What’s on in the Arts
15th June, 2022
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The MAC: presents Duke Special and Friend: It was Only a Dream on 30 June at 7:45pm.
Join Duke Special and friends for a night of songs discovered from old sheet music and performed with a stellar house band made up of Seán Óg Graham and Niamh Dunne (Beoga), Mark McCambridge (Arborist), Rachel McCarthy (Darkling Air), Nick Scott, bass (for artists including Mary Black, Sir Van Morrison & Sinead O’Connor), and Steve Davis, drums (for artists including Sir Van Morrison, Mark Ribot, Django Bates & Matthew Bourne), and very special guest, the MAC's Artist In Residence pianist Ruth McGinley. Visit www.themaclive.com
Jazzlife Alliance and Jazz Juniors return with a series of dates in June and August.
David Lyttle & Phil Robson + Jazz Juniors
19 June, 2pm, Flowerfield Arts Centre
David Lyttle & Jazz Juniors
6 & 7 August, Hillsborough Castle
Visit www.davidlyttle.com
Duncairn: presents a series of live music including:
- 23 June - Rufous Nightjar, a three-part harmony trio consisting of Branwen Kavanagh, Anna Mieke and Zoe Basha.
- 25 June - First Fortnight, a festival that aims to challenge stigma around mental health through the arts. Compered by Stephen James Smith and featuring Ciaran Lavery, Nandi Jola and Pete r Murphy.
- 2 July – The Whileaways. Instinctive sibling-like harmonies, captivating lyrics and melodies mark The Whileaways sound, which has been described as “perfected simplicity” and the band as “masters of arrangement and song-writing “(Irish Echo, USA) .
Ulster Orchestra: presents Salon Sessions. With the aim to expand their support of and collaboration with local music artists, the Ulster Orchestra is launched an exciting new digital series, Salon Sessions, which is available to watch on their YouTube channel. Salon Sessions is free to view. For further information on Salon Sessions, please visit www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk
Oh Yeah Music Centre: The NI Music exhibition at Oh Yeah is the only permanent exhibit for popular music in Northern Ireland. There is much to see, including a series of storyboards documenting and plotting the history and the stories of Folk, Punk, Rock, Jazz and more.
Exhibition Opening Times
Mon – Fri: 10am-4pm
Sat: 12-5pm
To enquire about a visit, or for further info and group bookings please contact info@ohyeahbelfast.com or call 02890310845
Moving On Music: presents a series of concerts including:
25 June – Camilla George, The MAC3 July – 13 Vices (New Music Biennial), Southbank Centre
For further info visit www.movingonmusic.com
Northern Ireland Opera: each Sunday afternoon until 3 July, join Northern Ireland Opera on Belfast's historic Maritime Mile for free pop-up concerts. Stay for an hour or drop by for an aria or two! Each week they’ll be delivering a different pop-up performance with artists from their Studio, Associate Artists programmes and from their past productions.
This is a pilot programme organised by the Maritime Mile to encourage people to explore and enjoy the historic Titanic Quarter in Belfast. As well as the Northern Ireland Opera performances there are also pop-ups by folk and bluegrass bands and performers so you can while away a musical afternoon by the Lagan. Upcoming performances include:
- 19th June, 2pm, Bass-baritone Ryan Garnham (La Traviata 2022, past Associate Artist), pianist Lorraine Stanley, RiverBox (Titanic Slipways)
- 26th June: TBC - check their website for updates.
- 3rd July, 2pm, Soprano Susan Shepherd (La Traviata 2022), pianist Lorraine Stanley, SS Nomadic
Northern Ireland Opera also presents: La Triviata, an afternoon of quizzes and live performance on 26 June. Join Northern Ireland Opera at The New Orpheus, Belfast for an afternoon of quizzes and live opera performance, hosted by actor and vocalist Harry Lambert. Expect trivia questions on opera, classical music and general knowledge, live performances from guest artists including soprano Mary McCabe and exciting prizes on offer for quiz winners (and losers!). Visit www.niopera.com
Northern Ireland Opera: presents one of the most beautiful operas ever written, La Traviata, which returns to The Grand Opera House on 10, 13, 15 and 17 September 2022. Join Northern Ireland Opera as they present a brand-new production of one of the most popular operas of all time: the much-loved and cherished La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi.
