Culture Night is an annual, all-island public event that celebrates culture, creativity and the arts. This year, it will take place on Friday 18th September 2020. On Culture Night, arts and cultural organisations and venues of all shapes and sizes, from independent studios and art-spaces to national cultural institutions, extend their opening hours to allow increased access for the public. Special and unique events and workshops are specifically programmed at participating locations and all activities are made available free of charge. Culture Night has grown from a relatively small-scale cultural event, staged only in Dublin in 2006, to the significant national cultural event it is now, with some 400,000 people visiting museums, galleries, historic houses, artists’ studios and cultural centres across the island. The initiative has captured the public imagination and its success has been propelled by the enthusiasm of artists and cultural organisations. Culture Night is an initiative of Dublin City Council (Temple Bar Cultural Trust) and became a national event with the support from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht from 2008 onward. In 2020, responsibility for steering and funding Culture Night on a national level was transferred from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the Arts Council.