18th Outburst Queer Arts Festival now on, supported by The National Lottery
20th November, 2024
Outburst Arts, Northern Ireland’s award-winning queer arts organisation, is back with their exciting annual international festival continuing until Saturday 23 November in venues across Belfast.
Highlights this year includes an artist residency from Raphaël Amahl Khouri from Jordan who will close the festival on Saturday 23 November with his theatre production, It Was Paradise, Unfortunately, at the Brian Friel Theatre. Commissioned by Outburst Arts, it was first shared as research-in development piece in the 2023 festival. It Was Paradise, Unfortunately, combines autobiographical performance, live scenography, and action figures. Brilliantly developed as a full stage production by Dublin’s The Collective, this daring and surprisingly moving work goes beyond representation to situate queer ideas as key to liberation for all.
Don’t miss PHIL COLLINS: Mixtape #1, available to view at Ulster University Arts gallery until Thursday 5 December. Outburst Queer Arts Festival and Ulster Presents at Ulster University mark the 175th Anniversary of the Belfast School of Art in a collaboration with one of its most acclaimed graduates, Phil Collins, featuring two vital works in the festival programme.
This long-term collaboration with Outburst Arts on a new project, which foregrounds questions about queer love and the violent histories of British colonialism, begins by looking back. The Ulster University Art Gallery will host the UK and Ireland premiere of Mixtape #1, an unorthodox overview of Collins’ work in moving image over twenty-five years. Drawing its title and concept from the ‘mixtape’ – a devotional form of music compilation. This genre-bending compendium brings together a heady blend of episodes, excerpts, ‘wild’ footage, and ephemeral scenes from his extensive filmography. Note this event is suitable for age 16+.
Don’t miss Queer Art in Lithuania: From Veronika Šleivytė to Agnė Jokšė on Saturday 23 November at the Ledger Studio, University of Atypical. Over the past two years, Outburst has been connecting with queer artists from Lithuania, a Baltic country with a fascinating and unique queer history and a rich arts and cultural scene, from the Soviet era to independence and beyond. The festival will welcome art critic, curator, artist and writer Laima Kreivytė for a short history of queer art, censorship and curatorial interventions in Lithuania followed by a conversation with artist Agnė Jokšė and a reading of Lezbynai, an erotic story about lesbian love in the background of the Lazdynai district of Vilnius where the artist grew up. Note this event is suitable for age 18+.
From film, visual art exhibitions, Queereoke, Queer Art Markets, theatre, comedy, talks and more, this year’s packed programme offers something to suit all tastes and the festival prides itself on welcoming everyone, so don’t miss out!
Ruth McCarthy, Artistic Director, Outburst Arts, said,
“Outburst Queer Arts Festival is committed to supporting local artists to make inventive and risk-taking new work, as well as welcoming international artists who are pushing boundaries in form and content and often in very challenging circumstances. The support we receive from the Arts Council through the National Lottery is invaluable in bringing incredible new work to life and centering Belfast and the North as a vital hub for new queer work that explores issues and ideas around gender and sexuality.”
Gilly Campbell, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland added,
“As Outburst celebrates its 18th birthday, we have an opportunity to reflect on just how instrumental this organisation and this annual festival have been to the development of Queer Arts and LGBTQIA+ representation. Outburst has, quite simply, transformed the narrative, here and far beyond our own shores. It has matured into one of our widest-reaching arts festivals, a ‘Champion’, now recognised as an international frontrunner.
The Arts Council is delighted to provide the principal support for the Outburst Festival, with game-changing investment from The National Lottery. The 2024 programme reflects many of the core values of the Arts Council’s own strategic plan, ‘Championing the Arts 2024-34’, particularly in the support it shows for experimentation, innovation, international commissioning and cutting-edge collaboration. Our congratulations to the team on another inspirational programme.”
The Outburst Queer Arts Festival continues until 23 November 2024. To view the full programme and book tickets visit https://outburstarts.com/festi...