This stunning new production comprising four performances is sure to delight and move audiences of all ages. It is perfect for anyone looking to experience an opera for the first time as well as for existing opera fans. Northern Ireland Opera is delighted to engage with the Ulster Orchestra to bring this masterpiece with its gloriously romantic score to life. Visit www.niopera.com
The Black Box: presents a series of concerts this spring. For further information visit www.blackboxbelfast.com
Scott’s Jazz Club: Scott's Jazz Club runs a weekly concert in Ballyhackamore club 1a Sandown Road every Friday Night from 9pm. The club provides a welcoming environment for world class jazz music to be experienced in a concert setting. For upcoming performances visit https://www.scottsjazzclub.com/
Portico of Ards: presents a new programme of events for 2022 visit porticoards.com
A highlight is the “Phenomenal” choir Tenebrae. Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision. On Friday 24 June, Tenebrae Consort is coming to Northern Ireland - for one night only - to perform at the Portico of Ards arts and heritage centre in Portaferry.
Tenebrae is renowned for its highly-acclaimed interpretations of choral music ranging from the Renaissance through to contemporary choral masterpieces, and has appeared at major festivals and venues including the BBC Proms, Edinburgh International Festival, Leipzig Gewandhaus (Germany) and Melbourne Festival (Australia).
The Tenebrae Consort’s visit to Portico is the jewel in the crown of this year’s classical music programme, supported by National Lottery Project Funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The programme, entitled ‘When Sleep Comes’, includes pieces by Foreshaw, Gibbons, Hildegard von Bingen and Tallis. For details on the programme or to book please visit porticoards.com
Another major highlights features Arts Council Major Individual Artist award recipient, Ian Wilson.
MLADENOVIĆ & WILSON : VIOLIN & PIANO, 17 JULY 2022, 3PM
The Mladenović-Wilson duo bring together an outstanding Serbian violinist with one of Ireland’s leading composers, also a pianist in his own right. As a duo, Dušica Mladenović and Ian Wilson explore a wide range of music from classical greats such as Schubert and musical mavericks like Erik Satie to more contemporary work by the likes of Arvo Pärt and Wilson himself. The programme includes:
Sonata in A minor, op.137 (1816, 23’) Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Fratres (1977, 11’) Arvo PÄRT (b.1935)
from the Book of Longing (1996, 12’) Ian WILSON (b.1964)
Socrates Ungraved (1918/2016, 27’) Erik SATIE (1866-1925) / Ian WILSON
ITMA: 'Drawing from the Well' is an online monthly ITMA series which connects artists with archival materials to inspire new art. To date, nine videos, podcasts and blogs have been created by leading traditional musicians, singers, and dancers, including Louise Mulcahy, Martin Hayes, Edwina Guckian and Cormac Begley. All episodes are free to view online at https://www.itma.ie/drawingfromthewell
Phil Taggart: ChillDaBeats is the brand new show from NI DJ, Phil Taggart. Every week he brings you a soft focus selection of the best alternative chill sounds along with the biggest guests picking some brain soothers in the Soul Food Selection. ChillDaBeats goes live every Sunday. Listen on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/0M2IpL7ldc1Rui2aa9meX3 This podcast series is supported by emergency funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Department for Communities.
Tommy Sands and Artsawonder: In this new online film series, legendary musician, Tommy Sands, films, sings, listens and learns from a singing five times world champion drum major Alan McBride, two young women, Jenna Stevenson and Wendy Graham Hanna, who initiate and drive an Arts hub shop, a rhythmic drum weaver rhythmic drum weaver Damien McKeown and a young woman Bronagh Kelly who lovingly echoes the poetry of her mother. To watch visit Media | Artsawonder (wixsite.com)
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents Music Corner, the best of traditional music with great traditional musicians every Saturday. Visit https://www.facebook.com/AnChulturlann/
FILM, LITERATURE, DANCE & DRAMA
The John Hewitt International Summer School and Festival: will take place from 25-30 July at their festival base in the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre Armagh for a full week of culture, entertainment, discussion and collective celebration of literature and the arts. The opening address will be presented by Professor Olivette Otele of the University of Bristol. Professor Otele, the UK’s first black female Professor of History, and she will explore the links between history, collective memory and geopolitics and how questions of citizenship, race and identity are addressed.
Big Telly: presents Incognito in Ballymena, join Big Telly on 17-18 June for a thrilling, interactive adventure. Using your smartphone to access game content via an app, you'll become part of a network of elite agents working under the radar, engaged in top secret missions across the world.
You will be our newest team of recruits, trained to ensure the security of those around you. You’ll move quickly and quietly from location to location, meeting strangers, unravelling stories and solving mysteries.
Combining a ground-breaking mix of live actors and technology, this is a theatre experience on the move played by a number of teams simultaneously, working together to thwart a threat and avert disaster. This is a perfect family adventure suitable for all ages. Visit www.big-telly.com
THE MAC: presents, On The Shelf, 9 – 23 December, various times, £12.50 - £20
A Christmas show that’s strictly for grown-ups. Starring Tara Lynne O’Neill (Ma Mary from Derry Girls) as Paula who, this Christmas Eve, finds herself firmly back on the shelf. Following its sold-out run in 2018, this smash-hit comedy is back with an updated version for the MAC that’s bigger and better than ever.
