Moving towards the future, Kia will be the new Official EV Partner of this year’s national St. Patrick’s Festival. As part of its partnership Kia Ireland is working with ground-breaking contemporary graffiti artist Aches and renowned choreographer Deirdre Griffin (Headonbody) to infuse its ‘Movement That Inspires’ creative purpose into a stunning Parade pageant entitled Connect & Inspire.
A global celebration of Irish arts, culture and heritage, the national St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns to the streets of Dublin on March 17 for the first time in two years and promises the biggest and most ambitious spectacle ever produced in scale, creativity and participants. Kia Ireland has chosen the EV6 to showcase the Brand and it is the perfect car partner for this year’s festival, having just won Irish Car of the Year 2022 .
Of the new Kia partnership Anna McGowan, Interim Director, St. Patrick’s Festival said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Kia Ireland as our Official EV Partner for Parade 2022. Here at St. Patrick’s Festival, green is more than just a colour. We are always looking for ways to be more sustainable in our practices, and we hope that this creative partnership with Kia Ireland will inspire others to explore sustainable ways of movement and travel. Our partnership with Kia Ireland is inspired by their 'Movement the Inspires' campaign and will see the creation of a brand-new, cutting-edge pageant piece by avant-garde street artist Aches, which will make its début during the national St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. The piece plays with colour and movement to offer audiences new perspectives and points of inspiration, while tapping into the artist’s memories of connection and friendship at the Gaeltacht. We are so grateful to Kia Ireland for their support, which allows us to invest in and amplify amazing homegrown Irish creativity and talent on a global stage.”
Central to the pageant’s creative process is Kia’s ‘Movement That Inspires’ messaging which reflects the fact that ‘ideas come from movement' and 'inspiration is everywhere'. Entitled Connect & Inspire, this moving sculptural creation by Aches captures life, change, perspectives and evolution through the presentation of dancers layered with colour, presenting various viewpoints, offering the audience new perspectives and points of inspiration. The artist takes inspiration from his own youthful trips to the Gaeltacht and evenings spent in the céilí hall as people came together to socialise and have fun through the mediums of dance and music. Deirdre Griffin’s choreography delivers dramatic movement of costumes and colours that reflect the pageant to create a kaleidoscope of new colours with each core movement.
Kia Ireland Managing Director, Ronan Flood said “We are delighted to be involved in this year’s Festival which gives us an opportunity to showcase our electrification technology but more importantly to join forces with creative partners who appreciate the new direction of travel for the KIa brand. Movement that Inspires is not just a marketing slogan, it is a philosophy that drives all our designers and engineers to design cars like EV6 which is the first of many great EVs that will be built in the coming years . We are particularly proud to be associated with Aches and Deirdre Griffin and we are looking forward to seeing our brand vision brought to life on the streets of Dublin.”
The EV6 launched last year demonstrates Kia’s unwavering focus in becoming a leading global provider of sustainable mobility solutions. It is Kia’s first dedicated battery electric vehicle and demonstrates the exciting potential of the company’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). The EV6 brings long-range, zero-emissions power, 800V ultra-fast charging and distinctive styling to the crossover SUV market. The EV6 enables the vehicle to achieve up to 528 kilometres (from Cork to Belfast) of driving range from a single charge. Kia aims to fully electrify its vehicle line-up in Europe by 2035, with other key markets around the globe following by 2040.
