Kilkenny Arts Festival announces the appointment of former Culture Ireland chief as
new Festival Director.
Eugene Downes announced as Director of Kilkenny Arts Festival
Kilkenny Arts Festival, one of Ireland’s leading multi-disciplinary arts festivals today,
Wednesday 28 August, announces the appointment of Eugene Downes as Festival
Director, a position which he will take up mid-October 2013.
Eugene Downes served from 2007-12 as Chief Executive of Culture Ireland, creating a
new model for the promotion and advancement of Irish arts worldwide. In that role he
also planned and led Imagine Ireland, a year-long festival of Irish arts across the US in
2011. From 2000-07 he acted as an international arts consultant, advising the Irish
Government on strategy and curating and producing arts events across Europe, Asia and
South America. Previous experience included the Irish Foreign Service, a spell as Cultural
Attaché in Russia and as a music and opera broadcaster on RTÉ Lyric FM. Eugene is a
Board member of Druid and the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA), cochairing its annual Congress in New York in 2012. He has also served on the Boards of
the Abbey Theatre, the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Irish Theatre Institute, Rough
Magic and the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, and as a member of the Export Trade
Council, the National Forum on Europe and the Council of National Cultural Institutions.
Downes’s appointment comes following the announcement in early July that current
Festival Director Rosemary Collier would take up the role of Executive Director with
Opera Theatre Company following the 2013 festival.
Remarking on his new role Eugene Downes commented; "From its beginning forty years
ago, Kilkenny Arts Festival has always had a sense of world-class artistic standards.
Kilkenny's unique combination of graceful medieval cityscape, intimate scale, warm
welcome and marvellous historic venues create a very special festival for audiences and
artists alike. I'm excited, and honoured, to be asked to lead the Festival at a time of real
potential to enhance both its artistic programme and its reputation at home and
abroad."
Speaking of the appointment, Kilkenny Arts Festival chairperson, Emer Foley said, “The
Board of the festival is delighted to have appointed someone of the calibre of Eugene
Downes to the role of Festival Director. The festival has developed enormously under
the tenure of Rosemary Collier and the festival has seen unprecedented growth in the
last two years. She will be sorely missed and we wish her all the best in her new role. It
is an exciting time for the festival and there are significant opportunities ahead. We are
very much looking forward to Eugene, with his wealth of experience working in the arts
both in Ireland and abroad, leading the festival through this next stage of development.”
The 40th Kilkenny Arts Festival, which finished on 18 August saw increased numbers
attending events during this ten day celebration. The Festival attracted more than
30,000 visitors for an eclectic line-up of events which featured world premieres with the
Crash Ensemble and junk ensemble, the return of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre,
performances by four time grammy award winner Dawn Upshaw, a city-wide arts
project with the UK artist Bob & Roberta Smith, readings with Ron Rash, Kevin Barry,
Colm Toibin and a number of sold-out music shows in venues as diverse as the Set
Theatre to St. Canice’s Cathedral.
Kilkenny Arts Festival is core funded by the Arts Council and supported by Failte Ireland
and Kilkenny Local Authorities.
Press information: Sinead O’Doherty, Gerry Lundberg.
Gerry Lundberg Public Relations t: +353 1 679 8476 / +353 86 259 1070
pr@gerrylundbergpr