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Artist of the Month, January 2025 - Gavin Martin
3rd January, 2025
What's on in the Arts
10th January, 2025
From theatre performances, to concerts, exhibitions and more. Here's your guide to what's on in the Arts....
Cathedral Quarter Arts Out to Lunch Festival 2025: The Out to Lunch Festival returns in January with a feast of events to enjoy throughout the month. Some highlights include:
- Ceilí for Lunch at The Black Box on Friday 10 January, 1.00pm
- Ursula Burns: The Secret Melodies of Trees Album Launch at The Black Box on Thursday 16 January, 1.00pm
- Katharine Timoney – Extra show added, at The Black Box on Friday 17 January, 1.00pm and 8.00pm
- Launch of The Memorisers by Jo Eliot (AKA Rosemary Jenkinson) at The Black Box (Green Room) on Sunday 19 January, 2.00pm
- Dani Larkin at The Deer’s Head on Sunday 19 January, 7.30pm
- Opera for Tea with NI Opera at The Black Box on Tuesday 21 January, 7.30pm
To view the full programme and buy tickets visit www.cqaf.com
IMBOLC Festival: Celebrate spring through music, dance, and language with IMBOLC 2025! The roots of Ireland’s musical heritage run deep, and each spring, this legacy blooms and bears fruit at IMBOLC International Music Festival in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry. All are invited to celebrate the traditional and the contemporary of our island’s rich culture with another jam-packed programme of gigs, late-nights festival clubs and workshops from the 26th of January to the 1st February, 2025. Highlights include:
- To kick off their week-long series of evening concerts, you can experience the exciting premiere of “Pianoboxing”. This piece, commissioned by the festival especially for Ryan Molloy, will be performed alongside none other than Sean Óg Graham and a baker's dozen of Scotland's finest musicians (Thirteen North) in Ulster University’s Great Hall.
- During the week, the festival returns home to the Cultúrlann, as host of Córas Trio’s playful take on trad-tronica, Anna Massie’s virtuosic folk balladeering, and the musical renderings of ancient Irish poetry with Lorcán Mac Mathúna, Martin Tourish, and Éamonn Galldubh, to name but a few of the acts.
- For the more casual punter, IMBOLC spills out into the streets with traditional Irish music session trails, bringing top-notch tunes into first-rate bars and cafes across the city. Those looking to get more hands-on are welcome to bring their instrument to any and all of the sessions (including those held daily in the Cultúrlann’s own café), take part in Saturday’s music workshops, or join a dance class with Mary and Joe McGuiggan. Those newly acquired steps are more than welcome at the weekend’s festival club, with lively acts and a bilingual bar to keep the party going into the wee hours.
To find out more, you can check out the full programme and book your tickets through their website at www.imbolcfestival.com
Feel Good Festival: The historic Portico of Ards in Portaferry is set to come alive with vibrant music, arts and cultural events as the much-anticipated Feel Good Festival, 1 – 31 March 2025, prepares to awaken your senses and welcome in Spring with five weekends of sumptuous sounds. The Feel Good Festival programme features: Nordic choral sensation Sjaella; New York’s finest chamber ensemble The Calidore String Quartet; Motown magic from the 60s and 70s with The Iconettes; Come on and Sing, Get Happy! workshop with Una McCann; DJ Reductio presents The Mashup Dance Event; organ recital with Peter Stevens from Westminster Cathedral; new and acclaimed local (NI) pop/rock band The Breeze; Sound Bath Journey with Tessa Ann; comedy with Paddy McDonnell: Dagger and 50 Years of Hits with Foster & Allen. For further information on booking festival tickets and accommodation offers visit www.porticoards.com
Belfast Music Society (BMS): presents the BMS International Festival of Chamber Music from 13-16 February 2025 featuring,
- 13 Feb, Astrig Siranossian & Nathanaël Gouin
- 15 Feb, Francesca Dego & Francesca Leonardi
- 16 Feb, The Chiaroscuro Quartet
For tickets visit www.belfastmusicsociety.com
Belfast XR Festival presents: In Pursuit of Repetitive Beat, the UK’s biggest immersive VR experience comes to Belfast in 2025. Taking place at Carlisle Memorial Church, Belfast from 24 February – 26 March. In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats, the internationally acclaimed, award-winning interactive VR adventure that transports you into the heart of the Acid House movement is coming to Belfast in 2025 at the stunning Carlisle Memorial Church venue. The VR experience, produced by East City Films and created by Darren Emerson, will visit eight cities across the UK from Belfast and Cardiff to London. The tour is jointly supported by Arts Council England and BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund.
