The Arts Council has announced a Night-Time Economy Forum, which will take place from 2pm on Tuesday 17th January in the National Gallery of Ireland.

The Forum, which will be introduced by Robbie Kitt of the Give Us The Night campaign, is part of the strategic plan for developing a robust night-time economy, encompassing clubbing, music, culture, hte arts and community activities in a way that will support artists and also contribute to the economic value of tourism.

The forum’s programme has been designed to bring together a range of international, national and local perspectives on emerging trends and initiatives in relation to the development of the arts and the night-time economy. The forum will aim to encourage new initiatives, new partnerships, new thinking and specific actions to support the role of the arts in creating a vibrant night-time economy.

Minister Catherine Martin, Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, speaking in advance of the forum said: "The Night-Time Economy Task Force has set forth an ambitious programme that is working to shape and change our cities and towns at night. This forum shines a spotlight on the potential ways in which we can make this happen. I’m looking forward to seeing new and innovative solutions to some of the challenges facing the Night-Economy and some new and interesting partnerships coming out of this event."

The keynote speaker at the forum is Professor Terry Stevens, who will provide insights and practical examples of how urban centres are re-designing the use of cultural spaces and the public realm to re-invigorate the night-time economy.

Other speakers include Adrienne Rodgers, the Director of Services of Community, Culture and Placemaking in Cork; and Mirik Milan, former Night Mayor, Amsterdam and CEO of Vibe Lab – an organisation set up to support creative communities and help the world better understand the value of vibrant life at night. The programme will also feature Ruth McGowan, CEO of Dublin Fringe Festival and the actor/comedian Saoirse Smith.

Prof. Kevin Rafter, Chair of the Arts Council, said: "As the developing agency for the arts in Ireland, the Arts Council is pleased to support initiatives such as the Night-Time Economy Forum that seek to expand opportunities for artists and audience."

Welcoming the event, Director of the Arts Council Maureen Kennelly said: "This forum is an opportunity for us to learn from each other and to work together to create a shared night-time economy that is diverse and inclusive of everyone."

The event is free for all and will also be streamed on the Arts Council YouTube channels. Tickets are available at link here.

BACKGROUND TO PARTICIPANTS

Robbie Kitt
Robbie Kitt is a musician and DJ. He has worked in the music industry for the past 15 years running club events and performing and DJing extensively across the club and festival circuit all over Ireland as well as internationally in London and Berlin. He has worked across many different disciplines, including in theatre and contemporary dance. Since 2018, he has been volunteering as part of the Give Us the Night campaign communicating the needs of electronic music communities directly to the Government. He is on the steering committee of Dublin Digital Radio; an entirely volunteer run, online community radio station. In 2021, he was awarded the Next Generation Award by the Arts Council.

Professor Terry Stevens
Professor Terry Stevens is Founder and MD of the multi-award winning, international, tourism consultancy, Stevens & Associates. This Wales-based consultancy has now worked in over 55 countries around the world specializing in destination development, management, wellness tourism, and place-making. He has worked in the industry since 1970 holding a number of senior positions in the public and private sectors prior to establishing his consultancy in 1986. Stevens & Associates clients include many of the major international development agencies as well as national, regional and city governments. Terry has worked extensively in Ireland since 1987. This has involved destination strategies, destination experience development plans, attraction feasibility studies and mentoring private sector businesses.
He has been a member of the UNWTO’s Global Tourism Performance Barometer Monitoring Group. The UNWTO’s Technical Expert on Sport and Tourism and the UNWTO and World Tourism Cities Federation Research Group looking at performance areas in city tourism. From 2019 – 2021 he was Advisor to the Catalan Tourist Board on sports tourism and the Chair of the Scientific Committee for the UNWTO and CTB World Sports Tourism Congress 2021.

Mirik Milan
Mirik is a former nightlife promoter and one of the first night mayors in the world. He played an instrumental role in the reshaping Amsterdam’s nightlife scene into one of the most vibrant and economically robust in the world, and his innovative position is being replicated in major cities around the world such as New York, Paris and London. Nowadays Mirik Milan is a nightlife advocate, co-founder of VibeLab and author of the paper ‘Governing the night-time city: The rise of night mayors as a new form of urban governance after dark’. In January 2020 the journal Urban Studies released this first qualitative study on night mayors around the world. VibeLab is a purpose driven consultancy agency, developing strategies and trailblazing a largely untapped research field: life at night. In 2017 VibeLab launched a research methodology to build data culture in cities named Creative Footprint (CFP). CFP measures and compares the creative impact nightlife has on cities around the world.

Michelle Carew, Arts Officer, Cork City Council
Michelle Carew is Cork City Council Arts Officer with responsibility for arts and culture development and city events. She has over 20 years professional experience spanning across youth arts, cultural festivals, film production and now local arts development. Michelle holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Leeds and an MA in Arts Management and Cultural Policy from University College Dublin. She is the Association for Local Authority Arts Officers (ALAAO) nominee to the Night Time Economy Taskforce.

