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What's on in the Arts
30th August, 2024
From festivals, to concerts, exhibitions and more. Here's your guide to What's On in the Arts....
Open House Festival: The annual Open House Festival Bangor continues until 31 August, with comedy, film, theatre, literary and food & drink events. The majority of the 76 events will take place at two key locations: the award-winning Court House on Bangor seafront, and the beautiful Walled Garden at Bangor Castle, and for the first time since the covid pandemic, there will be at least one event every day during the month of August. The festival will close on Saturday 31st August with an appropriate finale party set from Will Foot and Lewis Henderson of Deptford Northern Soul Club at the Court House. Full details of the programme and ticket links can be found on the Open House website: www.openhousefestival.com
August Craft Month: The highly anticipated month-long celebration of Irish craft has officially launched! This year’s August Craft Month brings together an array of talented makers hosting nearly 300 events with representation in almost every county on the island of Ireland. August Craft Month celebrates a rich craft heritage with artisans keeping ancient traditions alive and new talented makers bringing real vibrancy to the scene. With events taking place across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, August Craft Month provides unique opportunities for people to get involved as well as supporting makers by buying products and learning more about their work. Supported by Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Craft NI, the annual celebration is once again part of an island-wide summer programme. There is a packed itinerary of nearly 300 eclectic events, with craft disciplines including ceramists, textile makers, glassblowers, designer-makers and more all available across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. For events taking place in Northern Ireland, please visit https://augustcraftmonth.org/e...
Belfast 2024: is an ambitious cultural celebration made by the people of Belfast and led by Belfast City Council. This programme will see the city come to life with creative projects, events and civic initiatives taking place across Belfast throughout the year. For more information visit https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk...
Bounce Festival: Bounce, Northern Ireland’s most diverse and eclectic arts festival featuring more than 60 d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists from across Ireland and the UK, will take place in Belfast, Derry-Londonderry and Limavady from 4-6 October 2024. Two headlining commissioned performances include Chasing Amy with Victoria Geelan and her band in the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast and A night with pianist Ruth McGinley and performance poet Alice McCullough in the Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady.
Not Your Pity Party - an evening of unapologetically proud, queer disabled art, celebrating new and emerging talent is a new partnership between Foyle Pride and University of Atypical. Mel Bradley has been commissioned to create this event in the Nerve Centre in Derry.
And for the first time ever, Northern Ireland’s first ever Autistic Comedy Showcase will be held in the Black Box in Belfast. The line-up will feature six comedians on the autistic spectrum who have been performing comedy across Ireland and the UK for years.
Other highlights include:
- Toilet Paper Diaries, written and performed by Manchester’s Porcelain Delaney in a one woman show, at the Crescent Arts Centre.
- De mo Neamhthoil an installation by Soso Ní Cheallaigh at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry.
- Open Arts Big Takeover at the Crescent Arts Centre with performances from Open Arts Community Choir, Monday Players, Luminous Soul with Mae Murray Teen Hub, Readings from our creative writing group.
- Theatre maker Jody O’Neill from Cork will present her production ‘Yellow’, a live show about living with autism at the Crescent Arts Centre. She will present her film screening of the theatre production What I (Don’t) Know about Autism at the QFT on Sunday 6th October with Q&A.
- As Bounce Artist in Residence this year, Brian Connolly presents a unique performance art and installation in the Atypical Gallery.
For more information on all shows and to book tickets, go to www.universityofatypical.org/b...
Belfast International Arts Festival: returns from 16 Oct – 23 Nov 2024 and the full programme is now available to view and buy tickets. Highlights include:
- 28 October, A collective of supremely talented female musicians from West Africa, Les Amazones d’Afrique blend traditional African rhythms with gritty contemporary pop
- 29 October, BIAF presents blues legends Paul Jones and Dave Kelly, Irish singer-songwriter Freddie White, and special guests the Ulster Orchestra
- 24 and 25 October, North Star is an immersive live music performance, inspired by the historic speech given by writer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass in Belfast in 1845. (Commissioned by Belfast 2024). Grammy Award winner Kaidi Tatham, poet Nandi Jola, rising stars Leo Miyagee and Winnie Ama, special guests Hannah Peel and Colin Salmon, and nearly 100 Belfast schoolkids, have created a spectacular showcase of music, art, and literature, deeply rooted in Black music and cultures, and delivered in spectacular surround sound.
- 31 Oct – 2 Nov, Cahoots NI presents The Vanishing Elephant. Cahoots’ moving story of friendship, belonging and adventure was named a ‘Critic’s Pick’ in the New York Times, which hailed it as ‘an alluring spectacle’.
Visit www.belfastinternationalartsfe... for tickets and info.
City of Derry International Choir Festival: The 12th City of Derry International Choir Festival returns this autumn from the 23rd to 27th of October and this year will see the largest ever number of participating choirs the festival has had since its inaugural year as part of the 2013 City of Culture programme. 91 musical groups will be bringing the world-famous City of Song to life across the five-day annual festival, which will feature, as ever, a superb programme of guest artist concerts, competitions for school, national and international choirs, as well as the audience favourites of pop-up choral trail performances and community concerts in venues across the city and northwest region. Choirs will be travelling from Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales and from across the island of Ireland to be part of this exciting and major event in the musical life of Northern Ireland. Visit www.derrychoirfest.com
Bruiser Theatre Company: presents, Wasted, by award-winning playwright Kat Woods. Wasted is a socio-political play that explores themes of binge drinking and sexual assault. Join Oli, Emma, and their friends on a night out drinking, flirting, and clubbing. The morning after the night before ensues and any event can only be remembered through the blurry haze of a dubious hangover. Wasted illuminates that grey area in the sexual relationship after a few too many drinks. The characters are not sure what has happened; both suffering from post-alcoholic amnesia. They are both secure in the fact that sex happened but, where alcohol puts the female in a state unable- legally- to consent to sex, our characters continually ask 'what happened' as they are marched through the legal system. Age guidance: 16+ (strong language and potentially triggering content).