The experience will take audiences back in time to the beginning of the Acid House movement and the creation of UK rave culture telling a multicultural story of collaboration and unity that celebrates music, friendship, and the joy of youth. ‘Beats uses Virtual Reality (VR) technology to fully immerse audiences in a one-hour multi-sensory interactive experience that is awash with meticulous period detail. It surrounds participants with the sounds, senses, and the thrill of being young (again).
Tickets are now on sale for In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats at Belfast’s Carlisle Memorial Church, here: https://www.belfastxrfestival....
Belfast Children’s Festival, 6-15 Mar 2025. Belfast Children’s Festival is not just for the young, but also the young at heart with local, national and international performances and events to entertain, surprise and delight. The full programme will be revealed soon at https://youngatart.co.uk/
Lyric Theatre: presents an exciting programme of events with highlights including:
- On now until 11 Jan, step into the enchanting world of Charles Dickens' timeless classic, A Christmas Carol, joyously reimagined for the stage by the award-winning and much-beloved playwright, Marie Jones. Join the Lyric Theatre for a heart-warming journey through the streets of Victorian Belfast as audiences follow the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge. A Christmas Carol will take you on an unforgettable journey, so add a little magic to your festive season with a visit to the Lyric. Audio described performance, 14 Dec, captioned performance, 18 Dec, and signed performance on 19 Dec.
- 29 Jan – 2 Feb, Guy Mitchell’s Dog’s Dead – Pass it on, a Cock & Hens Productions in association with Bright Umbrella
- 1 Feb – 1 Mar. The Gap Year. This heartwarming and hilarious comedy follows newly widowed Kate, childminder-in-chief Roisin and their best friend Oonagh have decided enough is enough. Life is too short – they’re going to follow in their children’s footsteps and take a Gap Year. Thailand? Europe? Down Under? No, they're visiting every county in Ireland, sure there’s a few they’ve never even heard of! It's time for castles, coffee and craic as three women in their 60s go on the adventure of a lifetime. On Wednesday 19th February The Lyric presents an exclusive Gala Performance of The Gap Year, with all tickets purchased supporting their important work in the community and with young people.
- 20-22 Feb, This View from Mars. In a highly physical and demanding performance, dancer Dominic Harrison (Ballet Ireland, Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet) performs new choreography by Ruaidhrí Maguire. With an all-local creative team, the immersive performance is brought to life by space-age visuals by artist Conan McIvor and live music by composer Amelia Clarkson.
- 4-8 Mar, Three Short Comedies by Seán O’Casey. Set in a post office, A Pound on Demand (1939) is the tale of Jerry and Sammy who badly need a quick injection of cash to continue their night on the town. In Bedtime Story (1951), poor John Jo Mulligan learns the hard way that inviting members of the opposite sex to Miss Mossie's lodging house comes with serious consequences. All hell breaks loose in The End of the Beginning (1937) when Darry Berrill and his wife Lizzie agree to swap their household roles - and that's before Darry's clumsy friend Barry arrives.
- Druid return to the Lyric Theatre with these classic rip-roaring one-act plays by one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights, following their sold-out run of Druid O’Casey in 2023. These short tales of misadventure will be directed by Garry Hynes and performed by Druid ensemble members Marie Mullen, Rory Nolan and Marty Rea, alongside Venetia Bowe, Caitríona Ennis and Liam Heslin.
- 8-9 Mar, Fall & Float (Young At Art as part of the Belfast Children’s Festival 2025). A charming show for young audiences, full of discovery, play and balloons. With playful energy, impressive acrobatics, comic timing and a joyful soundscape, two dancers create a magical world through the clever manipulation of simple balloons. Their imagination seems to know no bounds- resulting in a hypnotic, funny and uplifting performance full of falling, throwing, catching, stumbling, floating... and sometimes maybe even a little bit of flying...