It’s Christmas Eve. Paula has a list and she’s checked it twice. She has the flat, the car and the career. Now all she wants for Christmas is the ring! Her boyfriend has other ideas though and she ends up back On The Shelf.
Faced with spending a lifetime of Christmases alone, she decides to peel off the spanx, pour a drink or twelve and dish the dirt on love, life and turning 40. Like the rest of Paula’s night though, things don’t quite go to plan with the arrival of an unusual and unwanted house guest (Chris Robinson (Bouncers).
Join The MAC for a laugh-out-loud cracker. Time to get together for a guaranteed great night out this Christmas. https://themaclive.com/event/on-the-shelf
Kabosh: presents The Shedding of Skin, a play inspired by women in conflict.
The Shedding of Skin, produced by Belfast-based Kabosh, is a poetic, multi-layered howl of rage, giving voice to the thousands of women who have suffered abuse in all corners of the world. The play is written by Armagh playwright Vittoria Cafolla, directed by Kabosh Artistic Director Paula McFetridge and stars an all-female cast.
The production will be performed at the Playhouse Theatre on June 3 and 4 at 8pm, at the Marketplace Theatre in Armagh on June 8 at 8pm and at the Lyric Theatre from June 14-18 at 8pm and on June 18- 19 at 3pm. To book tickets visit https://kabosh.net/production/the-shedding-of-skin/
C21 Theatre: has announced a brand-new online play called Brenda’s Baby. This gripping piece of urban theatre is based on the true story of the struggle of a mother who has her new born taken into care after only five days, due to her drug addiction. The play, which explores her fight to win her baby back, will be streamed online in June 2022. A series of workshops will take place in collaboration with Women’s Aid groups across NI and will feature live excerpts from the production.
Written by Tom Rowntree-Finlay and directed by Stephen Kelly, Brenda’s Baby is a redemption story told through the eyes of Brenda played by Rosie McClelland and her grown up son Jacob played by Conor O’Donnell, who also plays a range of other characters. Brenda’s Baby explores her struggles against drugs, homelessness, a controlling partner, and the social services as she fights to win her baby back. A mix of poetry and hard-edged flashback scenes will take audiences on a whirlwind journey of Brenda’s life. The story is based on a true-life experience of a young mother from Belfast. Visit www.c21theatrecompany.com
Tinderbox: In August 2022, Tinderbox will premiere award-winning writer Kat Woods’ astonishing new play as part of Edinburgh Fringe followed by a two-week production at the Duncairn Arts Centre. The one woman play will feature animation and incredible sound design that will reveal the theme of shame and trans-generational trauma through powerful and rich storytelling. Birds of Passage in the Half Light will work in partnership with Alliance for Choice and Nexus NI in the delivery of a unique participatory programme. Kat Woods previous plays Mule, Belfast Boy and Killymuck received huge critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in previous years and we are delighted to present this powerful tour de force at the Gilded Balloon this August. For more information visit www.tinderbox.org.uk
Grand Opera House: presents a series of shows including the highlights below:
- Jersey Boys Wed 15 Jun 2022 - Sat 25 Jun 2022
- In the Name of the Son Mon 25 Jul 2022 - Sat 30 Jul 2022
For tickets and the full programme please visit www.goh.co.uk
The Lyric Theatre: presents a new programme for 2022 with highlights including,
- Stones in his Pockets, 7 June – 3 July
- Breadboy, 28-31 July 2022
For further details on all events and to buy tickets visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
DU Dance (NI): presents Belfast Boys, physical dance theatre for boys aged 7-11 years at the Crescent Arts Centre. Classes at 2-3pm every Saturday. No experience is necessary. Book at info@dudanceni.com
Echo Echo: presents Introduction to Body Wisdom Movement for Over 50s on Tuesday evenings 7pm - 9pm at Echo Echo's studios on Magazine Street, Derry-Londonderry. Join Echo Echo for a short introductory evening course in Body Wisdom Movement and Dance for the over 50s led by Echo Echo's Artistic Director Steve Batts.
Of course moving is healthy, physically and psychologically but we aren't striving for those benefits. In our experience they come best as a by-product of exploring movement as a shared, poetic artistic process. The approach Echo Echo take is that older people have enormous poetic potential embedded in their movement lives. Echo Echo take away the expectations that are usually attached to dance as an art - extreme mobility, athleticism, agility - and begin from where people are.