Performances will take place at the following locations across the region,
- 5 Sep, Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey
- 6 Sep, Down Arts Centre, Downpatrick
- 19 Sep, Strule Arts Centre, Omagh
- 21 Sep, The Marketplace Theatre and Arts Centre, Armagh
- 25 Sep, The MAC, Belfast
For tickets and further information visit www.bruisertheatrecompany.com
Tinderbox: presents, YERMA, By Federico Garcia Lorca; New Adaptation by Patrick J O’Reilly, 10 Oct – 3 Nov. This October at the Lyric Theatre, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival, the multi-award-winning Tinderbox Theatre Company are thrilled to premiere Patrick J O Reilly’s new adaptation of Yerma, a poetic and darkly tragic re-telling of maternal love, passion and obsession against the backdrop of the Cooley Mountains.
Against the shadows of the Cooley Mountains, a turmoil lurks beneath a family gathering. As Yerma and her husband navigate a family christening, their strained relationship is laid bare. Will Yerma's yearning for a child drive her to despair, or can she find a way to defy societal expectations? Experience Lorca's masterpiece of love, loss, and longing in this gripping production by the Tinderbox Theatre Company. Through a powerful combination of Lorcas stunning words drenched in passion and visually stunning physical theatre, Yerma is sure to cement itself as a landmark piece of this year's theatrical calendar, one that will leave you reflecting long after the lights have faded. Visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
Cahoots NI: Mark 31st October – 2 November in your diary for the European premiere of, The Vanishing Elephant, presented by Northern Ireland theatre company, Cahoots, at the Grand Opera House, as part of the 2024 Belfast International Arts Festival. The show, which is supported by funding from The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, received critical acclaim at its premiere in New York at The New Victory Theater in 2023, and now’s your chance to see this extraordinary show in Belfast!
This moving story of friendship and what it means to be ‘home,’ reflects on topics of migration, displacement, new beginnings and acceptance - all told through the eyes of an astonishing Asian elephant. Don’t miss this incredible show this autumn – buy your tickets now at www.belfastinternationalartsfe...
DU Dance: visit www.dudanceni.com
Lyric Theatre: presents an exciting programme of events including:
- 5-22 Sep, The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary
- 25-29 Sep, Rose + Bud by Commedia of Errors
- 2-6 Oct, Callings by Kabosh Theatre
- 10 Oct-3 Nov, Verma by Tinderbox Theatre Company
- 12 Oct – 10 Nov, The Tragedy of Richard III, a Lyric Theatre production
- 6-10 Nov, Chicken by Sunday’s Child
- 12 Nov, Bob Dylan’s Greatest Rejected Album Tracks: An Evening with Writer Michael Gray
- 13-17 Nov, Oh Whistle…Two Ghost Stories By M R James by Nunkie Theatre Company
- 16 Nov, Tim McGarry’s Ridiculous by David Hull Promotions
- 21-23 Nov, The Marian Hotel by Sole Purpose Productions
- 30 Nov – 11 Jan, A Christmas Carol, a Lyric Theatre Production
- 4-7 Dec, Gwyneth Goes Skiing, presented by Awkward Productions in association with The Pleasance
- 29 Jan – 2 Feb, Guy Mitchell’s Dog’s Dead – Pass it on, a Cock & Hens Productions in association with Bright Umbrella
For further details on these and to view all events visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
Grand Opera House: presents an exciting series of shows including,
- Eugene Onégin by Tchaikovsky. 14,17,19,21 September, Grand Opera House Belfast. After two consecutive sold-out productions, La Traviata in 2022, and Tosca in 2023, Northern Ireland Opera returns to the Grand Opera House with Tchaikovsky’s stunning operatic masterpiece, Eugene Onégin. Love, friendship and fidelity collide with devastating consequences in this story of passion, pride, a moment’s madness, a duel and a true love lost. Directed by Cameron Menzies, don’t miss your opportunity to see this award-winning national opera company’s new production of one of the most exciting stories ever set to music. Performed in Russian with English surtitles.
- 24 Sep 2025: Rob Beckett: Giraffe
- 31 Oct-2 Nov: Cahoots NI presents The Vanishing Elephant
For tickets and to view the full programme please visit www.goh.co.uk
Green Shoot Productions: present The Man Who Swallowed a Dictionary, a new play by Robert Niblock about the incredible life of ex-UVF and PUP politican, David Ervine, a major architect of the Peace Processs. Lyric Theatre Belfast, 5th -22nd September; The Playhouse Derry-Londonderry, 24th Sept.
Strand Arts Centre: The Strand Arts Centre has opened a new temporary home in Connswater Shopping Centre as it undrgoes multi-million pound refurbishment. The iconic cinema on Holywood Road in East Belfast has closed its doors as work takes place on a £6.5m rejuvenation project that will see it reopen in around 18 months with brand new facilities and improved accessibility for all. It will be hosting a range of activities and events over the coming weeks and months at Connswater including:
- Minors Club: Enjoy free films for the whole family, providing a fun outing for children and parents alike.
- Creative Arts Workshops: Engage in hands-on activities designed for all children and adults.
