Retrospect Arts Festival | Tuesday, 31st March 2026

Retrospect Arts Festival is a multidisciplinary arts festival that weaves together memory, nostalgia, and connection through a rich tapestry of immersive experiences. We embrace the meeting of old and new, where fragments of the past intertwine with the present, to celebrate shared memory and the ties that bring us together.

This festival aims to promote the sharing of creative memories through different art forms, acknowledging how past experiences build our present selves while creating meaningful connections through community participation and supporting artists in the development of their careers in Cork City.

TICKETS

The Retrospect Arts Festival is comprised of two FREE tickets:
Our day ticket is open to all ages and allows audience members to attend all events taking place at the Cork Opera House from 12pm until 8pm. Registration for events is required.

Our night ticket is for our closing event, and allows audience members to attend Trisco at the Cork Opera House from 8pm until 10pm. This is an 18+ event.

Note: if you wish to attend ALL events, you need to acquire both tickets.
Tickets are available from March 6th, 2026, and might be acquired here.

OUR EVENTS

IN BETWEEN

The In Between will serve as the central hub of the Retrospective Arts Festival, a welcoming space on the 1st floor, where you can relax with a coffee and prepare for the experiences ahead. Meet members of the team who will be on hand to answer your questions, chat with participating artists, and connect with fellow attendees. Most importantly, you’ll get a taste of what’s to come, with previews from all five featured events. Soak up the atmosphere at the In Between and introduce yourself to the festival.

HEARTH

Hearth welcomes you to the festival with engaging song and dance presented in the main foyer. We invite you to gather around the fire as our ancestors have for ages to enjoy global artists as they perform pieces that reflect memories of home. The event will also feature an open mic opportunity for the audience to share their own talents. Sign up for the open mic will be available the day of the event at In Between.

COLLECTIVE MOMENTS

Collective Moments is a participatory visual art event, taking place on the main stage of Cork Opera House. Audience members will step onto the stage and become co-creators. Guided by a lead artist, participants contribute memory-inspired gestures that accumulate into an evolving artwork. Over six hours, individual expressions merge into a collective composition. The project reframes the stage as a space of shared authorship, challenging traditional performer–audience boundaries. Ephemeral by design, the work privileges experience over object, positioning participation, presence, and memory at the centre of artistic practice.

OUT OF THE ATTIC

Out of the Attic is a unique literary experience, offering a variety of ways for audience members to explore memory through the written word. With the aim of prompting reflection and a sense of connection with the past and others, we invite you to join us on an immersive journey through time. Start by getting lost in the beautiful letters crafted by local artists, engage with a personalised poem done by four talented writers and be transported to a home away from home.

MEMORY LANE

Memory Lane is a guided artistic experience through five backstage dressing rooms of the Cork Opera House, each transformed into an individual artistic environment. The project explores memory and retrospect as a framework for reflecting on experiences of growing up. Artists are invited to interpret personal memories such as childhood, adolescence, or significant formative moments, either literally or through abstraction and ambiguity. While each room functions as a standalone work, the collective experience forms a cohesive journey through shared themes of remembrance, reflection, and personal history.

SONDER

Sonder is an interactive art instillation that will take you on a journey, exploring the idea that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Sonder aims to connect viewers through immersive technology.

TRISCO

Trisco is the closing event of the Retrospect Arts Festival. We will transform the Blue Angel bar into a space for celebration when old meets new. Trisco aims to combine traditional Irish music with modern electronic music. The event will feature live Trad musicians collaborating with a DJ, as well as projections of digital art. We invite everyone to a celebration where memory meets the dance floor.

ACCESSIBILITY

Retrospect Arts Festival is committed to transparency in our accessibility practices. Hearth, Out of the Attic, Trisco, and the In Between are fully wheelchair accessible. Collective Moments is wheelchair accessible via an usher-operated stair lift, which will be available and staffed between 12pm and 7pm. Memory Lane is not wheelchair accessible and is accessed via a flight and a half of stairs; a video experience will be available in the In Between section of the Festival.

For other needs, two ISL interpreters will be available on-site between 12pm and 4pm. Additionally, 6 sensory kits will be available at reception on a first-come first- serve basis and will be sanitized between uses.