Any men and women 50 years and upwards can join, no matter the level of physical ability or experience. To register please visit https://www.echoechodance.com/whatson/introduction-to-body-wisdom-movement-dance
For more details on al of Echo Echo’s classes and events visit www.echoechodance.com
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich and Quotidian: presents Poetry Jukebox. Poetry Jukebox are #ChangingTheMessage! This project aims to share beautiful, profound and life-affirming words and change the words on our streets, opening hearts and minds, putting poetry to work where it belongs: everywhere, for everyone.
As well as pressing buttons on the physical jukebox outside the Cultúrlann, poetry-lovers will be able to listen online at https://www.culturlann.ie/en
BBC Dance Passion: Don’t miss Flight, a short dance film about that universal desire to fly, led by Northern Ireland choreographer/Co-Director, Jennifer Rooney and Co-Director, Ciarán Haggerty, commissioned by BBC Dance Passion. Flight is part of the BBC series A Season of Arts and available to view now on BBC iPlayer. The film explores that most universal theme - a child’s desire to fly. To watch Flight visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014fqd
Crescent Arts Centre: has launched a new season of the Crescent’s Creative Learning Programme where you can explore a hobby, brush up on your creative talents, or have a go at something new. Visit https://crescentarts.org/courses
Seamus Heaney HomePlace: has released details of their new winter-spring 2022 seasonal programme of events. Visit www.seamusheaneyhome.com for tickets and information.
Millennium Forum: presents a new programme for 2022 .Visit www.millenniumforum.co.uk for tickets and to view the full performance programme.
Declan McConaghy Show: Newry based former BBC broadcaster, Declan McConaghy has created a new serfies of short films where he talks in-depth to creatives from Newry and the surrounding area who have made a contribution to theatre, music, dance and the performing arts in general. The view the films visit https://www.facebook.com/DMCSHOW or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH9LxmhE8O1Af3Csk-k6vA
Beyond Skin: presents the following events on 21 June to mark Make Music Day.
Make Music Day event at Holywood Yacht Club 21st June 2pm - 4pm
Beyond Skin, MARRS, Creative Holywood and Make Music Day UK present an afternoon of musical diversity. Tuesday 21st June is Music Day - established in France 40 years ago with Fête de la Musique and now celebrated worldwide. The event will include performances from professional musicians who have come to our shores seeking sanctuary. They bring amazing musical skills, derived from an array of different cultures. All the musicians are supported by MARRS (Musicians Artists at Risk Resettlement Scheme). This event is free but ticketed (with a suggested donation on the day).
This year it is a celebration of 40years since Music Day began in France with the Féte De La Musique Festival. Various countries around the world are recording a special 40th Anniversary video/event and Beyond Skin & Donne Foundation will be representing the UK with a music video for Fete de La Musique 40 recorded in Belfast earlier this year.
The music video features a composition by French composer Cecile Chaminade that is performed by Gabriella de Laccio (Soprano) and Helen Tseng (Piano). Gabriella is a Sorprano and the founder of Donne Foundation (Women in Music) and Helen Tseng is a pianist from Taiwan who has been living in Northern Ireland for the past 14 years.
Visit www.beyondskin.net/mmd22 for full details.
Open Arts: presents ‘Words Out’, a new book of poetry, prose and pictures produced by participants from the ground-breaking arts and disability organisation which will be launched at a special Belfast Book Festival performance event at the Crescent Arts Centre at 1pm on Thursday 16 June. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Open Arts inspires and supports the creativity and artistic development of disabled people through its weekly classes in a wide range of art forms - music, drama, dance, writing and visual art. To view the full festival programme visit https://belfastbookfestival.com/whats-on
Terra Nova Productions: presents The Trumpet & The King which will be staged between on 14th-15th June 2022 in Queens Hall, Newtownards, and on 17-19th June 2022 in Vault Theatre, East Belfast.
The Trumpet & the King tells the story of real historic figures, recently discovered through new historic research. It will be of interest to young and old who are passionate about history, the Tudors, Shakespeare, theatre and film. Meticulously researched, the play covers a period of Henry VIII's life prior to his break with Rome, changes to church and state that affect our history to this day.
Ultimately however, it is a funny and heartrending embodiment of the warm, angry and potent friendship between two young men, united through their passion for music. The production features a sound and music world created with professional artists from around the globe including potent Northern Irish musical talent, and a community company from across Northern Ireland. This gripping true story of the Renaissance will receive prototype performances in Northern Ireland in preparation for a tour across Ireland and the UK in the months ahead. Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/first-ever-performances-of-the-trumpet-the-king-266599
Stage Beyond: The Millennium Forum’s resident award-winning theatre company for adults with learning disabilities, Stage Beyond, will present ‘The Great Dictator’ on Wednesday, June 15th 2022.