- Silver Screenings: Special movie sessions tailored for senior audiences, bringing classic cinema to everyone.
- Seasonal Cultural Classic Pop-Up Screenings: Celebrate various cultural seasons with fun and festive film screenings throughout the year.
- 8mm/16mm Film Club: Join the unique club for screenings and discussions around classic film formats.
visit www.strandartscentre.com
The Playhouse in Derry-Londonderry: presents a series of events with highlights including,
- Ulster Youth Opera workshops, 9 Sep, 14 Oct, 9 Nov, 9 Dec
- NTLive - Prima Facie, 21 Sep
- The Man Who Swallowed A Dictionary, 24 Sep
- NTLive - Present Laughter, 28 Sep
- The Marian Hotel, 3-5 Oct
- Hauntings 28-30 Oct
- Tim McGarry – Ridiculous, 8 Nov
- Shakespeare's Women, 14 Nov
- Anne Gildea - How to Get The Menopause and Enjoy It, 13 Dec
- Gearóid Farrelly: Gearóid Rage, 28 Feb
Visit www.derryplayhouse.co.uk
Linen Hall Library: the Linen Hall Library is a truly unique institution. Founded in 1788, it is the oldest library in Belfast. The library is free for all to enter and enjoy. The Linen Hall Library offers a year-round programme of arts and cultural events featuring authors, academics, historians, performers, and much more. To view the full events programme visit www.linenhall.com
Millennium Forum Derry-Londonderry: presents music, comedy, theatre and more with highlights including:
• Moves and Melodies. Moves and Melodies is an age friendly project in the Millennium Forum that includes song and dance workshops for 60 people. This project will be provided complimentary and will be held once a month in the Studio Theatre. The music facilitator is Fiona Logue and the dance facilitators are Claire Harkin and Emma Lindsay from Emma Lindsay Dance. There will be an opportunity to learn new dance skills and sing a range of song styles every month. 2pm – 3.30pm. For further information contact Lisa Heaney on 028 7127 2779 or email lisah@millenniumforum.co.uk
- 30 Aug, Ciaran Bartlett
- 31 Aug, The Three Little Pigs and Little Bo Peep
- 1 Sep, Ireland The Show
- 7 Sep, Sensory Musical Theatre Group
- 13 Sep, Jimmy Carr
Visit www.millenniumforum.co.uk
THE MAC: presents a fantastic programme of theatre, comedy music and talks with highlights including:
- •Queer Set Dancing. Come along to a Queer Set Dancing class with Alexa Moore. Part of the MACtivate programme, in association with The Rainbow Project, the MAC’s fortnightly Queer Set Dancing class with Alexa Moore is specifically beginner-friendly. Join Alexa and the group for a fun class with no expectation of any prior dancing experience. The class is run by a queer woman and we aim to create a welcoming and friendly environment for LGBTQ+ people and allies to learn a new dance, have some fun, and meet new people. Come along when you can - you don't need to have joined from the first date to attend. All welcome.
- 28 Aug – 1 Sep, Shrek The Musical
- 6-7 Sep, Rachel Tucker, I’m Home
- 20 Sep, Christine Bovill: Piaf to Pop
For all this and more visit www.themaclive.com to view a full programme of events and exhibitions.
Crescent Arts Centre: presents a series of language, visual arts, craft, music, dance classes, and more plus workshops and events. Visit www.crescentarts.org for details.
Seamus Heaney HomePlace: View the full programme at www.seamusheaneyhome.com
Declan McConaghy Show: Newry based former BBC broadcaster, Declan McConaghy has created a new series 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/DMCSH... ) or https://www.youtube.com/channe...
An Droichead: An Droichead is set to bring the internationally acclaimed dance and theatre company Teaċ Daṁsa to Belfast on 17 September for the world premiere of its new work, ‘Nobodaddy’, as part of the Belfast 2024 celebrations. Created by the multi-award winning choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan and his Teaċ Daṁsa ensemble, ‘Nobodaddy’ is described as “an ode to the peacemakers and the bringers of good things.”
This affecting, large-scale dance and theatre ritual is inspired by the poetry of William Blake and will feature dialogue and song in both English and Irish. The production boasts a company of nine dancers - including Belfast's Ryan O’Neill - and six musicians, including Vermont folk music master Sam Amidon. Collectively, the company features artists from Japan, Hawaii, Greece, France, the United States, England, Ireland and Serbia.
Based in the West Kerry Gaelteacht, Teaċ Daṁsa makes work which is informed by the traditions, language and music of Ireland. The new show is the culmination of a year-long engagement between An Droichead and Teaċ Daṁsa which has been shaped by voices and stories from across the city. ‘Nobodaddy’ follows several award-winning productions from Teaċ Daṁsa which have toured internationally and will mark the first time the company has performed in Belfast. The project is funded by Belfast City Council as part of Belfast 2024. The Belfast performances of ‘Nobodaddy’ will take place on 17 and 18 September at the Waterfront Hall. Tickets are available to purchase online now at www.waterfront.co.uk
City of Derry International Choir Festival: The 12th City of Derry International Choir Festival returns this autumn from the 23rd to 27th of October and this year will see the largest ever number of participating choirs the festival has had since its inaugural year as part of the 2013 City of Culture programme. 91 musical groups will be bringing the world-famous City of Song to life across the five-day annual festival, which will feature, as ever, a superb programme of guest artist concerts, competitions for school, national and international choirs, as well as the audience favourites of pop-up choral trail performances and community concerts in venues across the city and northwest region. Choirs will be travelling from Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales and from across the island of Ireland to be part of this exciting and major event in the musical life of Northern Ireland. Visit www.derrychoirfest.com
Northern Ireland Opera: presents, Eugene Onégin by Tchaikovsky. 14,17,19,21 September, Grand Opera House Belfast. After two consecutive sold-out productions, La Traviata in 2022, and Tosca in 2023, Northern Ireland Opera returns to the Grand Opera House with Tchaikovsky’s stunning operatic masterpiece, Eugene Onégin. Love, friendship and fidelity collide with devastating consequences in this story of passion, pride, a moment’s madness, a duel and a true love lost. Directed by Cameron Menzies, don’t miss your opportunity to see this award-winning national opera company’s new production of one of the most exciting stories ever set to music. Performed in Russian with English surtitles.
