Galway is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Ireland and has one of the island’s most vibrant and diverse cultural scenes! From Art, music, and theatre to just the people you meet on the street, there is a reason Galway was voted the Capital of Culture in 2020. With many events happening here, it’s difficult to get bored. Especially during the summer months!
Citylink is proud to become a Friend of the Galway International Arts Festival this year as we appreciate how important the arts are for fostering creativity, empathy, and education. In July, GIAF invites world-class acts from all over the globe to the City of Tribes for two weeks of cultural extravagance! 2022 will be a particularly special year for the Festival as it will be the first full programme of events since Covid, and it’s set to be a big one!
In 2019, over 200 events took place in 30 venues for 14 days, with attendance above 260,000. The festival not only attracts the locals but people from all over the world travel to Galway for these two weeks as well. The Guardian has even named the Festival one of Europe’s Top 5 Summer Festivals.
Previous festival highlights include Medicine, Madness, Robert Plant, Joni Mitchell, Sam Jinks, Jenny Greene, Gavin James, Kodaline, St. Vincent, Burt Bacharach, Macy Grey, etc.
Some of the gigs and shows our team is looking forward to the most are:
- The Academic:
Deservedly billed as “One of Ireland’s most exciting live acts,” the Academic is one of Ireland’s prolific rock bands, with several sold-out shows. They have also supported some huge acts like Twenty-One Pilots on tour! Some of their hits include “Bear Claws” and “Fake ID” – This is set to be one of the festival highlight shows, and they’re sure to rock the Big Top Tent!
- “Middle Bedroom”:
This will be the ninth installment of “The Rooms” series by Tony Award-winning playwright Enda Walsh. Enda Walsh is a multi-award-winning Irish playwright who has had many shows in the festival over the years! Previous installments of this series include “A Girls Bedroom,” “Bathroom,” and “Kitchen.” This immersive theatre piece is held in Columban Hall, a unique venue in Galway. The “Rooms” series has toured to Washington and New York; most recently, five of the works were presented at the Barbican, London. This is definitely a must-see show.
- “Remember”:
An art installation in the main gallery of the Festival. Ana Maria Pacheco is a Brazilian sculptor and artist. Recently exhibiting at the Galway International Arts Festival in 2017, pieces like The Longest Journey, Dark Night of the Soul, a masterpiece of myth and history, and a plethora of prints lined the gallery. Her exhibition was incredibly popular and drew a crowd to see the beautiful sculptures.
- Orla Gartland:
Dublin-born singer-songwriter Orla Gartland began her career posting videos on Youtube in 2009. Skip to now, and she has amassed 24+ million total views. She has now gone on to have her music featured on the acclaimed Netflix series “Heartstopper,” which was released earlier this year. Orla’s indie pop/folk vibe is definitely going to create a fantastic atmosphere for the audience, and we are super excited to go!
- Druid Debuts 2022:
This is undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of the Galway theatre and culture scene. Druid Debuts is an event of rehearsed readings that takes place annually and showcases some of their “New Writing Programme submissions.” Each summer, the selected playwrights are provided with professional support, a director, a cast, and space to develop their script to a rehearsed reading level. After the reading, audience feedback is invited as a means of further development.
Be sure to check out https://www.giaf.ie/festival/events and @GalwayIntArts on Instagram for clips and previews of what’s to come!
