Echoes of a Festival: Celebrating 50 years of Kilkenny Arts Festival

The Festival is calling upon artists, audience members, volunteers and the local community to share their cherished memories of the festival, as part of our 'Echoes of a Festival: Celebrating 50 years of Kilkenny Arts Festival' initiative.

These collective memories will be shared as part of a special supplement in the Kilkenny People, part of an online display available from the beginning of August and as physical installation presented as part of the Festival from 10 – 20 August.

Festival organisers invite the public from both Ireland and around the world to delve into their past experiences and recollections of the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Whether they're fond memories of unforgettable performances, chance meetings with inspiring artists, or simply the atmosphere and camaraderie of the festival, they want to hear and share them all.

Participants can share their memories in various forms - written accounts, voice notes, or video clips. Contributions can be sent via email to friends@kilkennyarts.ie

To further facilitate the collection of these precious memories, we will be hosting two special afternoons dedicated to memory collection at the Smithwicks Experience on Saturday 1st July and Saturday 15th July – details to be announced shortly via the Festival’s website. Festival-goers and local residents are warmly invited to join us on these dates to share their personal experiences and tales from the festival's past.