The Avant
Various venues in Cork city, Co Cork
This is a sort of meta festival – The Avant is subtitled ‘a Festival of the Progressive Arts’, and is an umbrella name for a series of mini-festivals and events, all involving avant-garde approaches to the arts, which take place concurrently or during the same time period in and around Cork city.
One of the largest festivals encompassed is SoundEye, subtitled ‘A Festival of the Arts of the Word’. Originally known as the Cork International Poetry Festival, it features the work of poets who don’t get much exposure in the normal festival or literary calendar.
The aim is to bring innovative and experimental poets, both Irish and International, together with performers, film makers. artists and musicians, with a focus on “working from the modernist and experimental traditions established by figures such as Joyce and Beckett”.
A 2-day event, The Thin Line Between Documentary and Film, features short films, food and discussion from the Art in the Making Group.
Other events include the screening of three films by Rouzbeh Rashidi, hOurs, an exhibition and play in the Ground Floor Gallery in the Elysian, a one day conference on issues surrounding innovation in Irish poetry and an ‘Unlistenable Music Night‘ promising post-war classical vinyls guaranteed unplayed since 1971.
Event Details and Locations for The Avant
Events take place in various locations around Cork city, but mainly in the Triskel Arts Centre, the Crawford Art Gallery, The Guesthouse and in UCD.
More details at The Avant website and the SoundEye website (or maybe here). Also here.
A lot of the available information about this event is scattered and unfocused – there are various websites with information but it’s really quite hard to get a cohesive idea of what is happening. I know that all festivals have tight budgets, but really a website which offers clear information to people who don’t already know all about the festival would be an enormous step forward. And if I am honest, while reading about it I got the impression that it was all very ‘in-crowdy’ and the opposite of inclusive. Perhaps the reality is far different, but if that is so then it needs to be projected in the material published about the events.
However if you are in or around Cork this July and have an interest in the arts, it is worth checking out what is happening.