- 14-30 Mar, The Velveteen Rabbit, a Lyric Theatre & Replay Theatre Co-production. A boy, his favourite toy, and how love makes us real. Replay’s new show is an original musical adapted from the children’s classic The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. It’s a nostalgic, fun and tender tale of a boy, his favourite toy and how being loved can make us real. A story about growing up and figuring out where you fit in. With a brand-new script by celebrated writer Jan Carson and music from Duke Special, this show brings together the very best of Northern Irish talent in a theatrical feast for all the family.
For further details on these and to view all events visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
DU Dance: visit www.dudanceni.com
Grand Opera House: presents an exciting series of shows including,
- 30 Nov – 12 Jan: The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan. A swashbuckling trip to Neverland like never before! Northern Ireland’s largest pantomime is back for another magical year with The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan. In a flash and with a twinkle of fairy dust, the Grand Opera House’s iconic stage magically transforms into Neverland for our most breath-taking, thrilling seasonal spectacular yet. The Theatre’s Christmas show has a well-established reputation as the hallmark of traditional family pantomime - an unmatchable fusion of fun, adventure, thrilling song-and-dance, and dazzling staging and effects. The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan sees the return of Belfast panto favourites May McFettridge as Mrs Smee, Paddy Jenkins as Starkey, Adam C Booth as Smee, Jolene O’Hara as Captain Hook and Aisling Sharkey as Wendy. They will be joined by Belfast local Jordan Walker as Peter Pan and Georgia Brierley-Smith as Tink.
- Mr Music - A Tribute to Crawford Bell, 21 Jan
- Remembering Joe Dolan, One of Ireland's greatest singers, 22 Jan
- Take It To The Limit, A masterclass of vocal talent and musicianship, 26-27 Jan
- The Elvis Spectacular, Ireland’s longest running and most successful Elvis production, 30 Jan
- War Horse, the global phenomenon comes to Belfast, 4-15 Feb
- Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Book your dream ticket today, 18-23 Feb
- Morning Melodies with NI Opera, 26 Feb
- Broadway and Beyond (The Studio), 28 Feb – 1 Mar
- Les Misérables: Let the People Sing, 4-8 Mar
- Dear Evan Hansen, the Olivier, Tony and Grammy award-winning Best Musical, 11-15 Mar
- Chicago, 17-22 Mar
For tickets and to view the full programme please visit www.goh.co.uk
Strand Arts Centre: The Strand Arts Centre has opened a new temporary home in Connswater Shopping Centre as it undergoes multi-million pound refurbishment. 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,
- Lilliput's Variety Show, 29 January
- 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 at this wonderful library visit www.linenhall.com
Millennium Forum Derry-Londonderry: presents music, comedy, theatre and more with highlights including:
- 18 Jan, The Tumbling Paddies
- 19 Jan, The Seegar Sessions Revival
- 24-25 Jan, 4 Days in Derry, A Woman’s Story, Bloody Sunday
- 7 Feb, The Nutcracker
- 8 Feb, The Shamrock Tenors
- 14 Feb, The Undertones
- 22 Feb, Ulster Orchestra On Your Doorstep
- 27 Feb, Pretty Vacant – The Story of Punk’s New Wave
- 16 Mar, Cara Dillon Coming Home
- 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. For further information contact Lisa Heaney on 028 7127 2779 or email lisah@millenniumforum.co.uk
THE MAC: presents a fantastic programme of theatre, comedy music and talks with highlights including:
- 4 Jan – 15 Mar, Ulster Youth Opera Workshop Sessions
- 9-30 Jan, Slow Art with Dougal McKenzie workshops
- 25 Jan, One-day Masterclass in Floral Still Life with artist Jennifer Trouton
- 1-22 Feb, Flowers: Messages of Love and Protest in Poetry workshops
- 13 Feb, STUFF! How is it made? with Maddie Moate
- 13 Feb, Autism and Women
- 20-22 Feb, Under the Lights by Maria Connolly (theatre)
- 7 Mar, Lore & the Big Belfast Choir
- 24 Apr-11 May, Murder for Two by Bruiser Theatre Company (theatre)
- 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
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. Events include:
- Workshop: How to Own the Room with Viv Groskop on Monday 20 January 2025
- Talk: How to Own the Room with Viv Groskop on Monday 20 January 2025
Visit www.crescentarts.org for details.