Visit www.niopera.com for details
Belfast Music Society (BMS): presents,
- Fri 25 Oct, The Duncairn, The Savage Five. Charismatic Belfast-born soprano and jazz singer Suzanne Savage collaborates with string ensemble the Savage Five to create genre-defying songscapes that weave Irish music traditions with a range of dynamic musical styles.The Savage Five comprise Hugo Smit (Cello), Alwyn Thomas Westbrooke (Violin), Rachel Yates (Viola) and Sven Otte (Double bass). Citing influences as broad as Cole Porter, Björk and Bartók, the ensemble shift from delicately arranged stillness to full-blooded whirling dervish. Add to this the unmistakable influence of Irish music and Suzanne Savage’s distinctive, crystalline voice that speaks of a deep connection to the landscape, life and love.
- Sat 26 Oct, 7:30pm, Harty Room, QUB, The Fidelio Trio. Darragh Morgan (violin), Tim Gill (cello) and Mary Dullea (piano) make up the Fidelio Trio. Shortlisted for the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, the Trio have been featured on Sky Arts and broadcast regularly on BBC Radio 3 and RTÉ Lyric FM. The trio have appeared at London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall and in Ireland at the National Concert Hall. Their 2023/24 season includes performances at Dark Music Days Iceland, an extensive USA tour, Les Jardins Musicaux Neuchâtel and Hay Festival.
Programme includes:
- Ravel – Trio
- Piers Hellawell – Arrowhead
- Beethoven – Trio in Bb Op.97 Archduke
- Sun 27th Oct, 3pm, Harty Room, QUB, Music and Stories. American pianist Dr. Anthony Capparelli and renowned Irish storytellers Liz Weir and Colin Urwin present the first-ever live performance of Philip Hammond’s Tales from the Sea of Moyle. Irish composer Philip Hammond’s Tales from the Sea of Moyle blends magical stories from the Glens of Antrim with evocative music, illustrating the powerful relationship between music and storytelling. The concert will also include other piano solos from Hammond, coupled with pieces which illustrate the special involvement of storytelling and music. A family-friendly concert for an autumnal Sunday afternoon, informal and welcoming for all ages.
Visit www.belfastmusicsociety.com & https://belfastinternationalar...
Moving on Music: presents,
- 27 Sep, Seckou Keita
- 29 Sep, John Francis Flynn
- 16 Oct, Artifacts Trio
- 24 Oct, Rachael Lavelle
For tickets visit www.movingonmusic.com
Portico of Ards: presents Portaferry’s brand new Heritage Fest. Organisations across Portaferry have come together under the banner of Portaferry Community Collective to launch a brand new festival celebrating the abundance of built, cultural and natural heritage in and around Portaferry.
The inaugural ‘Portaferry Heritage Fest’ will take place Friday 13 to Sunday 15 September and it is jam-packed with activities and events for all the family to enjoy, including many free events.
- Friday starts with screenings of ‘The McCooeys’ at Portico arts and heritage centre, celebrating the cultural heritage of Portaferry’s famed Joseph Tomelty. His granddaughter Hannah will be in conversation afterwards to discuss his legacy and then local historian Allison Murphy will lead a walk and talk special tour of remembrance, from where Joseph lived to where he now rests.
- On Saturday morning, spread your wings and join Professor Alastair Ruffle on top of Windmill Hill where he will be using live video to present a ‘Bird’s eye view of the formation of Strangford Lough’, showing how the ice ages created this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
- Back at Portico,‘Drones, Stones and Ancient Bones’ with archaeologists Liam McQullan and Lisa White explores the 5000 year old megalithic tomb at Millin Bay, just outside Portaferry. By using modern scientific research techniques we can get new clues about this puzzling monument, where these ancestors came from, how they died and even what they may have looked like! You can visit the cairn afterwards, where the archaeologists will be on site.
- Across the weekend maritime heritage abounds with boat tours on offer plus free coastal rowing sessions for anyone over the age of 12 to have a go at rowing in the locally-made skiffs. The RNLI station will be open and exhibitions from Portaferry and Strangford Trust and Upper Ards Historical Society will tell the tales of ‘Shipwrecks & Saviours on the Lough’ and ‘The Men that made Portaferry’. The Recreation Hub will showcase its cultural heritage too and of course you can always take a trip on the oldest recorded ferry route in Ireland, crossing the Narrows for over 400 years.
- Slimy or crispy? Find out everything there is to know about the historic, futuristic and creative uses of seaweed at Queen’s Marine Laboratory on Saturday afternoon or have a go at finding it, cooking it and eating it at Kearney on Sunday afternoon with ‘Wild About Foraging’
- There’s musical heritage, too, in concert at Portico: ‘Sean Donnelly’ is known as the ‘real folk voice of Northern Ireland’ and he’ll be telling stories through song on Friday. ‘Spring Break’ will be rocking up to deliver 1980s musical heritage on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon sees a stomping celebration of Irish traditional music with ‘The KIlkennys’.
