Esther Gerrard is a landscape architect who curates Bloom Fringe with Marion Keogh. Bloom Fringe is the livelier, younger and way cheaper cousin of Bloom. A guerrilla gardening festival that wants to ‘Make it Pretty in this Gritty City’.

The festival is fuelled by a desire for change in our capital city and brings the energy of grassroots spontaneity onto the streets of the city during the larger, altogether more corporate Bloom that takes place in Phoenix Park during the June Bank Holiday.

Esther explains, “I’m fascinated about liveability in cities and our use and greening of public spaces and my work is inspired by my passionate belief that cities are dynamic, spontaneous and great places and that they can provide for the multitude of needs and possibilities which we explore in the Bloom Fringe festival.”

Events include open days, talks, retail trails, secret Dublin tours, workshops, art installations and food eating opportunities. The not-for-profit fringe festival is motivated by themes such as creativity, community, healthy living and sustainable biodiversity.

Esther will speak at Pecha Kucha with Sean Harrington (Sean Harrington Architects), Anne Bedos (Rothar), Esther Gerrard (Bloom Fringe), Manchan Magan (RTE/TG4/The Irish Times), Gearoid Carvill and Kieran Harnett (Dublin Honey Company), Hollie Kearns and Rosie Lynch (Callan Workhouse Union), Douglas Carson (Carson and Crushell), Emmet Condon (Homebeat) and Sam Tranum (Liberties Press).

If you’re unfamiliar with the Pecha Kucha format, here it is in a nutshell: speakers get 20 slides, and 20 seconds to explain each. This is no excuse to talk through the technicalities of their work, but to provoke us into thinking about themes and issues that effect us all. Pecha Kucha is a not-for-profit event and is brough to you by Irish Architecture Foundation and Totally Dublin.

Wednesday 22 July, 7pm, The Sugar Club. Tickets are available on the door for just €5 and that includes a free Peroni beer.