Seamus Heaney HomePlace: View the full programme at www.seamusheaneyhome.com
Belfast Music Society (BMS): presents the BMS International Festival of Chamber Music, 13-16 February 2025 featuring,
- 13 Feb, Astrig Siranossian & Nathanaël Gouin
- 15 Feb, Francesca Dego & Francesca Leonardi
- 16 Feb, The Chiaroscuro Quartet
For tickets visit www.belfastmusicsociety.com
Northern Ireland Opera: presents,
- On 21 Jan, join NI Opera for an hour of glamour and sparkle in The Black Box, Belfast. We’re excited to be back performing live in the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival’s ‘Out To Lunch’ programme, this time with an evening event. Book your ticket and experience captivating performances with a light sandwich supper included in the ticket price. Doors open at 7.30pm.
- On 15 Feb the Northern Ireland Opera Chorus will be performing at a fundraising evening in The Waterfront Hall for Sólás. Established in 2009, Sólás is a special needs charity which supports children and young people with a broad range of additional needs including Autism. They are based in South Belfast; however, their work extends across Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Opera Chorus will be performing a fifteen minute set alongside Hard Rain Soloist Ensemble, M’ANAM, The Ulster Consort and The Cross Border Youth Orchestra. The children of Sólás will also perform a new composition by Matthew Owens.
- 13-20 Sep 2025, Follies, Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman. Northern Ireland Opera’s next major production at the Grand Opera House is ‘Follies’, winner of 7 Tony Awards on its debut on Broadway in 1971. Set in that same year, the girls of Weismann’s ‘Follies’ are returning with their partners to the decaying theatre on Broadway which holds so many memories for them for one last time before it is demolished. Time may have moved on, but inside the theatre old connections stir, rivalries flare and ghosts of the past are woken. By the time they all leave the theatre for one last time, their world’s will have shifted and nothing will be the same again. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Goldman, this legendary work features unforgettable songs including ‘Broadway Baby’, ‘I’m Still Here’, ‘Could I Leave You’, and ‘Losing My Mind’. ‘Follies’ will be directed by Cameron Menzies, Artistic Director of Northern Ireland Opera.
Visit www.niopera.com for more information on all events.
Moving on Music: presents,
- 8 Feb, David Murphy & Ether Ensemble, The American Bar
- 23 Feb, Chamber Choir Ireland, Fisherwick Church
- 22 Mar, Junior Brother, Black Box
- 23 Mar, Brigid Mae Power + Bill MacKay, Black Box
- 11 Apr, Eoghan Ó Ceannabháín & Ultan O’Brien, The Duncairn
- 14 May, The Necks, The Empire
Visit www.movingonmusic.com
Portico of Ards: presents
Feel Good Festival: The historic Portico of Ards in Portaferry is set to come alive with vibrant music, arts and cultural events as the much-anticipated Feel Good Festival, 1 – 31 March 2025, prepares to awaken your senses and welcome in Spring with five weekends of sumptuous sounds. The Feel Good Festival programme features: Nordic choral sensation Sjaella; New York’s finest chamber ensemble The Calidore String Quartet; Motown magic from the 60s and 70s with The Iconettes; Come on and Sing, Get Happy! workshop with Una McCann; DJ Reductio presents The Mashup Dance Event; organ recital with Peter Stevens from Westminster Cathedral; new and acclaimed local (NI) pop/rock band The Breeze; Sound Bath Journey with Tessa Ann; comedy with Paddy McDonnell: Dagger and 50 Years of Hits with Foster & Allen. For further information on booking festival tickets and accommodation offers visit www.porticoards.com
Ulster Orchestra:
- 30 Jan, On Your Doorstep, Young Romantics, Ballymena
- 31 Jan, On Your Doorstep, Young Romantics, Ulster Hall
- 1 Feb, presenting The Rat Pack, Waterfront hall
- 6 Feb, On Your Doorstep, Saints and Scholars, Armagh
- 7 Feb, On Your Doorstep, Saints and Scholars, Strabane
- 8 Feb, On Your Doorstep, Saints and Scholars, Newtownabbey
- 14 Feb, Highland Journey, Ulster Hall
- 22 Feb, On Your Doorstep, Drama, Dance and Destiny, Guildhall Derry~Londonderry
- 28 Feb, The Great Outdoors, Ulster Hall
- 14 Mar, Flame of Genius, Ulster Hall
- 22 Mar, presenting Essentially Broadway, Waterfront Hall
Visit www.ulsterorchestra.com for the full programme.