- Lots of Portaferry’s heritage buildings will be open including the 16th century castle, complete with living history performers, courtesy of the Historic Environment Division, and free guided tours at the 17th century Templecranny from Ards and North Down Council’s Heritage Officer Moira O’Rourke. Tour guide Seamus Dorrian is also spilling secrets in his guided tours, ‘Think You Know Portaferry?’.
- On Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm Portaferry Regeneration’s ‘Artisan Market’ will be open in the restored Square, with demonstrations of heritage crafts like soda bread making and weaving as well as an enticing array of local produce to whet your appetite.
- Local arts collective ‘The Loft Artists’ will be displaying their paintings, prints and weavings of the natural landscape at Portico, a beautiful piece of heritage it its own right with grade A listed architecture, fascinating local heritage displays and artefacts as well as a restored organ designed for everyone to ‘have a go’ on.
- Outside the Portaferry Men’s Shed will be demonstrating how to make bird boxes and Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership and True Harvest Seeds will have stalls with information and activities on biodiversity.
Check out all that’s on offer and book your places at porticoards.com/portaferry-heritage-fest
Facebook: @portaferryheritagefest
Portico also presents, ‘This Flight Tonight- The Songs of Joni Mitchell’ on 25th Oct 2024.
Showreel: https://www.zervaspepperjonitr...
Visit www.porticoards.com
Ulster Orchestra: has revealed the programme for its new 2024/25 season which begins in September. View the full programme now and buy tickets on their website. Other events during the summer include,
- 1 Sep, 3pm. On Your Doorstep, The Hill of the O’Neill and Ranfurly House, Dungannon
Visit www.ulsterorchestra.com to book tickets.
Oh Yeah Centre Belfast: presents a programme of music and tours with highlights including,
- 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
- 17 Aug, United Bottles, Takers & Users, An Slua, Easy Company, Crackhead Company
- 31 Aug, Gazefest
- 22 Sep, Taylor Made - A Tribute to Taylor Swift
Visit www.ohyeahbelfast.com
Sestina Music: Sestina’s season launch takes place with Lux et Umbra in Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast, on 19th September at 7.30pm. Exploring various settings of the Leçons de Ténèbres by Charpentier, Sestina brings rarely-heard music to audiences in Northern Ireland. https://www.sestinamusic.com/
The Black Box: presents a varied programme of music, comedy, street art tours and other arts events.For further information n 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 Scott's Jazz Club (scottsjazzclub.com)
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/drawingfro...
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)
University of Atypical: presents Bounce Festival, Northern Ireland’s most diverse and eclectic arts festival featuring more than 60 d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists from across Ireland and the UK, will take place in Belfast, Derry-Londonderry and Limavady from 4-6 October 2024. Two headlining commissioned performances include Chasing Amy with Victoria Geelan and her band in the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast and A night with pianist Ruth McGinley and performance poet Alice McCullough in the Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre in Limavady.
Not Your Pity Party - an evening of unapologetically proud, queer disabled art, celebrating new and emerging talent is a new partnership between Foyle Pride and University of Atypical. Mel Bradley has been commissioned to create this event in the Nerve Centre in Derry.
And for the first time ever, Northern Ireland’s first ever Autistic Comedy Showcase will be held in the Black Box in Belfast. The line-up will feature six comedians on the autistic spectrum who have been performing comedy across Ireland and the UK for years.
Other highlights include:
- Toilet Paper Diaries, written and performed by Manchester’s Porcelain Delaney in a one woman show, at the Crescent Arts Centre.
- De mo Neamhthoil an installation by Soso Ní Cheallaigh at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry.
- Open Arts Big Takeover at the Crescent Arts Centre with performances from Open Arts Community Choir, Monday Players, Luminous Soul with Mae Murray Teen Hub, Readings from our creative writing group.
- Theatre maker Jody O’Neill from Cork will present her production ‘Yellow’, a live show about living with autism at the Crescent Arts Centre. She will present her film screening of the theatre production What I (Don’t) Know about Autism at the QFT on Sunday 6th October with Q&A.
- As Bounce Artist in Residence this year, Brian Connolly presents a unique performance art and installation in the Atypical Gallery.
For more information on all shows and to book tickets, go to www.universityofatypical.org/b...
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: presents live music from the following,
- 5 Sep, live music from DUG
- 27 Sep, ITMA: Drawing from the Well Concert Tour 2024
- 3 Oct, live music from ALFI
- 12 Oct, live music from The McGoldrick Family
- 23 Nov, Suaimhneas : Caoilfhionn Rose & Sammy Copley
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 Player — The Duncairn
The Duncairn also has a range of workshops and craft classes and courses. For further details visit www.theduncairn.com
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents,
- Irish Language Intensive Course. Intensive courses are a great way to boost your language skills in a short space of time. The course will be both motivating and informative and will take your confidence in the Irish language to another level. The levels we offer are: Bunrang|Beginner , Meanrang | Intermediate , Ardrang | Advanced . Please email sinead@culturlann.ie for more information
- Yoga Classes with Dunla, 6:30-7:30pm, £5. No need to register, just pay on arrival.
- Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich is delighted to present their summer programme with events and courses in abundance as they gear up for the indigenous festival of Lúnasa.
- The 10th annual Slam Filíochta/Slam Poetry competition takes place in the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich in Belfast on 30th August as part of Cultúrlann's 10th Liú Lúnasa festival. The Slam Filíochta is Ireland's only Irish-language poetry slam and draws poets from across the island.
