Author: Dublin City Council

As part of the lead in to the Velo-city conference, Dublin City Council is funding several creative arts projects to encourage the public to think creatively about cycling in the city.

These arts programmes, designed to be inclusive for all, will be showcased around the city during the conference, with the aim of encouraging people of Dublin to think creatively about cycling and to explore how cycling has become part of Dublin culture.

The programmes include:

• Stewart Parker’s play, Spokesong; the opening scenes of this play will be performed at the Convention Centre Dublin as the Velo-city delegates set off on Velo-city Bike Parade on June 26th. The award-winning play, which is centred around a bike shop, is a celebration of the history of the bike as a democratic force. Actors will continue the performance on route on a tandem bike and on a mobile stage towed by a bicycle accompanied by a live piano!
• The Freedom Machine; a concept developed by Donna Cooney, celebrates the important historical role of bicycles for suffragettes and the part they played in the emancipation of women. In the weeks leading up to Bike Parade, women are participating in workshops preparing hand crafted suffragette banners and sashes which will be then worn during the Bike Parade.
•  ‘Listening to the City’ will give an alternative view on the everyday spaces of Dublin’s citizens. Artist Michelle Browne has commissioned three writers to guide citizens and visitors of Dublin through the city on wheels. Each audio guide will look at the city from a different perspective, with audio guides being available to download from SoundCloud.

• Well Spun Tales will host a storytelling night for cyclists, for non-cyclists, and the bike-urious on 26^th June in A4 Sounds studio, which will discuss Dublin city from a cyclist’s perspective, profiling people from non-typical communities and backgrounds in order to show the broad appeal of cycling in Dublin city.
• Series of cycling artwork in Dublin City; Dublin City Council Environment & Transportation Department in partnership with Dublin Canvas issued a call out for submissions of cycling related artwork to be displayed on traffic boxes around the city.   The project aims to promote cycling as a mode of transport in the city and to get people thinking about cycling in new and creative ways, and these will be showcased across the city.
• ‘The Citizen Cycle’; curated by artist Michelle Browne, the Citizen Cycle puts the citizens at the heart of the conversation around cycling and infrastructure in the city. Three artists have worked with different communities to develop a series of public performances and visual artworks that will be presented during the Velo-city Bike Parade.  Michelle will give talks on the Citizen Cycle in the Red Stables following the Bike Parade. 

Commenting on the arts programme launch, Dr. Margarita Cappock, Dublin City Council Assistant City Arts Officer said; "With the exploration of cycling through a series of dynamic, artistic programmes, we want to highlight the impact that cycling has on the city. Ranging thematically from the historical to the contemporary, these events demonstrate how cycling brings communities together in an inclusive, creative and collaborative manner."

For more information on the Velo-city Programme, Exhibition and Registration go to: https://www.velo-city2019.com 
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