Galway International Arts Festival 2024

15 - 28 Jul, 2024, Galway Events Calendar

Ireland’s leading Festival of Extraordinary Experiences

Galway Arts Festival brochure
2024 Programme

The Galway International Arts Festival is one of the main highlights of the year and involves events throughout Galway City.

The 47th Galway International Arts Festival will take place for 2 weeks in July and will feature a wealth of theatre, music, comedy, visual art, dance, and literary events from artists from Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and of course Ireland and Galway.

A taste of last years festival (2023)

2024 is expected to include the largest and most ambitious programme to date. New opera and theatre, including four world premieres; Live at the Heineken Big Top; a First Thought programme; extraordinary visual art and street spectacle are among the highlights.

What’s On at the Galway Arts Festival 2024

What Theatre, Opera, Dance and Spectacle are happening?

GIAF 2024 will bring remarkable international performers to Ireland and stage shows for the 2024 festival. Expect the staging of a world class plays from renowned theatrical groups such as  Handspring Puppet Company and writers and directors such as Enda Walsh with Landmark Productions.

What Street Art will we see?

The excitement of street art and outdoor spectacle has long been a part of GIAF, and the team is thrilled to be able to present new and visually beautiful work to Galway’s streets. Last years festival hosted Dragon, by the French company Planète Vapeur which wandered the streets of Galway and dazzled viewers.

What live music will be on at GIAF 2024?

The Heineken® Big Top will also return in July 2024, with a fantastic lineup to be announced by Galway International Arts Festival and Róisn Dubh. To date the following acts have been confirmed.

Kneecap
Get ready for an explosive mix of Irish punk rap and electrifying energy at the Big Top on July 18th. Kneecap, the West Belfast trio, known for their cultural phenomenon status, will showcase their unique blend of Irish and English language in a genre-defying performance.

Block Rockin Beats
Dec Pierce’s Block Rockin Beats is set for the Heineken Big Top on Saturday, July 20. This will be a performance of the world’s biggest dance anthems, with a hint of rock’n’roll too, featuring a DJ set with a full live band.

KETTAMA
On July 25th from 8pm, Galway-born producer KETTAMA will bring his house and electro beats to the Heineken® Big Top, promising a thrilling return after gaining recognition with his breakthrough track B O D Y from the 2018 EP Bucklyn Bridge.

Gavin James
Gavin James will take to the Big Top stage at Fisheries Field on Friday, July 26.

The Saw Doctors
The Saw Doctors will take to the stage in the Heineken Big Top on on Saturday, 27 July 2024, 8.00pm.

Also expect the annual Traditional Music Showcases to take place in St Nicholas’ Church, which will also host Cois Cladaigh and Crash Ensemble’s performances.

What Visual Art displays will be on show?

The visual arts programme at the Galway International Arts Festival is renowned, and for last years festival, David Mach, a Scottish artist, presented a new, grand work entitled The Oligarch’s Nightmare.

Who will be taking part in the First Thought Talks series?

Galway International Arts Festival’s thought leadership program, First Thought Talks, returns as a tremendously popular feature of the Festival, tackling the key topics and challenges of the day.

Leading Irish and worldwide voices — academics, activists, artists, theatre-makers, journalists, and authors – will participate in a varied sequence of interviews, talks, and debates / discussions.

Will there be a Festival Garden again this year?

Yes, the Festival Garden, a new home for the Festival in Galway’s centre, returns this summer with delicious food, dazzling cocktails and drinks, occasional DJs, and live shows by guest artists, to the delight of tens of thousands of people.

What comedy acts will be at the festival?

Comedy acts are yet to be confirmed but expect a wide range of high profile comedians to present shows at the festival.

GIAF in pictures

About the Galway International Arts Festival

Founded in 1978, the Festival collaborates with artists and companies throughout the world to produce and present an international programme of theatre, spectacle, dance, visual arts, music, literature & comedy involving hundreds of artists and performers. Galway International Arts Festival is at the heart of all aspects of life in Galway City contributing immeasurably to the economic, social and cultural life of the west of Ireland. Over its 40-year history, the Festival has become a vital showcase for Irish arts internationally and international arts in Ireland and is now firmly established as Ireland’s leading arts festival.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Paul Fahy, Galway International Arts Festival will feature over 500 writers, artists, performers and musicians from America, Asia, Australia and Europe and of course Ireland. The Festival will highlight dance, physical theatre and spectacle from America and Europe illustrating the Festival’s continuing commitment to staging extraordinary, ambitious and innovative projects, the world premiere of new Irish theatre, site-specific visual arts commissions.

Elevate – supporting Irish artists

Artists at various phases of their careers are supported and presented by GIAF. Elevate is the new commissioning/bursary component of the Galway International Arts Festival, which will support Irish artists working across all artforms in creating and presenting fresh, current, and fascinating concepts to connect both live and digital audiences. Elevate’s mission is to support fresh and innovative ideas that would otherwise go unrealized. The request for applications for Elevate 2024 will close in June 2024, with winners announced in July at this year’s Festival. See: giaf.ie/elevate

Galway Arts Festival FAQs

In which month does the Galway Arts Festival take place?
Galway International Arts Festival takes place in venues throughout Galway every year for 2 weeks in July.
Is Galway Arts Festival going ahead this year?
Yes, the Galway International Arts Festival will go ahead in July as planned with loads of acts scheduled for the 2 week event. The festival, which takes place from July 15th – 28th 2024 and has been running since 1978, sees the city’s streets come alive with music, dance and spectacle.
In what field is the yearly big top erected for Galway International Arts Festival?
Galway International Arts Festival hosts large concerts and theatrical events in their festival Big Top tent at Fisheries Field on the campus of NUI Galway, overlooking the Rvier Corrib and Galway Cathedral near Galway City Centre.
When did the Galway Arts Festival begin?
Galway International Arts Festival was first held on April 6, 1978 and has been run every year since (excluding the 2 years of the Covid-19 pandemic).

For more information and to buy tickets go to www.giaf.ie

Address

Black Box Theatre, Dyke Rd,
Galway,
Ireland

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