For this and more visit www.culturlann.ie
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 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 Mammy Banter. 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. You can find the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast but also by clicking this link below.
https://shows.acast.com/spill-...
Eden Place Arts Centre: in Derry-Londonderry has an exciting range of courses and workshops to get your creative juices flowing including wood sculpture, Inner Landscapes, Abstract Art, Ceramics, Painting for Beginners, Contemporary 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 Arts: presents,
ArtCart: Unique to WheelWorks Arts (WWA) is their ArtCart community engagement and outreach programme, which brings creative and artistic activities to your community. ArtCart is also the name WWA gives to its bespoke vehicle that can travel across Northern Ireland and transform into a unique workshop space. ArtCart is available for hire at youth, community, education, and festival events, bringing artistic and creative activities to the community. The available inventive activities cover digital and traditional arts and can include animation, DJing/music making, arts & crafts, and digital arts using augmented and virtual reality. For further information and to hear about their special Art Cart offers over Christmas, visit https://www.wheelworksarts.com... or email artcart@wheelworksarts.com.
TS3 Programme: The Tech Studio Skills Share (TS3 programme) is a new initiative by WheelWorks Arts (WWA) that offers training to help people improve their creativity and skills in digital communication by harnessing the specialist artistic expertise of the WWA team. The staff team at WWA consists of professional artists and digital innovators who have a wealth of knowledge, talent, and experience in delivering creative activities. They are now offering a range of training opportunities to the corporate and commercial sectors. For further information, visit https://www.wheelworksarts.com....
TechStudio: This is a 60m2 meeting room and collaboration space available for hire at our office in Weaver's Court, close to Belfast city centre (BT12 5GH). The room is equipped with a range of digital and recording resources, including cameras, green screens, tripods, iPads, and an interactive whiteboard, all available for hire. For pricing and to book the TechStudio, please use our online booking system. For further information, visit https://www.wheelworksarts.com... or email info@wheelworksarts.com or business@wheelworksarts.com.
ChangeMaker: This is a programme by WWA that connects people from diverse communities with varied identities within organisations, communities, or geographical areas. It encourages open dialogue, exploration, and recognition of differences to foster mutual inclusion, enhance interpersonal understanding, and ultimately boost inter and intra-community cohesion. The programme explores perceptions, stereotypes, and misconceptions that workshop participants may have, with a view to understanding other contributors' values, heritage, biases, and experiences, and why people may have certain views or stereotypes. It also highlights how many of these perspectives may be unintentional, unconscious, and often unchallenged. For more information, contact Lesley@wheelworksarts.com.
Streetwise Community Circus: 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/channe...
August Craft Month: The highly anticipated month-long celebration of Irish craft has officially launched! This year’s August Craft Month brings together an array of talented makers hosting nearly 300 events with representation in almost every county on the island of Ireland. August Craft Month celebrates a rich craft heritage with artisans keeping ancient traditions alive and new talented makers bringing real vibrancy to the scene. With events taking place across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, August Craft Month provides unique opportunities for people to get involved as well as supporting makers by buying products and learning more about their work. Supported by Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Craft NI, the annual celebration is once again part of an island-wide summer programme. There is a packed itinerary of nearly 300 eclectic events, with craft disciplines including ceramists, textile makers, glassblowers, designer-makers and more all available across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. For events taking place in Northern Ireland, please visit https://augustcraftmonth.org/e...
Craft NI: This year’s August Craft Month Exhibition, ‘Reaction’, opens at Craft NI Gallery on August 1st to Saturday, August 31st, 2024. The exhibition will welcome audiences with exciting work by talented local designer-makers, who have responded to this year’s theme, Reaction. Viewers are invited to follow striking trains of thought, and glimpse into the makers’ journey - from the creative spark to the finished piece.
The works seen in the exhibition are bound to raise reactions in the viewer, whether these are consensus, discomfort, an inward smile - perhaps the recall of a similar experience or memory. We are looking forward to sharing this year’s August Craft Month exhibition with you and seeing what conversations around craft and its purpose emerge from this year’s theme!
Exhibiting makers: Anne Butler, Caitlin Murphy, Cara Murphy, Carla Pennie McBride, Celine Traynor, Cora Cummins, Corinne Price, Eleanor Wheeler, Fang Zhao, Hugh Cummins, Irene McBride, Jackie McMaster, Janice Gilmore, Joel Smyth, Karena Ryan, Karl Harron, Kathleen Walsh, Maya Todd, Natasha Rollinson, Pennie Metcalfe, Claire and Karen Gibson from Red Earth Designs, Ruth Osborne, Sarah Cathers, Stuart Cairns and Sue Cathcart. Visit www.craftnigallery.org
The MAC: presents,
The Weight of Light: Conor McFeely and Pascale Steven, 9 Aug – 20 Oct 2024 (Tall Gallery and Sunken Gallery). This exhibition brings together the practices of Conor McFeely and Pascale Steven, artists who live together and occasionally work together, their practices have been influenced by their shared, and occasionally different outlooks on art and living. In this presentation works overlap at a conceptual level, with their focus being the discernment of meaning within the experience of loss and the potential for adaptive change resulting from life experience. Their partnership is a synergy of emotions and ideas and an invitation for viewers to explore and make connections within the collaboration.
