Le CCI a 20 ans !
Post date: Monday 5 Dec 2022
Esteemed cultural journalist Emmanuel Tellier has created a podcast to mark the CCI’s 20th anniversary. Capturing different voices, both French and Irish, ranging from artists, writers and musicians to university professors and a well-known book editor, the series highlights how the singular spaces and ambiance of the Centre lend themselves to unforgettable performances and international collaborations.
Episode 1 : Inspire and imbue
_Dermot Bolger is a prolific Irish novelist, playwright and poet born in Finglas, a suburb of Dublin, whose work often articulates the experiences of working-class characters. His relationship with the CCI dates back to 2008.
_Jim Culleton is the award-winning Artistic Director of Fishamble: The New Play Company who have presented seven memorable shows at the CCI over the last twenty years.
_Singer, songwriter and composer Adrian Crowley’s eight albums have established him at the summet of his art. He has a particular affection for the CCI’s chapel in which he has worked and performed on numerous occasions since 2017.
Episode 2 : A place of vitality and history
_A specialist in book history, Malcolm Walsby lectures at Enssib / University of Lyon and is Director of the Gabriel Naudé Research Centre. A former fellow of the Old Library at the CCI, he curated the 2022 heritage exhibition ‘Decrypting the secrets of rare books’.
_Sabine Wespieser founded her eponymous publishing house in 2002, the same year as the CCI’s inauguration. From the beginning, she published Irish author Nuala O’Faolain in French translation, branching out rapidly to include the works of Edna O’Brien, Claire Keegan, Jan Carson or John McGahern. Sabine has worked with the CCI for many years around the launching of her new Irish publications.
_Nathalie Sebbane lectures at La Sorbonne Nouvelle. A specialist in Irish studies, her research centres on State-Church relations, the history of women and secularisation as well as questions related to memory and history. Nathalie ensures that her students make the most of what the CCI has to offer.
Episode 3 : From Dublin
_Author Jan Carson made her entrée onto the literary scene in 2014 with the first of three highly successful novels exploring the complexities of her native Northern Ireland. She first spent time on residency at the CCI in 2020.
_ Visual artist Siobhán McDonald explores the crossover between human life, ecology and natural phenomena through delicate painting, drawing, film and sound installations. She is one of the first contemporary artists to have exhibited in the CCI’s Old Library.
_ Well-known folk singer and songwriter Glen Hansard has spent a number of periods of time at the CCI where he wrote his 4th solo album, This Wild Willing.
Episode 4 : Behind the scenes of the CCI
Nora Hickey M’Sichili, Director of the CCI since 2013, and Rosetta Beaugendre, Head of Communications since 2002.