Sam GreenwoodAs our readers know well, clubs are an integral part of our culture. It’s where we go to celebrate, commiserate and generally, just have the craic.
Despite the many obstacles faced, the scene has continued and even thrived in some cases. No suitable indoor space? Outdoor space will do, thanks. There’s no festivals in the winter? Fuckit, lets rent out Butlins/Pontins, and festival it up big style.
From epic stage shows, to live techno assaults and everything in between, clubs today cover a huge range of events. We’ve met our mates, our partners and random strangers who became our best friends for all of 6 hours, on the dance floor. These occasions are fairly indescribable (now that we try to describe it) and now that they’re basically non-existant, we can’t believe we ever said no to ANY event. What were we thinking!
As you know, long before Covid gave us a healthy dose of gratitude, we were doing our bit to help dance music and clubbing culture to get the platform it deserves. There’s a reason why thousands travel globally to support their favourite clubs, acts and festivals, and that thousands of home grown acts go on to receive global acclaim, or indeed, persevere despite the odds and create local lineups that could give the ‘top 10 DJs’ a run for their money. What, in fact, keeps it lit? Simple. You.
By supporting your favourite acts, buying their music, sharing their posts, buying their artwork, listening to their radio shows – you’re having an effect on an artists’ means to live, and in a way, their sense of autonomy, a delicate human right that seems unstable at the best of times these days.
But our work isn’t done. Some might say, it’s only just beginning. As you’re all well aware, globally, but specifically, in Ireland, we have lost some of the core clubs and venues in our country. The heart of the scene was affected as soon as we were denied a space. While it hasn’t deterred the many event planners and club go-ers, it hasn’t made it easy. Now, with Covid times in full swing, our event industry is suffering, and the lack of support is palpable as the creative boundaries close in on us. What has become clear (hopefully even to the government) is that we have vastly too many hotels. Whether we ever needed this much in the first place is a question beyond us today. But we certainly have no use for them now, and we 100% don’t need our cultural spaces torn down to be replaced with essentially – an eyesore.
This is of course, why we at Four Four, are incredibly happy to see this campaign come to light, that highlights the issue, brought to life, for Culture Night, tomorrow [Friday] 18th. Like all other events now, it will be an online stream showcasing a variety of Culture Night activities. The well known creative agency Thinkhouse collaborated with audio-visual specialist agency Algorithm with the club night/activist group No More Hotels, to shine a light on the issue.
Andrea Horan is Co-Founder of No More Hotels, a club night that exists to challenge the city and its citizens to value clubbing for what it brings to culture.
She said; “We initially set up No More Hotels out of frustration at the eradication of spaces specifically for clubbing. Yes, the people of Dublin are resourceful and will repurpose, recreate and revive what they can, but there was no focus on providing cultural spaces for night time dancing. We have a National Gallery, a National Library, a National Concert Hall, a National Theatre – why is there nowhere to dance? When we broke it down, we felt it’s because clubbing isn’t recognised by those not partaking in it as culture. It’s dismissed as a messy after thought, after dark. We wanted to use our club night as a stepping off point to illustrate why clubbing IS culture. Why it’s essential for so many people’s lives. Why it provides a richness in society that is often overlooked. Why there are so many makers and creators whose ideas germinate on the dance floor. That the community that is created can together overcome social, racial and economic barriers.
The key message of the project is that often the experience of clubbing can be excluded from the traditional definition of culture. But, according to the organisers, club culture IS culture. With this project, they celebrate the fact that clubbing brings people together, it provides growth, art and identity. Alongside a multitude of night-life culture-shapers who have shaped Dublin’s nightlife now, and over the last 20 years, this project is a celebration of how clubbing enables us to communicate, move and connect in unique and magical ways.
Make sure to tune in and check it out.
When? 6pm Culture Night, tomorrow [Friday] 18th September 2020. Right here, as this YouTube video will premiere live on this channel.