Conor McFeely will present the video work Memorial Device in the Sunken Gallery along with new works, photography and installation under the title Azimuth PointZero in the Tall Gallery. Pascale Steven will be showing the works Coda and Gravity Game in the Tall Gallery. They are provisional by their nature in terms of their presentation and are specifically considered for this gallery space. The project reflects the artists wider interest in the use of materials and images as metaphors. The works are connected by their shared interest in serendipity when integrating sometimes incongruous processes and images.
The Shake: Khaled Barakeh, 9 Aug – 20 Oct 2024
The Shake is an ambitious art project by Khaled Barakeh, a Syrian multidisciplinary conceptual artist, activist, and cultural director based in Berlin. This project is funded by Cultural Bridge, which celebrates bilateral artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany through the collaboration between Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales. Cultural-bridge.info
The project takes its stepping-off point from Maurice Harron's iconic public sculpture, Hands Across the Divide. Erected in 1992, the sculpture is located in the doubly named City of Derry-Londonderry, marked by its complex identities in Northern Ireland. It symbolises "the letting go of the past and reconciliation between both sides of the political divide during The Troubles."
Barakeh reimagines this historical piece, focusing on the hands of the monument's two figures and precisely the gap between them: cast in bronze, frozen in an unfinished reconciliation, almost meeting but never genuinely joining. This gap, filled with traumas and emotional memories, historical and political differences, resonated deeply with Khaled, who is from a country recently torn apart by sectarianism and deep-seated conflicts. He is drawn to exploring the potential within this void as an opportunity for new thinking that could bridge societal divides. By considering it as a connector rather than a divider, the gap metaphorically opens a space for this to negotiate the essence of it, encouraging viewers to contemplate what can be done differently. A socially engaged segment of The Shake will unfold during the exhibition period. It will involve collaboration with a coalition of local organisations and stakeholders. Visit www.themaclive.com
Belfast Print Workshop - buy framed prints by BPW members working across a range of techniques, supported by The National Lottery, www.bpw.org.uk
Queen Street Studios, Belfast: visit www.queenstreetstudios.net
Seacourt Print Workshop. Visit www.facebook.com/seacourtprint...
Golden Thread Gallery: Belfast's leading contemporary art gallery, re-opened on Saturday 10th August 2024 located at 23-29 Queen Street, BT1 6EA.
Tues-Fri 11.00-17.00
Sat 11.00-1600
Free Entry
For further information visit www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents,
EXHIBITION | Colin Darke 'With Hidden Noise', 1 Aug – 12 Sep
Darke is originally from England. He moved to Ireland in 1988, spending twenty years in Derry, relocating to Belfast to return to study, completing a PhD at Ulster University in 2010. He has lived in West Belfast since 2012. Much of his work has incorporated hand-written text. This initially referred to political prisoners’ letters - the “comm” or “teach” - written on cigarette papers. Darke took the essentially republican form of the comm and onto it wrote Marxist content, thus looking at the relationship between the two ideologies. The show at the Cultúrlann in part returns to this question.
The three pieces in Fuaim Faoi Cheilt refer to a 1913 work by Marcel Duchamp, titled With Hidden Noise.
One consists of external hard drives, containing unknown password-protected files. The largest piece consists of 1,275 gift boxes, tied with string and containing a British penny. Their tags have one word, adding up to James Connolly’s translated essay Socialism and Irish Nationalism. The third considers far-right bigotry towards immigration and consists of bottles of sea water from the west coast, and including the ironic poem Démocratie by Rimbaud. All three works form the basis of animations which will be included in the exhibition.
Colin Darke says of the show, “As a local resident, showing at the Cultúrlann has been an ambition for some years. Two of the pieces were made specifically for the gallery and I look forward to seeing them in place.”
EXHIBITION | Megan Luddy 'In The Smoke of A Little Sugar', 1 Aug – 12 Sep
"In the smoke of a little sugar". “Leigheas an tSiúcra”(?) and a cut finger might be held in the smoke of a little sugar/ sprinkled on a lighted coal (NFC 0122: 157.)
Joyce says that the soul of Ireland is trapped in a net; it is also collected there. To create ourselves we must reach into that fishing net, that lacework, that woven basket. Do our fingers catch in the gaps?
Owing a great debt to the scholarship of Martín Mac Con Iomaire, Bríd Mahon, Kevin Danaher, Jennie Moran and the thousands of voices woven into the Dúchas Schools collection, this exhibition explores and reimagines the patchwork history of cooking culture in Ireland. It does so in the hopes of easing a painful cultural memory of famine, fasting, hunger strikes, institutionalization and food insecurity, which today manifests in the prevalence of disordered eating and Ireland’s disregard for the nutritional needs of those in our care.
Drawing on the aforementioned scholarship, persevering folklore, medieval Irish literature, traditional craft methods (patchworking, Irish lace), as well as the artist's love of cooking with her friends, the work develops a joyful visual language for Irish cooking.
Visit www.culturlann.ie
Outburst Arts and Ulster University: presents, Mixtape #1 – Phil Collins, 31 October - 5 December 2024. Outburst Queer Arts Festival and Ulster Presents at Ulster University mark the 175th Anniversary of the Belfast School of Art in a new collaboration with one of its most acclaimed graduates. Phil Collins is a visual artist, filmmaker, cultural organiser, and educator who lives in Berlin and Wuppertal. He is internationally renowned for a socially engaged practice that addresses the intersections of art, politics and popular culture.
This UK premiere of Mixtape #1 is an unorthodox overview of Collins’ work in moving image. 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, off-cuts, and ephemeral scenes from his extensive filmography.