Europe, 1941. Pandora is at war and people are disappearing, people who are different. Dictator Heidi has a doppelganger – Brian, a decorator. When Brian’s sister Hanna goes missing, Brian discovers a terrible secret at his local hospital. In a bizarre case of mistaken identity, fate offers Brian the chance to change history. Drawing on recent historical episodes, ‘The Great Dictator’ asks is how we treat the vulnerable a measure of our humanity?
Based on Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece of the same name, Stage Beyond interrogates what happens when society treats disability like a crime and people with disabilities like criminals. Tickets : £10.00, £8.00 available from the Millennium Forum. Tel. (0044) 28 71264455 or email boxoffice@millenniumforum.co.uk
Crescent Arts Centre: has a new term of classes to book and enjoy now. Fancy learning to speak some Italian before your holiday to Italy this year? Well now’s your chance! From visual arts, language classes, acting, dance, music making and more, there’s something to tantalise all tastes. Visit www.crescentarts.co.uk
Duncairn: has released details of their new programme of theatre, music and digital classes. To book visit www.theduncairn.com
Duncairn Player: all of the previous video projects can now be viewed from the Duncairn Player including The Duncairn Virtual Cabaret, Take 2, Carlingford and the Ring of Guillion Sessions. Visit https://www.theduncairn.com/player
Greater Shantallow Community Arts: presents Spill The Tae Youth Led Podcast from the young people at Studio2/GSCA. This amazing group of creative young people have launched their very own podcast and it can be found on Spotify or Apple Podcast.
The Podcast has a strong focus on mental health as part of the EA Health & Wellbeing programme this month. The young people plan, host, interview and edit the Podcast. To date they have interviewed some of their local MLA’s, Councillors, survivors and local Derry’s own Serena Terry, creator of Mammybanter. As well as this they have a voice and a safe place where they can openly talk about mental health and what it means to them.
As well as having a voice the young people are developing their communication skills, confidence and self-awareness as well as learning skills in sound engineering and digital editing, skills they can take with them into their future career paths. You can find the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast but also by clicking this link below.
https://shows.acast.com/spill-the-tae-youth-led-podcast
Eden Place Arts Centre: has an exciting range of courses and workshops to get your creative juices flowing including wood sculpture, Inner Lanscapes, Abstract Art, Ceramics, Painting for Beginners, Contempoary Botanical Watercolours, Landscape Painting Life Painting, Spinning and Weaving plus Portrait Painting, among others. All courses are designed for adults aged 18+. Visit www.edenplaceartscentre.com
Wheelworks: unique to WheelWorks Arts is their state of the art ArtCart — a mobile arts studio that travels to your venue and opens up to provide an additional studio space for workshops and is packed full to the brim with digital equipment such as ipads, music and film making technology.
Virtual ArtCart activities take place at your own venue. Where outdoor space is limited, Wheelworks bring the ArtCart creativity inside your centre. They also come with a full outdoor suite — marquees, stage sound, lighting and outdoor heaters.
This unique space allows your young people the opportunity to experience professional equipment in a custom-made studio. It allows your centre to offer a range of socially distance spaces and utilises outdoor space. To book your perfect digital and arts activities just email www.wheelworksarts.com
Streetwise: Fancy learning how to juggle and other circus skills?! In response to Covid 19 Streetwise Community Circus has developed a team of tutors who are now working via Zoom to reach out to those who can no longer participate in workshops. To take advantage of this opportunity all you have to do is email Streetwise on streetwiseathome@gmail.com. Suitable for participants who range in age from 8 to 80 plus.
Arts Care: has a wonderful range of arts activities available online on their Arts Care 4U Premium +, their online arts delivery channel that everyone can access. Arts Care’s new dedicated online arts and well-being workshop resource, ‘Break-Time’, accessed via their website to support the mental, emotional and physical well-being of children and young people through the Arts. New art, music, dance & exercise, drama, creative writing and clown doctor’s CDTV videos will be uploaded regularly and it’s all FREE. Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ85xLA2BlQQdrnWBhKw1hw
The MAC: presents Claire Barclay: Thrum across our Upper, Tall and Sunken Galleries fro, 15 April 2022 - 3 July 2022. Claire Barclay is a visual artist recognised for producing large-scale sculptural installations created in response to specific contexts. Her works are immersive sensory experiences that explore our interactions with materials and functionality, by combining formal elements that evoke thinking around the “psychological relationships between human beings and the objects that we live with and produce.” In this exhibition Barclay includes a series of tactile sculptural environments, where large-scale forms, made predominantly from fabrics and metals, “suggest textile narratives and explore our complex relationships with cloth.” Visit www.themaclive.com
Ron Mueck, 29 July – 20 Nov, The MAC. Free, booking advised. Suggested donation: £5
This is the first exhibition of Mueck’s work in Ireland and brings together seven of his key works including Dead Dad, 1997 and his monumental work In Bed, 2005. Book now for the opening weekend (29 - 31 July) of what will be a powerful exhibition of Mueck's meticulously sculpted figures, from mini to mammoth, that act as psychological reflections of the human condition. https://themaclive.com/exhibition/ron-mueck-2
Screen Printing Workshop, 25 June, 10am – 5pm at The MAC, £70 (including lunch)
Join The MAC for a one-day screen-printing workshop and lunch in partnership with Belfast Print Workshop. Starting with a tour of their current exhibition led by the MAC’s Senior Curator Hugh Mulholland, you will view the work of leading Scottish artist Claire Barclay which is exhibited across all three galleries.
