Cuige festival will put art, design and performance front and centre

Sarah Slevin

Mullingar’s newest festival, which takes place in the heart of the town, will put art, design and performance front and centre.

Two Mullingar women have organised the ‘Cuige’ festival on June 22-26 on Dominick Street.

Andrea Cullen explained the background: “I come from a cross-disciplinary background and for the past few years I’ve been looking at artists and trying to find a space where people can come together and talk about art and support each other.”

Andrea and co-founder, Rachel Coyne, have organised workshops, performances and exhibitions across the five days all at their new studio space on Dominick Street.

“This year is about launching what Cuige can be, being a five-day art, design and performance festival,” Andrea said.

“It’s about showcasing the local artists we have. Getting this space and seeing how central it is to Mullingar, the opportunity was there to create something,” Rachel added.

The two local artists explained how the festival will include work from local dancers, photographers, poets, playwrights, artists and more.

“People can just pop in if they’re walking past. Artists won’t be hidden away, we’re right here in the middle of town,” Rachel said.

“It’s like an underground arts scene, it’s been there for so long and we can all now be creative together. Westmeath has so many creative people; it should be showcased,” Andrea said.

Andrea and Rachel said they want to use the festival to show what can be done from their studio, and have encouraged us to ‘watch this space’.

Tomorrow (Friday 3 June) the pair have planned their launch party and people are welcome to visit the space to get tickets to the festival.

Tickets will also be on sale tomorrow at 5pm on tickettailor.com, and more information can be found on Instagram @wearecuige.