About Sonic Vigil:

Sonic Vigil was founded in Cork as a celebration of sound and the art of making it. It has been running since 2005, making it the most established sound art event in Ireland ( we can see many more recent offsprings, which are directly linked to this event throughout the country.). It is a unique event, which culminates many local and national high-calibre sound art practices. In its 11 editions it has gone from strength to strength in merging sonic activities across the city, county, country and abroad. What began as a standalone concert event is now a multifaceted and collaborative mini-festival, which permeates Cork and Ireland throughout the year with offshoot and prelude workshops, CD/LP/DVD releases, concerts combining food with sound and many other events.  The vigil is unique to Ireland and its reputation is steadily growing throughout Europe and beyond.
Sonic Vigil emerged from an increasingly vibrant Cork-based scene and was founded in 2005 to create an annual event as a celebration of Sound Art and the art of making it. It is a unique and experimental event that has been performed in some of Corks iconic cultural venues and has established Cork as Irelands leading centre for Sound Art. 

Sonic Vigil is a multi-sensory event that merges sound, image, space, experience, taste and movement to bring unique experiences to new and old audiences. Since its inception audiences have grown and its national and international profile continues to expand.

​Each year professional artists are invited to present new outlooks and experiences to a diverse audience. We invite local and international artists to collaborate live together, which establishes creative networks and new artistic partnerships that continually impact Corks evolving cultural life. Sonic Vigil was originally founded by sound artists Danny Mc Carthy and Mick O’ Shea (aka Quiet Club) + Cork Arts Collective, both of whom have been shaping Cork’s experimental practices by curating events such as Sound Out with David Toop, which was the first major sound art festival ever held in Ireland.

Currently SV is a multifaceted and collaborative event that include productions such as CD, LP and DVD releases, concerts, presentations, installations, workshops, residencies and many other events as preludes to the annual event. We have formed partnerships with Cork City Council, RTÉ Lyric fm, Farpoint Recordings, Goethe Institute, Singapore International Foundation, Cork Opera House, Gruenrekorder, NCAD, Sirius Arts Centre, The AVANT, CIT, UCC and practically all of the venues in the city, as well as discovering new ones. The makeup of the SV team of 3 visual artists / 2 musicians reiterates our open and collaborative ethos and aims to establish opportunities for artists, audiences, performers to network, collaborate and show new works in a stimulating context. All curators have extensive solo track records + have been curating + making art together for over 15 years. The curators are composers Karen Power and John Godfrey visual artists Danny Mc Carthy, Irene Murphy and Mick O’ Shea and is being led by composer/performer Karen Power. This years festival is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.

In 2016, SV developed a subgroup Sonic Vigilette in order to make international travel more feasible. As our first event we presented Sonic Vigilette @ ausland with six of its members and joined by two extraordinary local Berlin artists: Rishin Singh and Cathy Milliken. Audience members are free to come and go as they please, and are invited in amongst the musicians, encouraging an exploratory approach to hearing and allowing an exceptional sense of intimacy that breaks down performer/audience divides. This reduced format allows for further international exploration and for true sonic conversations to emerge. We are delighted to say that since it's inception we continue to take to the road!
Picture
SV 10 Performers - source unknown
Picture
SV 9 Performers - source unknown
Sonic Vigil Aims:

  • To establish and sustain an artist-led + community-based sound art festival born from Ireland's earliest Sound Art practices in Cork City
  • To build on old and new communities where artists + audiences develop together through shared experiences in their own time
  • To expand on the unique features of Sonic Vigil, which places listening, durational sound, multidisciplinary collaboration + free improvisation at its core
  • To offer vital formal and informal development and collaborative space to sound artists through the act of doing/making sound