Blue Teapot to Unveil Landmark Exhibition for Culture Night
Blue Teapot Theatre Company will present a landmark archive exhibition celebrating fifteen years of its Performing Arts School as part of this year’s Culture Night from 7pm – 9pm on Friday 19th September.
Founded in 2010, the Performing Arts School was established to address the fact that there was no quality, accredited performing arts training for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) anywhere in Ireland at the time. Blue Teapot committed to filling this gap, creating a vibrant three-year QQI-accredited programme facilitated by some of the West of Ireland’s finest theatre arts practitioners. Since then, forty-five graduates have acted, sang and danced their way through the course, and today fifteen students continue to train annually in the company’s dedicated premises.
The exhibition will chart this extraordinary journey, showcasing photographic archives from the first enrolled students in 2010 to the present day. Visitors can enjoy displays of costumes, puppets and theatre crafts, as well as screenings of theatre productions and short films. Current students and graduates will host the evening, giving the public a unique insight into the creativity and talent that has flourished over the last decade and a half.
Speaking about why this exhibition was chosen for Culture Night, Artistic Director Petal Pilley commented:
It’s incredible to be celebrating fifteen years of Blue Teapot’s Performing Arts School and all forty-five graduates that have acted, sang and danced their way through its three-year QQI accredited programme. Our Performing Arts School was born out of the fact that in 2010 there was no quality, accredited performing arts training for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) anywhere in Ireland. So, we committed ourselves to establishing a vibrant programme, facilitated by some of West of Ireland’s finest theatre arts practitioners, to start levelling the playing field for ID artists. Today, our Performing Arts School delivers to fifteen students every year with its own premises unlocking extraordinary artistry and expanding the lives of its students.
Performing Arts School Manager Judith Wolf added:
We are excited to open the doors to our first Culture Night exhibition to give the public a flavour of the work we do here and the amazing productions we had over the last 15 years. It is clear to see how the students have blossomed into creative and talented makers and performers.
The exhibition will take place from 7pm – 9pm on Friday 19th September at Blue Teapot Theatre, Munster Avenue, Galway H91 FVF9. Everybody is welcome.
About Culture Night
Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir is brought to you by the Arts Council. It is a national moment, celebrating culture, creativity and the arts, and seeks to actively promote the belief that this rich and varied culture is alive, treasured and nurtured in people’s lives, today and every day. It is delivered nationwide in cities, towns, villages and rural locations as well as online and through media partners. See our Culture Night 2025 listing here.