Culture File

Director of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Annie Fletcher on some of her favs in watching, reading, listening, tasting and smelling

Katsura Sunshine on the sit down comedy of rakugo, the traditional Japanese art of comic storytelling; Caitriona Frost on whatever good things a musician might have learnt in these past two years, and Jennifer Walshe on the promises of cloned Insta-pets.

During the pandemic, violinist Cliodhna Ryan recorded frank conversations with some of her musician friends and colleagues - this time percussionist, Caitriona Frost - about the path they've chosen.

Katsura Sunshine on the codes and the gags of Rakugo, traditional Japanese comedy storytelling.

Katsura Sunshine, the Canadian immigrant to Japan who currently has Rakugo traditional Japanese storytelling shows running both on Broadway and in the West End.

Jennifer Walshe on the very obvious attractions of cloning for the superstar pets of social media.

"Science Fictions" author, Stuart Ritchie shares some of his favourites in reading, watching, listening, tasting and smelling.

Pandemic nostalgia with Carpet Theatre's Breath, the fleeting painted world of Ciarán Murphy, nurturing Irish female conductors at The National Concert Hall, and to Davy Byrnes for a glassful of literary revisionism (and orange curacao with brandy).

Ciarán Murphy continues a hypnotic journey into paint inspired by an encounter at Dublin's Natural History Museum.

Updating a traditional Jocean celebration at Davy Byrne's pub with some Orange Curacao.

Helping improve gender balance on the podium is the Female Conductor Program at the NCH, led by conductor Alice Farnham.

Director, Ciaran Taylor, actor Karl Quinn and fiddler and multi-instrumentalist, Steve Wickham collaborate in a show exploring the little worlds of the pandemic.

Jennifer Walshe on the machines learning to farm, Aisling Kelliher on why you don't need any NFTs, the many meanings of water with artist, Marie Hanlon, and escaping the classical trap with avant popster, Sfiiinx.

Director of Forensic Architecture, Eyal Weizman, on some of the things he's been enjoying listening to, watching, reading, tasting and smelling

How many of humanity's problems can blockchain tech really fix? Prof Aisling Kelliher on some recent twists in the crypto tale.

Do blockchain technologies represent new hope for artists to control their own work, or are they just another twist in the financialization of art? On the panel to discuss, Virginia Tech's Aisling Kelliher, painter, Hughie Donoghue, NCAD's Rachel O'Dwyer and crypto-art pioneer, Ruth Catlow. (First broadcast May 2021)

Water's presence in everything from fracking to pee inspires the installation work in artist, Marie Hanlon's exhibition Water - More or Less.

Vocalist and composer, Síobhra Quinlan, on building her own musical space outside "bel canto" and "spectralism"

Vocalist and composer, Síobhra Quinlan, on building her own musical space outside "bel canto" and "spectralism"

The future of the farm has been occupying the waking and sleeping life of composer and artist, Jennifer Walshe.

Si´obhra Quinlan, vocalist and composer behind sfiiinx, shares some of her favourites in watching, reading, listening, tasting and smelling

Founder and leader of activist art/research group, Forensic Architecture, Eyal Weizman on investigating racism in the polluted air of the deep South, Xueting Christine Ni on the rise of donghua, or Chinese animation, and Paddy Woodworth celebrates literary hymn to the birdlife of Essex that is JA Baker’s The Peregrine.

Forensic Architecture founder, Eyal Weizman on investigating the racist roots of pollution in the American South

Forensic Architecture founder, Eyal Weizman on how the research group began to look at violence that comes in the form of gas, of clouds.

Paddy Woodworth finds shelf space for J.A. Baker's 1960s classic evocation of English birdworlds, The Peregrine.