RT One Unveils Next Stage of Arts Output for 04

RT One Unveils Next Stage of Arts Output for 2014 Spring 2014 will see a new phase of Arts programming on RT One.

Mon 10 Feb 2014: Following on from the success of landmark arts series Play Next Door, RT One will continue to bring dedicated arts coverage centre-stage by scheduling arts programming in the heart of its peak-time schedule.

As part of the rollout of a new Arts strategy for RT One, The Works moves into a new peak-time slot at 8.30pm on RT One from Friday 14th February and the channel will also air a number of important new arts documentaries, including Outsider, Dolores Keane: Stories From The Edge and Neal McGregor: The Bones of a Man.

Speaking about the new slot for The Works, Sarah Ryder, Executive Producer, Arts said Arts programming is central to the RT One offering: culture is a core part of our DNA as a nation, and it is our job as Ireland's national broadcaster to reflect that.

The new, peak-time slot for The Works is the next step in a raft of new arts initiatives that will be rolled out across 2014 on RT One, which began with a major original Irish arts format, Play Next Door, in January and will culminate in a number of major Arts documentaries in prime time slots autumn 2014. The overwhelmingly positive reaction to Play Next Door has been a great start, and we are hoping that audiences will embrace The Works in its new slot just as enthusiastically.

Also, broadcasting later in the Spring: Outsider is a new documentary which explores the worlds of ex-prisoners, and now respected artists, Eddie Cahill and Frank Lucas Quigley. The documentary explores the events that drove them to the dark side; and how a meeting with internationally-acclaimed Irish artist Brian Maguire in Portlaoise prison was to take them on a very different path. In the 1980s, Lucas joined the IRA in Belfast; meanwhile Eddie, together with his brother Martin The General Cahill, fronted one of the most notorious criminal gangs in Dublin. Both were eventually incarcerated in Portlaoise prison, where they met artist Brian Maguire, who, through his art classes, unleashed a dormant artistic talent in them both. The documentary charts the three men's parallel life journeys, using archive, newspaper cuttings and their own personal photographs as they work their way towards major exhibitions in 2014.

Dolores Keane: Stories From The Edge: Irish singer Dolores Keane's distinctive deep, soulful voice is loved the world over. But Dolores life was overshadowed for many years as she battled with alcoholism and depression. Now she has re-emerged from the shadows and is ready to delve into her journey so far. Using never-before-seen archive, specially-recorded performance and interviews with Dolores, this landmark documentary by Scratch Films for RT Arts will piece together in words, archive and classic song, the extraordinary story of one of Ireland's best-loved cultural icons.

Neal McGregor: The Bones of a Man: In 1998 the body of a man in his 40s was found on Inishbofin island in Donegal, near a cliff overlooking Toberglassen Bay. The body was found lying on a camp bed; the only other items of furniture were stubs of candles for lighting. Finely-executed drawings of birds were found in a heap in a corner, beautifully illustrated diaries by the bed, and on the stone walls were etched three figures: a lobster; a seagull, and a fish. So what happened to Neal MacGregor? Using Neal's own drawings and diaries, animation, archive, old home movie footage and testimony from those who knew him, this beautiful new film by acclaimed director Neasa N Chian in will piece together the story of this enigmatic artist and the mystery of his unusual death in Donegal.

LINK:	http://www.rte.ie/about/en/press-office/press-releases/2014/0210/50346...
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