This Day next week we will be gathering in Waterford for the Celtic Knot Wikimedia Languages Conference 2024!
In addition to celebrating language diversity, and discussing wiki projects and language policy, did you know there is also an array of cultural events in store?
Tickets to Celtic Knot also include;
- Daily Walking Tours with Waterford Treasures and Access to the city’s museums
- A Celtic lino printing workshop with artist Aoife Cawley
- A sean-nós Irish dancing working shop with cultural activist and performer Stéip le Tura
- A banquet dinner and dance performance.
- A performance from Ush Mush whose music combines traditional Irish styles, West African and Caribbean music, South American club music styles and radio-pop. With lyrics sung in a mixture of Irish Gaeilge and English, he’s the self-described daidí of Reggaelton.
Tickets are still available until Monday 23rd of September at midnight! Get yours now!
Get your tickets here!
Celtic Art Workshop with Aoife Cawley
We’re thrilled to offer a lino print workshop with the talented Irish artist Aoife Cawley.
Aoife Cawley is a printmaker and textiles artist from Kildare, Ireland, but currently based in Scotland. She graduated in 2024 with a First Class Honours in Contemporary Art Practice from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee. Cawley’s work is centred around stories and people from folklore and mythology, hagiographical and historical contexts. These stories or figures are commemorated through the mediums of printmaking and embroidered textiles. She draws inspiration from the past, looking back to medieval art, the Arts and Crafts Movement, and the Celtic Revival, and uses similar mediums and references to create her work.
Image courtesy of the artist.
Sean-Nós Dancing Workshop with Stéip le Tura
Experience the joy of traditional Irish dance with Stéip le Tura (Cuthbert Arutura) at our sean-nós dancing workshop. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned dancer, this will be a fun and lively session and provide you with some key steps for Friday night!
Tura Arutura is a well-established Irish Cultural activist and performer who moved to Ireland 31 years ago from Southern Africa. His dance practice combines urban, traditional African, Irish music and dance. With dedicated study over the past 10 years, Tura has become one of Ireland’s MasterSean Nós (traditional Irish) dancers and an aficionado of the Irish language and culture. The combination of African, and American influences, and Irish traditional dance creates a powerful and empowering reflection and celebration of diversity. Primarily a dancer, choreographer and composer, Tura has expanded into production, music composition, journalism and screenwriting. As an activist and voice for the preservation of cultures, he is renowned for teaching urban dance, unlocking creativity and enabling diversity amongst young people. His dance, music, and movement company Artfrique has produced hundreds of performances and workshops and designed educational programs for nearly 30 years. He travels all over Ireland to learn and work with some of the most prominent Sean-nós dancers of our time.
Image courtesy of the artist
Conference Gala Dinner
The conference will end with a special gala dinner featuring local Irish traditional musicians, a unique blend of Afro-Caribbean beats and Irish rap by UshMush, and captivating dance performances from local Mulcahy-Bible School of Dance and Stéip le Tura. It’s an evening you won’t want to miss!
Musical Performance by Ushmush
Ushmush hails from the Wild West of Ireland. His music combines influences from traditional Irish styles, West African and Caribbean music, South American club music styles and radio-pop. With lyrics sung in a mixture of Irish Gaeilge and English, the self-described daidí of Reggaelton is a weird and wonderful addition to the Irish music scene. As a recording artist, he has released music with Irish labels SESH FM, and the Wagwan collective.
In 2018, the release of his debut video “Grá Mór” garnered attention from Nialler9, District Magazine, and Nós irisleabhair. The video, directed by Caimin Jacob, was nominated by Nós for video of the year 2018 and for newcomer of the year for 2018. In 2019 Ushmush self-released his debut longform release “Oileáin” – the title alluding to the influence of island communities on his music.
In 2019 UshMush performed with Kneecap, The Mud Bubble, Wagwan, PX Music, and at Limerick’s All In festival in venues across the West of Ireland.
The WikiWomen Erasmus+ Project
This year Celtic Knot will see the launch of the WikiWomen Erasmus + Project which is an ongoing collaborative effort between Irish, Frisian, and Basque partners. The goal of WikiWomen is to highlight the gender gap in content and empower students in minority language communities (Gaeltacht regions, Basque, Friesland) to write Wikipedia articles about underrepresented women in their languages. This addresses the gender imbalance on Wikipedia in terms of representation. The conference will see the launch of the project’s toolkits which will provide educators, students, and GLAMS (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) with free resources to engage with work on their regional language Wikis.
These exist in three minority languages and are ready for translation so they can be used in any language Wiki. We hope that this will provide the resources for students, educators and GLAMs to run a Wikipedia course with second-level students to introduce Wiki to the classrooms in as many languages as possible.
Representing Ireland (and the Irish language) in this project are Wikimedia Community Ireland and Coláiste Oiriall in Monaghan.
Image via wikiwomen.eu
