackbird Gallery

Other Selections - Blackbird Gallery

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Blackbird Gallery

The Blackbird Gallery presents a selection of works by three emerging artists

Free

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Maire Gartland

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Maire Gartland

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

Free

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Trini Kenny

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Trini Kenny

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

Free

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Nicola Brown

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Nicola Brown

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

Free

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Kirsty O’Keeffe

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Kirsty O’Keeffe

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

Free

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Clive Nunn

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Clive Nunn

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

event details

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Brendan Brennan

Other Selections - Grennan Mill Craft School - Brendan Brennan

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Grennan Mill

Grennan Mill Craft School welcomes six Irish artists/crafts people showing an exciting new range of work in a wide variety of media

Free

event details

Other Selections - Niall Harkin

Other Selections - Niall Harkin

Sat 6th Aug - Tue 16th Aug
Berkley Gallery

This exhibition, Votive Offerings, presents the fruits of two years’ work with sheet bronze

Free

event details

Modified Expression

Modified Expression

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
The National Craft Gallery

Tear, fold, cut, read, write, print, and colour: Modified Expression, this year’s CRAFT strand exhibition, is all about books.

Free

event details

Strand 2 - Ian Burns

Strand 2 - Ian Burns

Sat 6th Aug - Sun 9th Oct
Butler Gallery

Ian Burns’s sculptures and installations investigate the expectations of art viewing with wry humor and audience engaging invention.
 

Free

event details

Other Selections - On the Surface

Other Selections - On the Surface

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
The Courtyard Bar and Grill

A joint exhibition by artists Bernadette Kiely and Paul Mosse.  While Kiely’s and Mosse’s work appears very different on the surface, there is a slowly emerging resonance at play.

Free

event details

Strand 2 - We Are All in This Together

Strand 2 - We Are All in This Together

Fri 5th Aug - Fri 19th Aug
The Watergate Theatre

Exhibiting artists: Maeve Coulter, Sylvia Hemmingway, Emma Hogan, Alé Mercado and Aiseling Noone.

Free

event details

Strand 2 - Rachel Dickson & Alison Lowry

Strand 2 - Rachel Dickson & Alison Lowry

Fri 5th Aug - Mon 5th Sep
Kilkenny County Council Arts Office

Kilkenny County Council Arts Office presents this joint exhibition of ceramics and glass from two emerging Irish makers: Rachel Dickson and Alison Lowry.

Free

event details

Festival Trail

Festival Trail

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug

Gather a group of intrepid explorers to discover Kilkenny on foot, following our ‘treasure hunt’ style Festival Trail

Free

event details

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters

Fri 5th Aug
Kieran Street

View colourful street decorations in Kieran Street made by local volunteers of all ages.

Sold Out

event details

Request Programme
My surprising festival

Request Programme

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug

Acclaimed Cork-based theatre company Corcadorca presents an intimate show staged in a real apartment and starring IFTA-winning actress Eileen Walsh.

Sold Out

event details

Other Selections - Daithi O hUallachain [David Holohan]

Other Selections - Daithi O hUallachain [David Holohan]

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Kitchen Corridor - Kilkenny Castle

An exhibition of Daithi's recent paintings, full of light and vibrancy

Free

event details

Other Selections - KCAT - Mary Cody

Other Selections - KCAT - Mary Cody

Fri 5th Aug - Fri 12th Aug
L’Arche Cafe

Sky, Stones, Sea features work inspired by famous beauty spots in the Irish landscape

Free

event details

Other Selections - Lucy McKenna

Other Selections - Lucy McKenna

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Kilkenny Castle Park

This installation in Kilkenny Castle Park explores the darker side of the human psyche

Free

event details

Other Selections - Ceann

Other Selections - Ceann

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Shankill Castle

Ceann 2011 offers a visual feast in the historic setting of Shankill Castle

Free

event details

Other Selections - Made in Kilkenny

Other Selections - Made in Kilkenny

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Butler House

This year’s exhibition - A Maker’s Journey: from inspiration to creation - traces the process of design, exploring the different elements each craftsperson takes into consideration to produce a finished piece

Free

event details

Other Selections - KCAT - The Empty Heat of Neanderthal Man

Other Selections - KCAT - The Empty Heat of Neanderthal Man

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
The Workhouse

An exhibition of recent sculpture work by five studio artists, comprising a range of materials such as stone, clay, wood, and mixed media

Free

event details

Liam O’Callaghan

Liam O’Callaghan

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Muniments Room, Kilkenny Castle

Playful – even satirical – installations, sculptures and photographs exposing the methods or mechanics in their construction.

Free

event details

Maria McKinney

Maria McKinney

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Rothe House

Maria McKinney is concerned with ideas of boredom and escapism and works with familiar objects and materials.

Free

event details

Michael Thomas Murphy

Michael Thomas Murphy

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Kenealy’s Art Shop

Michael Thomas Murphy’s work is multidimensional and multi-layered incorporating many materials.

Free

event details

Jacco Olivier

Jacco Olivier

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
The Courthouse

Jacco Olivier fuses painting and filmmaking, continually reworking his paintings with generous, casual brushstrokes and photographing each stage of their development

Free

event details

Nick Miller

Nick Miller

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
The Heritage Council

In this multimedia piece Nick Miller draws our attention to the tradition of the reclining nude in art.

Free

event details

Ann Craven

Ann Craven

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Castle Yard Gallery

Ann Craven is a compelling New York-based artist whose work focuses on recurring subject matter such as flowers, birds and the moon.

Free

event details

David Beattie

David Beattie

Fri 5th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
St. Mary’s Hall

An artist who encourages a sense of curiosity and exploration in his act of displacing quotidian objects.

Free

event details

Other Selections - Ross Stewart & Andrew Ludick

Other Selections - Ross Stewart & Andrew Ludick

Thu 4th Aug - Sun 14th Aug
Castle Yard Gallery

An exhibition of work by ceramicist Andrew Ludick and painter Ross Stewart

Free

event details

Other Selections - Jerpoint Studio

Other Selections - Jerpoint Studio

Thu 4th Aug - Wed 31st Aug
Jerpoint Glass Studio

This group exhibition showcases the work of several 'hot glass divas', both up-and-coming artists and internationally-renowned names

Free

event details

Other Selections - The Workhouse Test

Other Selections - The Workhouse Test

Sat 23rd Jul - Sun 14th Aug
Dunnes Bakery

The Workhouse Test presents a collaborative exhibition that aims to establish links with international art spaces

Free

event details