Taking inspiration from Claire’s work you will create a series of screen-prints of your own image using techniques of colour layered silkscreen printing. The workshop will be facilitated by professional printmaker Dónall Billings at Belfast Print Workshop. The workshop is open to all and suitable for beginners.
To create your own screenprint, please send a photograph of a group of domestic objects, or a still-life by 20 June 2022 to elaine@themaclive.com
Craft Northern Ireland: presents ‘Peter Meanley: New Works’ a solo exhibition which features unique new works by the renowned salt glaze potter Peter Meanley, which he has developed over the last three years. For more information and to register for the talks visit www.craftni.org
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents new visual arts exhibitions by Dan O'Neill, Patrick Hickey & Farhad O'Neill from 16 June – 14 August.
The exhibition by Dan O’Neill is the artist’s first exhibition in Belfast in 35 years. His works are included in the collections of the following galleries in Ireland: the National Gallery of Ireland, IMMA, Ulster Museum, Crawford Art Gallery, Waterford Municipal Art Gallery, Limerick University, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Queen’s University Belfast, and Down County Museum.
Looking for a Home, a Place to call our Own, a Place where we can be Alone is an exhibition of paintings Patrick Hickey has produced as a part of his practice-based PhD research at Ulster University, Belfast. The exhibition explores queer Irish identity and masculinity through the exploration of the nude male figure in a fantasy version of the Irish landscape.
The exhibition by Farhad O'Neill entitled, Speaking through the Veil, comprises of 16 illustrations inspired by medieval narratives and natural philosophy.
For further details visit www.culturlann.ieCCA: presents two solo exhibitions by Mark Buckeridge (NI/RoI) and Ona Juciūtė (LT), participants in the second iteration of the DeMo reciprocal residency programme, a partnership between CCA, Lithuanian Culture Institute and Kaunas Artists' House. The exhibitions feature new work by the artists following their participation in the residency programme and continues until 2 July. Visit www.ccadld.org for further details and background.
VOID: Void Gallery presents their next exhibition, Above Us the Milky Way, from 25 June – 27 August, which features work from artists Orna Kazimi, Kubra Khademi, Mario García Torres and Erkan Özgen. The title of the exhibition is taken from a novel by Fowzin Karimi that explores the complexities and the impact of war through memories, loss and notions of home.
Many who are forced into exile face forced migration, and the burden of carrying the past into the present and future. The legacy of war, the repression of minorities and women, and the trauma that seeps through the generations forms the focal point of this exhibition. Visit www.derryvoid.com
UNBOXED: Thousands of participants aka Lumenators are being recruited from across Northern Ireland, by outdoor art experts Walk the Plank, to help create large-scale outdoor artworks in some of the region's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for Green Space Dark Skies, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, from April to September 2022.
Gathering at designated Northern Ireland locations at dusk, Lumenators will be guided along pathways or waterways carrying smart lights that will enable digital choreography captured on film, while also being sensitive to the night-time environment. To protect these amazing places, the exact locations will only be revealed to the Lumenators who have registered to take part. There will be no spectators, but anyone can take part for free as long as they sign up in advance.
UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK and is commissioned and delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland. If you would like to take part in Green Space Dark Skies register at https://greenspacedarkskies.uk/get-involved/
Golden Thread Gallery: presents AN OBJECT OF VISION Alexandra Lethbridge, part of Belfast Photo Festival 2022.
Thursday 2nd June to Saturday 20th August, Project Space.
‘You’re seeing less than half the picture without the vision of women artists and women of colour.’ This was the message delivered by the Guerrilla Girls in 1984. Not much has changed since then. The line was used in a poster campaign to rebel against the International Survey of Painting and Sculpture held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The exhibition included the work of 169 artists, less than 10% of whom were women.
