Murmur Dublin Docklands at Bealtaine 2007

The Bealtaine festival 2007 is a celebration of the fact that we can all “Forever Begin,”* that we can always be alive to new and undiscovered experiences in life, no matter what age we are.

So organisers Age & Opportunity are delighted to be offering a unique opportunity to hear Dublin stories using cutting edge innovative technology, a development from Bealtaine’s previous storytelling projects and reminiscence work.  They have partnered with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to co-commission [murmur] Dublin Docklands, in which Dubliners’ stories of the docklands will be heard in situ, with a brilliant format that’s proved a great success in Canada and Scotland already.

[murmur]Dublin Docklands believes interesting things don't just happen in the Dail and Merrion Square, but that the city is full of stories. The smallest, most non-descript building can be transformed by the stories that belong to it. Once heard, these stories change the way people think about that place and about the city, for these are the stories that make up Dublin’s identity but have been kept inside of the heads of the people who live here, until now. [murmur]Dublin Docklands will bring that important archive out onto the streets, for all to hear and experience.

[murmur]Dublin Docklands is a project that collects and presents stories set in specific Dublin locations, as told by Dubliners themselves. Irish storytellers groups and older communities in Dublin have been involved in identifying and establishing the locations for [murmur] Dublin Docklands.  At each of these places, a [murmur] Dublin Docklands sign, with telephone number and location code, marks where stories are available. With a mobile phone, users can listen to the story while there experiencing the place itself. Some stories will suggest that the listener walk around, following a certain path, while others allow the listener wander and gaze… This project will run from 4^th May until the end of September.

[murmur] Dublin Docklands has been created working with the Canadian artists who invented the project and who specialise in the use of new technology to animate the urban environment.  The original idea happened in Toronto at a media lab training think-tank as the brainchild of Shawn Micallef, James Roussel, and Gabe Sawhney. ‘Toronto has a bit of an inferiority complex, because the city hasn't much been romanticized or mythologized. With [murmur], we're trying to do that a bit. Or rather, help Torontonians do it themselves,’ said Sawhney.

Dublin doesn’t have that particular problem! But Dockland stories it has aplenty. The (murmur)Dublin Docklands website is; www.murmurdublindocklands.info
Previous examples of (murmur) can be found here; www.murmurtoronto.ca

BEALTAINE 1^st-31^st May, Venues Across Ireland

Running 1^st-31^st May, this groundbreaking annual festival is an agenda-setting cultural first, unique to Ireland.  Coordinated by Age & Opportunity, it is one of Ireland’s biggest arts festivals, and promotes all art forms made by and for older people. The ethos is one of fun and empowerment. It has been proven that participation in the arts is good for us – studies show enhanced morale and better health for older

people involved in ongoing arts programmes with professional artists. Events will be taking place across Ireland, and embrace all art forms including theatre, literature, dance, film, storytelling, music, painting, sculpture and photography.

Further information on the festival is available to the general public as follows:
Via local libraries and County Council Arts Offices By telephone to Age & Opportunity on 01 805 7709 On www.bealtaine.com Via e-mail: bealtaine@mie.ie
By post to Bealtaine at Age & Opportunity, Marino Institute of Education, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9,
* Taken from the poem ‘Begin’ by Brendan Kennelly with his kind permission.

For further media information please contact Stephanie Dickenson or Caroline Lynch at Kate Bowe PR Tel: 01 671 3672 E-mail steph@katebowepr.ie / caroline@katebowepr.ie.

 

Back to top