Irish Arts Center Announces Fall 2016 Season

Today, Irish Arts Center (IAC), the arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, announces the lineup for its fall 2016 season, September 8 - December 17. IAC takes great pride in showcasing a broad range of some of Ireland's greatest artistic talent, in collaborating with American artists and arts institutions alike, and continuing to strengthen the transatlantic bonds of Irish-American culture. Featuring the works of several frequent IAC collaborators, including Paul Muldoon,Cassandra Wilson, Declan O'Rourke and Christine Tobin, as well as the premiere of several new works, the season epitomizes the dynamic vision IAC has for Irish culture in America at the outset of Ireland's centenary year of independence.

In addition, the season comes as IAC reaches the final stretch of its $60 million capital campaign for a new permanent home at 726 11th Avenue, adjoining the Center's existing building at 553 West 51st Street. The Center expects to complete the campaign this year-Ireland's Centenary-and to begin construction in 2017.

In today's environment, where contemporary artists and arts institutions are collaborating in new ways, and creating new contexts for the ongoing evolution of multi-cultural art, IAC plays an imperative role by providing emerging and established Irish artists with the opportunity to present their work to an American audience, and by supporting and encouraging a vibrant, lasting dialogue among artists within the Irish-American community.

The season will feature the premiere of several new works.Rough Magic's How to Keep an Alien (Sep 15-Oct 1), written by and starring Sonya Kelly,makes its U.S. premiere after receiving critical acclaim in Ireland. It tells a tearfully funny yet tender story about falling in love and having to prove it to the government. In association with BAM as part of BAM's 2016 Next Wave Festival, IAC also presents the New York premiere of Donnacha Dennehy's opera The Hunger (Sep 30-Oct 1),inspired by the Irish Famine. And the Dublin Guitar Quartet performs the U.S. premiere of Amplified(Dec 14-17), its electrifying compositions by Michael Gordon.

IAC's diverse music programming continues throughout the season, beginning with the return of acclaimed balladeer Declan O'Rourke (Sep 9-10)at the season launch event. Martin Hayesand Dennis Cahill (Oct 20-29), one of the world's greatest musical duets, return to IAC in a two-week residency that also features a variety of special guests. The Masters in Collaborationseries returns for its eleventh installment with Irish folk singer Liam Ó Maonlaí and American jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson (Nov 9-12),following their performance at the IAC Centenary concert earlier this year. Singer-songwriter Brendan O'Shea (Dec 2), a staple in the East Village indie-folk scene, will showcase tunes from his newest album, and multi-award winning Irish jazz singer Christine Tobin (Dec 9)will perform form her latest record, a lyrical salute to Leonard Cohen.

The fall 2016 season continues IAC's commitment to a wide range of works, starting with Darrah Carr Dance: Celtic Jazz Tryst(Nov 18-20),a swing, tap and Irish dance fusion performed byDarrah Carr Dance and vocalist Tara'O Grady and her Black Velvet Band. Audiences can also look forward to the Sundays at Seven(Oct 16, Nov 2, Dec 11) comedy sessions, the Irish Screen America's weekend of contemporary Irish film and television (Sep 30-Oct 2) and the return of Muldoon's Picnic (Sep 12, Oct 10, Nov 14)each month, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon with his house band Rogue Oliphant and a stunning lineup of world-class special guests across the spectrum of music and literature, including Roseanne Cash, Alice McDermott, Loudon Wainwright III and more.

Literary programming for this season includes book readings by Oscar-nominated writer Emma Donoghue from her latest novel The Wonder (Oct 12) and Roger Rosenblatt from his most recent work Thomas Murphy: A Novel (Nov 30). IAC's eighth annual PoetryFest (Nov 4-6), curated by Northern Irish novelist and poet Nick Laird, will showcase an array of top poets from Ireland, and is presented in association with Literary Hub, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and Poetry Ireland. Voices Carry: A Celebration of Irish Women Writing(Dec 6)will be a unique evening of dramatic readings drawn from a variety of forms exploring the lives of Irish and American women, and 92nd Street Y's The Letters of Samuel Beckett(Dec 12)will feature a selection of the playwright's correspondence read aloud by special guests, including Colum McCann and Colm Tóibín,alongside a performance of Schubert's Rosamunde Quartet.

The season's family programming includes the Children's Museum of the Arts Irish Cultural Festival(Sep 18), which invites children to explore the creative world of Irish arts through music, dance and art workshops; the all-day Rí Rá Children's Festival of Literature(Oct 2) with Children's Books Ireland featuring some of Ireland's greatest children's authors and illustrators; An Irish Halloween / Oíche Shamhna (Oct 30), which celebrates the Celtic roots of New York's favorite holiday; and Saturday Morning Cartoons(Dec 3), where parents and children can enjoy free pancakes and an assortment of the most imaginative and entertaining animated Irish features, cartoons and shorts.

From September 8 - January 20, in Irish Arts Center's gallery, Colin Davidson will present his series of internationally acclaimed large-scale portraits of actors, musicians, poets and writers in an exhibit titled Reflected Gleams,which features portraits of several artists connected to IAC, including their honorary chair Liam Neeson and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon.

On October 14th, Irish Arts Center's fall Spirit of Ireland Gala will take place at Cipriani 42nd Street. The season will conclude with the Winter Solstice Celebration at Symphony Space, featuring festive performances by Mick Moloney, Athena Tergis and a cast of America's top Irish and world-musicians.

Founded in 1972, Irish Arts Center is a New York-based arts and cultural center dedicated to projecting a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America for the 21st century, building community with artists and audiences of all backgrounds, forging and strengthening cross-cultural partnerships, and preserving the evolving stories and traditions of Irish culture for generations to come. Our multi-disciplinary programming is centered around three core areas: Performance - including live music, dance, theatre, film, literature, and the humanities; Exhibition - including visual arts presentations and cultural exhibitions that tell the evolving Irish story; and Education - with dozens of classes per week in Irish language, history, music, and dance.

Located in New York City, a global capital of arts and culture, Irish Arts Center serves as a dynamic platform for top emerging and established artists. Irish Arts Center is currently developing plans to construct a new facility to serve our multi-disciplinary program and will be the strongest possible gateway for artists to reach into our cultural community and nourish their work, to connect with our partner institutions who help them innovate, and to become visible in the New York City media market which enhances their ability to achieve U.S and further international success.

The New Irish Arts Center will contain a purpose-built, state-of-the-art contemporary performance space for music, dance and theatre seating up to 160; industry-standard back of house and support facilities to allow artists to achieve their vision; a second, intimate performance space - the renovated historic Irish Arts Center theatre - optimized for live music, literature, film, talks, large classes and special events; classrooms and studio space for community education programs in Irish music, dance, language, history, and the humanities, and for master classes and workshops by visiting and resident artists; technology capability to project the Irish Arts Center experience on the digital platform; an avenue-facing café lobby to engage with the neighborhood and provide a social setting for conversation and interaction between artists and audiences; a beautiful new courtyard entrance on 51st Street where the historic Irish Arts Center building and the new facility meet.

For more information on the New Irish Arts Center, or to support our campaign, Almost Home, please contact Nick Rolf at nick.rolf@irishartscenter.org.

http://www.irishartscenter.org/