Today, of the 2,300 artworks held by the National Gallery, only 21 of these are by women artists. Without women artists and female perspectives, we lose half the story.
An Object of Vision charts the exclusion of women from historical narratives through a series of still lives and collages constructed to position women in the picture. This series asks what is lost when the stories and perspectives of women are eliminated from history? The work sets out to respond to this by reconstructing and creating new alternative images.
Historically, images of women have been used to contain and limit them. Women have been hidden, suppressed, veiled, covered, or shrouded. Women have largely been depicted as they were seen by others. Always seen or watched and constantly aware of the image of themselves. As John Berger describes in Ways of Seeing, women watch themselves being looked at, they are turned into a sight, a spectacle, an object of vision.
In this series by Alexandra Lethbridge, the images of women are fragmented, dislocated, but reassembled again. The process exposes the disjunctions between the individual being and the form, the sight and the expectations, the truth and the fabrication. Visit www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Belfast Exposed: Presents the following exhibitions:
Gallery 1: Belfast Exposed is delighted to present a selection of three bodies of work by Vienna-based conceptual artist Thomas Albdorf, 2 June – 16 July. This exhibition forms part of the Belfast Photo Festival 2022.
Albdorf’s work sits at the intersection between photography and sculpture. The narratives behind the works are like shifting perceptions, and a decontextualisation caused by internet interference. He conceives photography as a chain of decisions that range from the objects or subject’s staging to post-processing and a potentially final print, creating a space of possibilities and probabilities, primarily enabled via digital post-production.
Albdorf combines classic photographic genres with contemporary visual techniques. His landscapes and still-lifes are boldly aesthetic, but his use of the photographic medium is highly conceptual. Using both analogue and digital technology, Albdorf constructs fictional realities from photographs of persistent visual clichés found online. Albdorf typically submits his constructions to image recognition software to see if the program could be tricked into identifying his fictions as ‘real’. For further details visit www.belfastexposed.org
ArtisAnn:
ArtisAnn Gallery, 70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, BT5 5AE
Tue – Fri: 11am to 6pm ; Sat: Noon to 5pm
All artworks are available to buy. You can also buy art from this exhibition through the Arts Council supported Own Art scheme which gives you an interest-free loan over 10 months (and you still get to take the art home immediately the exhibition ends). Visit www.artisann.org
Belfast Book Festival: is now on and continues until 19th June at the Crescent Arts Centre. The Belfast Book Festival aims to open the world of books to everyone. This year’s programme has been designed with all in mind and for 10 days everyone will be welcome to celebrate with some local and international authors and poets, as well as showcasing the wealth of local talent that defines our thriving literary community.
Some of the key highlights for this year include; Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels; Serena Terry, viral Tiktok sensation; Award-winning Young Adult novelist Sue Divin; Observer debut novelist for 2022, Louise Kennedy and many more! The Festival is more than just words. There are host of creative learning workshops on offer, musical and theatrical performances, open mic events and more!
‘Words Out’, a new book of poetry, prose and pictures produced by participants from the ground-breaking arts and disability organisation, Open Arts, will be launched at a special Belfast Book Festival performance event at the Crescent Arts Centre at 1pm on Thursday 16 June. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Open Arts inspires and supports the creativity and artistic development of disabled people through its weekly classes in a wide range of art forms - music, drama, dance, writing and visual art. To view the full festival programme visit https://belfastbookfestival.com/whats-on
Stendhal Festival: is back from 30 June – 2 July at Ballymully Cottage Farm, Limavady. Visit www.stendhalfestival.com
Celtronic: returns from 26 June – 3 July in Derry-Londonderry. For programme details visit www.celtronicfestival.com
The John Hewitt International Summer School and Festival: will take place from 25-30 July at their festival base in the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre Armagh for a full week of culture, entertainment, discussion and collective celebration of literature and the arts. The opening address will be presented by Professor Olivette Otele of the University of Bristol. Professor Otele, the UK’s first black female Professor of History, and she will explore the links between history, collective memory and geopolitics and how questions of citizenship, race and identity are addressed.
