Young Curators nationwide are delighted to present LASTA, a national arts festival for young people by young people, taking place across the country from the 3rd – 9th June 2024.
Lasta is Ireland’s largest collaborative arts festival and is taking place in venues across the country from Tralee to Limerick, Ennis to Galway, Portlaoise, Longford and right here in Letterkenny. This ambitious initiative was first established in 2020 by Backstage Theatre, Longford, and has grown to a nationwide festival for young people. The 2024 Young Curators programme boasts a wide range of art forms, mediums and activities from all over the country.
This year’s programme continues to place young voices and choices at the centre of its ethos. Nineteen young people have spent the last year curating regional programmes that culminate in the most dynamic and multi-disciplinary edition of the festival to date. Under the guidance of theatre artist Maisie Lee and their venue directors, the group has worked collaboratively to deliver an ambitious programme of work for young people across the country.
The Lasta programme here at An Grianán Theatre has been curated by three young Donegal curators selected through an open call last year- Ciara Doherty, Clodagh McIvor and Ultan Pringle (find out more about our young curators here). Throughout the year, our Young Curators have had the opportunity to meet up with curators from the other venues nationwide. They have received mentoring from industry professionals in marketing, touring and venue management and learned about negotiating deals, how to approach artists and companies, and how to manage budgets.
They have just announced their first two events, an evening of psychedelia influenced music featuring the bands Junk Drawer and Scol on Fri 7 June. Call the Hipgnotic Dream, in homage to the famous art design group Hipgnosis, tickets are now available. The following evening, theatre meets comedy in the Big Gorgeous Gay Theatre Gala. Comedian Aoife Sweeney O’Connor will present their work in progress An Evening with Wee Daniel (Yes! This is a reference to Daniel O’Donnell) while Colm McCready will present comedy horror drama Scaredy Fat. There will also be an exhibition, workshops and numerous other events – check back soon for more details!
Opportunities for audiences to engage further and actively participate in this year’s festival include a national Lasta Game Jam celebrating “nerd culture” and linking the digital arts world where competitors will create their own video games with prizes to be won. Young filmmakers across the country will also get a chance to submit their short films for the National Lasta Festival Online Short Film Programme with awards to be won under various categories.
Reflecting the diversity and broad ranging sensibilities of modern Ireland, this pioneering project will showcase the breadth of creativity of our future arts programmers, curators and producers. This promises to be a fresh, fun, diverse, accessible, and exciting festival of events.
Booking is now open and tickets are available from the LASTA Venues which are: Backstage Theatre (Longford) www.backstage.ie; Dunamaise Arts Centre (Portlaoise) www.dunamaise.ie; glór (Ennis) www.glor.ie; An Grianán (Letterkenny) www.angrianan.com; Lime Tree Theatre (Limerick) www.limetreetheatre.ie; Siamsa Tíre (Tralee) www.siamsatire.com and Town Hall Theatre (Galway) www.tht.ie
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