Sinéad O’Reilly, Local, Place and Public Art Manager, Arts Council Ireland
Sinead has been working at the Arts Council since 2016. Working in the Strategic Development Department, primarily across public sector partnerships and relationships, her role includes Local Authority Partnership, Public Art, Culture Night and the Creative Places national programme. When Culture Night moved over to the Arts Council in 2019, Sinéad has been overseeing its development including moving towards more late night programming and diversifying its audiences. She holds an MA in Public Culture Studies (IADT, 2009) is currently completing a Professional Diploma in Change Management (UCD) https://www.artscouncil.ie/Arts-in-Ireland/Local,-Place-and-Public-Art/

Ruth McGowan, Artistic Director & CEO, Dublin Fringe Festival
Ruth joined the Dublin Fringe Festival team as Programme Manager in 2015, supporting hundreds of artists and ideas annually through FRINGE LAB workshops, artist development initiatives and one-on-one consultations. She took on the role of Artistic Director and CEO in 2018, and has been advocating for artists, big ideas and making space for culture in the city ever since. As a dramaturg, programmer and producer, Ruth has been building creative partnerships, leading talent development programmes and championing new work across performance disciplines since 2009. She has produced world premieres in festival fields, above pubs, and in historic theatres from Letterkenny to the Lower East Side. She was awarded the Lennox Robinson Bursary in 2013 to research innovative production models for the presentation of new work at Steppenwolf (Chicago). She holds a B.Ed with English from St Patrick's College, Drumcondra and an M.Phil in Theatre and Performance from Trinity College Dublin.

Emma Nee Haslam, Manager, Birr Theatre and Arts Centre
Emma Nee Haslam has been the Manager at Birr Theatre and Arts Centre for over twenty years and has extensive experience in event management, running approx. 180 events per year. During the past twenty years she established, and currently co-produces, both Hullabaloo! Offaly’s Children’s Arts Festival with Offaly County Council Arts Office and Scripts Ireland’s Playwriting Festival with Jasango Theatre; was a member of the team that established OFFline Film Festival and Birr Festival of Music; and served as vice-chair of Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival (1994-1996) and festival secretary (2001-2009). Emma holds a BSc (hons) in Management Practice.

Cara Trant, Director/Curator, Kerry Writer’s Museum
A graduate of the University of Limerick, Cara Trant has been Director/Curator of Kerry Writers' Museum, Listowel since 1999. Prior to this she worked as Development Officer for the LEADER Rural Development Programme in North Kerry. Kerry Writers' Museum is a community owned and operated not-for-profit organisation which celebrates and promotes the rich literary and cultural heritage of County Kerry through interactive audio-visual exhibits. A fully accredited museum under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland, KWM also hosts a year-round programme of cultural events and activities for the local community and visitors to Listowel and operates Listowel Community Tourist Office on behalf of Fáilte Ireland.

Lucy Durack, Head of Audiences and Development, IMMA
Lucy Durack is the Head of Audiences and Development at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). She is responsible for the development and implementation of an integrated fundraising, communications, visitor engagement and digital strategy that supports the sustained growth of the Museum’s audiences. Lucy has extensive experience in communications and fundraising across the arts and cultural sector, having previously worked with the Chester Beatty, Wexford Festival Opera, and Buxton International Festival. She is currently the Chair of the Taylor Art Trust, the premier prize at the RDS Visual Arts Awards, supporting recent graduates with the development of their careers as visual artists. Lucy holds an MA in Arts Management & Cultural Policy and an MA in Leadership & Strategy.

Emilie Conway
Emilie is an award-winning vocal jazz artist, composer and lyricist. She blends her own compositions, spoken word/poetry, with improvised and composed music. Emilie's arts practice is multi-disciplinary as she creates work through a process of singing, writing, dancing and painting. In July 2022, Emilie was selected as one of Improvised Music Company’s thirty artists for 30/30: a year-long support programme and platforming of 30 artists’ work to celebrate IMC’s 30th Birthday. During lockdown Emilie produced a music video in collaboration with children from St. Colmcille's Senior School, Knocklyon, called It All Works Out, an original composition by Emilie which tells her story, for and with children, of growing up with a disability. The work was launched as part of Cruinniu na nOg festival in 2020. As an artist with a disability, Emilie is a passionate activist for equal and equitable participation of disabled people in arts and culture. She creates audio, sensory and movement tours accessible to all though her approach of an exploration of Solid, Space & Sound. Emilie is also founder of DADA, Disabled Artists, Disabled Academics whose focus is campaigning for the equitable participation and contribution by disabled artists to Ireland’s art and culture, in line with UNCRPD.

Saoirse Smith, Comedian/Actor
Saoirse is a Dublin based comedian/actor. She has been dubbed "the funny woman on wheels" with her self-deprecating humour. She has been part of Electric Picnic, Galway Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe and Culture Night. She is a member of DADA, DPI, IWA and many more. Saoirse has fought for access and disability rights especially in the arts. She hopes from her campaigning that the next generation does not have to deal with the struggles she has.