Presented in Outburst Queer Arts Festival 2024, as part of a BSoA 175 Commissioning Partnership between Outburst Arts and Ulster Presents. Full details will be available in the Outburst programme at outburstarts.com
Belfast Exposed: presents,
Now & Then: Part III
Belfast Exposed: Gallery 1 - 5 - 21 Sept
This exhibition themed around "place" explores how human experience is both influenced by and influences different natural and built environments. Divided into "Home", "Traces", and "Identity", the exhibition features renowned artists such as Paul Seawright, David Copeland, Shannon Ritchie, Victoria J Dean, and Victor Sloan. Through their work, the exhibition offers a profound exploration of the intricate relationships individuals and communities have with their surroundings. It delves into the diverse range of emotions and narratives evoked by places, from notions of belonging and comfort to experiences of conflict and transformation.
https://www.belfastexposed.org...
Sean McKernan: UnExposed
Belfast Exposed: Archive gallery - 5 - 21 Sept
The exhibition highlights the extensive body of work by Sean McKernan, a respected social documentary photographer whose approach is deeply personal and community-centred. For over 40 years, McKernan has meticulously documented the profound divisions in Belfast, capturing its turbulent journey towards peace and remarkable transformation into a city striving to flourish. His work reflects close collaboration with local community groups, using photography as a powerful medium to shed light on the diverse social issues rooted in the city's political and sectarian conflicts.
https://www.belfastexposed.org...
Emma Brennan: "It Is & I Am”
Curated by Siobhan Kelly
Belfast Exposed: Gallery 2 & Studio - 5 Sept - 19 Oct
It Is & I Am is a solo exhibition of new work by visual artist Emma Brennan. Incorporating a range of disciplines, the site-responsive installation explores the origins of myth making on the Island of Ireland through a Queer feminist lens. This exhibition is curated by Siobhan Kelly, a recipient of the Belfast Exposed Futures Curator Award 2023, a programme supporting emerging talent in the visual arts.
https://www.belfastexposed.org...
Belfast Exposed also offer a series of photography classes and workshops for all levels of experience. Visit www.belfastexposed.org
VOID Art Centre: presents,
Nyctalopia, Adrián Balseca, 22 June – 21 Sep 2024.
Void Art Centre is delighted to announce ‘Nyctalopia’, an exhibition by Adrián Balseca. Adrián Balseca’s ‘Nyctalopia,’ his debut solo exhibition in Northern Ireland, is a commissioned research project at Void Art Centre in Derry. This two-part multimedia installation critically examines the impacts of car culture by offering alternative perspectives on the ongoing ecological crisis. “Nyctalopia,” or “night blindness,” symbolizes a collective condition in post-neoliberal economies, characterized by an inability to clearly perceive the current environmental crisis.
Sound Walking workshop with Anne Marie Deacy
Sunday 1 September 2024, 12.30pm-4.30pm at Void Art Centre & off-site locations. VOID is excited to welcome artist Anne Marie Deacy to Void Art Centre for a weekend long sound workshop. The workshop acts as an introduction to sound art, listen methodologies, field recording, sound walking and collective sound mapping as a response to themes mirrored Void’s current exhibition ‘Nyctalopia’ by Adrián Balseca.
Using hearing as our sense and the theme of alternate perspectives, participants will work with sound to create a collective piece exploring other ways for us to connect with and navigate our surroundings using sound as a portal and a catalyst, fostering deeper understanding and other ways of perceiving the places and spaces we occupy.
The workshop will involve an introduction to basic listening techniques, two sound walks, listening exercises and shared, collective sounding. If you have a small object or crystal that resonates with you, bring it along. For a full description of the workshop, and a summary of the schedule, visit our website: https://www.derryvoid.com/even...
The workshop requires no previous experience. It will be held in an informal, safe and open setting with breaks, reading resources and a sharing table for its duration. The workshop aims to be all inclusive (with even walking paths, for example) however considering it will be based on sound it may not be suitable for those with auditory sensitivity.
Visit the VOID website for full details at www.derryvoid.com
Platform Arts: Visit www.nuacollective.com for more information.
CCA: presents, Strata, 20 July – 21 Sep, a new exhibition at CCA Derry~Londonderry by artists Marie Farrington, Dorothy Hunter and Amy Stephens. The artworks in the show explore layers of interconnected themes and lines of enquiry exploring geology, extraction, value and thresholds. The three artists use a range of media including photography, sculpture, film and new site-specific installations and interventions. Visit www.ccadld.org for more details.
F.E McWilliam Gallery & Studio: F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council are delighted to present two new exhibitions focusing on the work of talented women artists. Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perceptions and Congruent, a solo exhibition by North Coast based sculptor Sara Cunningham-Bell, will run at the Banbridge Gallery from the 8 June to 2 September and promise to provide a great day out for locals and visitors to the Borough.
Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perceptions, brings together the work of over 40 artists. The exhibition highlights key women artists who have changed society’s view over the centuries of what women should and could do, and the significance of work by women artists in Scotland’s cultural history.
Scottish Women Artists, is the second collaboration between the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and The Fleming Collection. Running in conjunction with Scottish Women Artists is Congruent a fascinating new body of work exhibited in the F.E McWilliam sculpture garden, by Sara Cunningham-Bell. Based in her studio on the North Coast of Ireland, Cunningham-Bell works with storm-felled local timber including larch, maple, beach and oak, combined with upcycled lead and steel, GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic), concrete and bronze. Made through a variety of processes including carving, casting and sanding Cunningham-Bell’s sculptures often reveal the layered traces of their creation.
Both exhibitions are free entry and will run throughout the summer to 2nd September 2024. Open Monday – Saturday 10am – 5pm.
