Big crowds turned out for two unique artistic performances at Galway’s beaches last weekend, with over 2,000 people in attendance.
The events took place at Traught Beach, Kinvara and Ladies Beach Salthill on Sunday & Monday as part of Galway Theatre Festival.
A Community Choir of 60 voluntary participants sung alongside a performing ensemble cast made up of professional performers Daniel Guinnane, Johanne Webb, and Sophie Hutchinson who performed with artist and vocalist Ceara Conway.
The Salt Community Choir consists of members of the community in Kinvara and its surroundings, most of them sea swimmers themselves.
Over an extended period of three months, the choir rehearsed with composer Robbie Blake and Vanessa Earl exploring together soundscapes of the sea and Ode.
SALT is a collaboration between a community of sea-swimmers based in Kinvara, composer Robbie Blake, poet Mary Madec, and marine scientists.
Led and directed by theatre-maker Vanessa Earl and produced by Culture Works, it aims to celebrate our connection to the sea as a coastal community.
The long-term ambition for SALT is to perform on beaches at all four cardinal points in Ireland.
Ultimately they hope to share the ode and music with community choirs in coastal communities across the world to raise awareness of our intrinsic relationship to the ocean and the vital need to protect it and take positive action in order to do so.
SALT champions the work of FairSeas who are working to fully protect 30% of Ireland’s ocean territory by 2030, thus making Ireland a world leader in marine protection.
Galway Bay has been identified as an area of special interest due to its’ high density of bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoise and the 65,000 birds who breed here every year.
This project is funded by The Arts Council’s Arts Participation Project Award, Creative Ireland, Galway County Arts Office, Galway and City Council.