Fiction highlights will feature authors Jan Carson, David Park, Audrey Magee, Louise Kennedy and Una Mannion. Bernie McGill and Wendy Erskine will celebrate the short story, while Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Suad Aldarra, Kevin Doherty, Olivia Fitzsimons and Kathleen Murray will discuss their recent books. Well known local crime writer Stuart Neville will host a Crime Fiction Special with celebrated crime writers Val McDermid and Mark Billingham, and BBC presenter William Crawley will interview Ardal O’Hanlon about his latest crime fiction novel, “Brouhaha”. For full programme details visit johnhewittsociety.org
Guinness Belfast City Blues Festival: returns from 24-26 June live from across Belfast featuring blues, barbeque and more. Taking place the last weekend in June, the Belfast City Blues Festival presents over 65 free gigs which will take in place in over 25 venues citywide. This year the festival will be also be erecting a main stage which will be sited at Writers’ Square in the heart of the city’s Cathedral Quarter. From here there will be a huge array of both local and international talent on show, as well as a great variety of local food been served. For tickets and listings visit www.belfastcitybluesfestival.gov.uk
Belfast Photo Festival: Northern Ireland’s premier visual arts festival is now on (2–30 June) presenting a programme of compelling and immersive exhibitions in galleries and public spaces throughout the city. A new exhibition of work by emerging photographic artists at Belfast’s Golden Thread Gallery is set to share alternative viewpoints on Northern Ireland, as seen through a different lens. Under its theme The Verge, this year’s festival explores untold stories, underrepresented narratives and perspectives on the world that too often go unseen
Renowned for its creative presentations and animation of public spaces with captivating visual art, this year’s festival will once again stimulate curiosity and discussion with a range of open air exhibitions along Botanic Gardens, Queen's University Quad, Belfast City Quays, Belfast City Hall Lawn, Queen’s Island (adjacent Titanic Belfast) and Stormont Estate.
Visit www.belfastphotofestival.com
Walled City Music Festival: return with live performances from some of the world’s finest musicians and tickets are on sale NOW!
Highlights include:
The Brodsky Quartet
Thursday 23 June, Christ Church, 7.30pm
The Brodsky Quartet is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022 and we are thrilled to welcome them back to the Walled City Music Festival for our Opening Concert in the beautiful surroundings of Christ Church.
Acoustronic and the Ulster Orchestra
Friday 24 June, Millennium Forum, 7.30pm
Walled City Music Festival 2022 presents a unique collaboration between the Ulster Orchestra and the award-winning, Derry-based ensemble of young musicians with disabilities, Acoustronic.
Sandbox Percussion
Saturday 25 June, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, 7.30pm
Brought together by the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning. Through compelling collaborations with composers and performers, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney seek to engage a wider audience for classical music.
Sandbox Percussion will perform their 2021 album Seven Pillars, which was nominated for two GRAMMY awards.
For tickets and information visit www.walledcitymusic.com
Belfast Tradfest: returns from 23-29 July 2022 with a jam-packed week full of traditional music, song and dance, featuring some of the best trad musicians from across these islands. Join us this summer for a series of concerts, workshops, talks, lectures, sessions, ceilí & festival club! Visit www.belfasttraditionalmusic.com
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: is delighted to bring a plethora of new events and programmes for the coming months as we transition from Spring to Summer. This year’s Bealtaine programme got off to a brilliant start with a book launch ‘Bone and Marrow | Cnámh agus Smior’ by Samuel K. Fisher and Brian Ó Conchubhair. For the youth there will be Na Bopóga, Fall’s Road Youth Club and Aisling Óg and for the rest there will be a mixture of new Irish languages classes, Áine Ní Bhreisleáin will be coming with her show ‘Bladhaire’, an album launch with Kevin Meehan and much much more! However this is only a taster of what they have to offer. Be sure to have a look at the full programme of events available at www.culturlann.ie
Open House Festival at The Walled Garden: Open House Festival returns to the stunning setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden 11-29 August, with an exciting line-up of music, comedy, theatre, classic film and spoken word events. Headline acts include Beth Orton, Martha Wainwright, Paul Brady, Paddy Raff, Eddi Reader, Villagers, Duke Special and the Hothouse Flowers, as well as festival favourites Celtic Soul, Ronnie Greer and Manukahunney. Specially commissioned events include Berts To Bangor, recreating the amazing jazz music performed at Berts Jazz Bar in the Merchant Hotel, Belfast. This year’s Classic Film screenings include Thelma and Louise and Chicago. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks. Vie the current Walled Garden programme at www.openhousefestival.com
Northern Ireland Opera: present the 12th Glenarm Festival of Voice, 26-28 August 2022. Join Northern Ireland Opera and BBC Radio 3 in the beautiful coastal village of Glenarm this August for our annual celebration of song: The Glenarm Festival of Voice. Now in its twelfth year, this much-loved event brings together BBC Radio 3 recitals, outreach events, performances their Artist Development Programme and culminates in the Competition Finale where five singers from across the island of Ireland compete in front of a live jury panel to win the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize and become the NI Opera Voice of 2022. Applications to enter the vocal competition are now open – if you are between the ages of 18-28, born on the island of Ireland and either a singer pursuing career in opera or as a professional pianist. Visit www.niopera.com