In 2022, the 100th anniversary of James Joyce’s publication of Ulysses, two festival curators embarked on a journey around Europe. They wanted to demonstrate that Joyce’s masterpiece was more than just a brilliant Irish novel; it was also distinctly European.
Ulysses is being honored by Seán Doran and Liam Browne over the course of two years and in 18 cities.
The novel, whovern February 2, 1922, is based on Homer’s Odyssey and is set in Dublin on a single day.
Doran and Browne desired a Joycean celebration that extended well beyond the borders of Ireland.
Ulysses: A European Odyssey (UEO) is a festival that weaves together communities, ideas, art, and lived experience as it travels through Europe.
The men go by the name Arts Over Borders and are both from Northern Ireland’s Londonderry. As curators of art festivals, they established themselves as DoranBrowne.
The Lughnasa Friel Fest, A Wilde Weekend, and Happy Days Enniskillen International Becket Festival were all created by them.
However, their ambition took off with UEO.
Liam remarked,
“James Joyce was the classic European.
He spent the majority of his adult life in continental Europe.
“Trieste would have been a melting pot of ethnicities when he lived there.
Although he was physically sleeping and eating in European cities, Dublin was his imagined version of the city.
He claimed that Joyce’s inclusion of Trieste, Zurich, and Paris at the conclusion of Ulysses was highly intentional.
Through after flagship cultural initiative of the European Commission, the guys were able to acquire €1.72 million (£1.48 million) in EU funding for the €3 million (£2.58 million) project.
It became evident when they met potential collaborators for their project that many people also saw Ulysses as belonging to Europe.
Of the 18 episodes of Ulysses that are modeled after the Odyssey, each city honors one.
It seemed appropriate that the project’s Irish-inspired launch took place in Greece in September 2022.
Greek vocalist Chrysoula Kechiagioglou and Irish musician Liam “Maonla” appeared on Sing To Us O Muse.
At dawn, in view of the Acropolis, they sang in Greek and Irish.
The genitive brought together artists, academics, and civil engineers to discuss the Joycean themes of migration, memory, histories, and political and urban environments with Palestinian and Syrian refugees.
A play about immigration and integration was presented in Marseille in October, a city that has welcomed 100,000 immigrants.
Then the adventures started.
It makes no difference that some participants are from across Europe and haven’t read Ulysses.
Liam remarked, “Joyce envisaged it as a novel for every man and woman.
“He was not an academic writer. The novel contains a lot of humor and heart.
Many of our partners have since started reading it after not having done so.
Each city has a distinct Joycean subject, which is all relevant in the twenty-first century. These themes range from migration to mental health, gender freedom to the idea of home, and the female vision in Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.
Despite the lapse in time, he noted that these are still relevant issues.
The organizers stressed how vital it was to invite attendees who do not typically participate in the arts.
This initiative is not “arts-only.”
A library, a hospital, a school, a cemetery, and even the city streets have to play a part, just as they do in Ulysses.
Joyce thought that interacting with the city was a way to become more civilized; you grow and become a better person, remarked Liam.
“Public events take place in public spaces in every city.”
In October in Trieste, all of the organizers came together for the first time. Before that, they first connected on Zoom due to the epidemic.
Liam described the physical encounter as “amazing and joyful,” adding that there was “a beautiful sense of oneness.”
The Joycean journey picks up more speed the next year.
Dublin, Derry, Zurich, Trieste, Paris, Vilnius, Budapest, Marseille, Berlin, San Sebastian, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Cluj, Zurich, Groningen, Eleusis, Oulu, and Lisbon are among the cities that are featured in the project.
There will be motivational activities, discussion about the future of the arts in Europe, and chances for artists to travel.
The tour will end in Ireland in 2024, first in Derry, the hometown of Seán Doran and Liam Browne, then in Joyce’s hometown of Dublin.
Ironically, the second option was chosen since Northern Ireland is no longer a member of the EU as a result of Brexit.
But the men developed a dispute with their financial backers.
Liam remarked,
“The famous Molly Bloom soliloquy concludes Joyce’s book.
“Derry is a city of women. Do you recall the shirt factories? The males weren’t hired; it was the ladies who made the money.
Women now hold the majority of the authority.
In his hometown, Molly Bloom’s “yes” reverberates over the years.
He noted that in Derry, people greet one another by saying “yes.”
It was wonderful that Creative Europe recognized that and approved it.
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