Cultures and connection at heart of Misleór Festival

Music, film, poetry, talks and visual art from Traveller, Roma, Sámi, Mongolian, Australian Aboriginal and Romany Gypsy communities will be presented at the Misleór Festival of Nomadic Cultures which takes place in Galway City and Ballinasloe from next Thursday, September 28, to Sunday, October 1.

Misleór, which means ‘wanderer’ in the Irish Traveller language, Cant, celebrates and connects nomadic peoples from around the world.

Started in 2019, and presented by the Galway Traveller Movement, the festival is a unique collaboration between artists and community activists working at local, regional, national and international levels, according to its co-Artistic Director, Nora Corcoran.

Misleór challenges cultural stereotypes to promote inclusion and reflect the diversity within Traveller and nomadic communities, she explains.

“The programme is about facilitating dialogue, engagement and understanding between Traveller/nomadic and settled communities.”

Misleór will open at 6pm next Thursday in Druid’s Mick Lally Theatre with a special welcoming ceremony, On the Road.

That will be followed at 7pm in the same venue with Chant Yil Lull, a song circle with Australian Aboriginal artist Jessie Lloyd and women from the local Traveller community, as they delve into the personal and cultural significance of what it means ‘to sing’.