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
Visit www.ohyeahbelfast.com
The Black Box: presents a varied programme of music, comedy, street art tours and other arts events with highlights including:
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 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)
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,
- 1 Feb, Jack Warnock
- 8 Feb, Sophie Jamieson (live music)
- 13 Feb, Fionn Regan
- 15 Feb, The Ocelots
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.
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.
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.
Sole Purpose: will co-host the Sunflower Exhibition in the Linen Hall Library from 4-29 November. The Sunflower Project Exhibition brings together the writings, paintings and personal items of a group of women whose lives were deeply impacted by their experiences of these notorious institutions. Prints created by the women - Marie McGinn, Attracta McGuigan, Fiona O’Doherty, Carmel McCallion and Caitriona Cunningham - with the guidance of artist Brónagh Corr will be the main part of the exhibition.
The poignant exhibition also includes Christening robes, baby outfits knitted at the homes, and ornate tiles from the Marianvale mother and baby home in Newry. It is the result of two and a half years of workshops aimed at supporting the women to express themselves through drama and art, it provides a deep insight into the impact of the homes on the lives of the women and their babies. For more information go to: www.solepurpose.org
The MAC Belfast: presents, I see his blood upon the Rose, 8 Nov 2024 - 30 Mar 2025, a major MAC exhibition across all three galleries that traces the history of the flower in art, its evolution from botanical illustrations to the opulent still-life paintings of the 17th century, their adoption as symbols of political influence, revolution, and human control over nature. Visit www.themaclive.com
Craft NI: Visit www.craftni.org
Queen Street Studios: to celebrate forty years of creativity in the heart of Belfast, Queen Street Studios present 'We are QSS at 40,' a large-scale exhibition curated by Eamonn Maxwell. For further details visit: https://www.queenstreetstudios.net/upcoming-events/
Seacourt Print Workshop: presents Pecking Order by Penny Brewill RE. Seacourt Print Workshop is re-opening following a summer of renovations to the former Ulster Bank building, Main Street, Bangor, which it acquired in December 2023. Seacourt was founded in 1981 and since then has been engaged in promoting the art of printmaking and creating opportunities for people to engage in creativity. The new location is the arts organisation’s 5th location, a heritage building that places Seacourt at the heart of the city. Visit www.facebook.com/seacourtprint...
Golden Thread Gallery: Belfast's leading contemporary art gallery, located at 23-29 Queen Street, BT1 6EA. Free Entry. For further information visit their social media pages and www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Belfast Exposed: presents,
Yvette Monahan: Fibre – Nature-friendly Flax Farming
Dates: 6th February 2025 – 22nd March 2025
Venue: Belfast Exposed
https://www.belfastexposed.org/exhibitions/fibre-nature-friendly-flax-farming/
In collaboration with The Gaia Foundation’s campaign “We Feed The UK”, Belfast Exposed presents “Fibre” by Yvette Monahan.
We Feed The UK is a nationwide environmental storytelling campaign from The Gaia Foundation. To disrupt the dominant narrative about farming, they have paired photographers and poets with the UK's best custodians of soil, sea, and seed.
At Mallon Farm in County Tyrone, Helen Keys and Charlie are not just resurrecting the tradition of flax cultivation but doing so with an awe-inspiring resilience. Their 'wee blue blossom' is chemical-free, hand-harvested, retted in rainwater, scutched on a restored turbine, and woven into local supply chains.
Photographer Yvette Monahan's year-long journey to capture the flax growing and production process at Mallon Farm has been a testament to the beauty and significance of this age-old tradition, bringing it to life through the seasons.
Portrait of Belfast: Part II
Dates: 6th February – 22nd March 2025
Venue: Belfast Exposed
https://www.belfastexposed.org/exhibitions/portrait-of-belfast-part-ii/
Belfast Exposed presents Portrait of Belfast: Part II, an original photographic project and exhibition that celebrates the people who make up contemporary Belfast.
Portrait of Belfast: Part II features over 300 black and white images that include staged studio portraits, environmental street photography and images submitted by members of the public. These beautiful examples of noir-style portraiture evoke a strong sense of the city’s diverse communities and the people behind its stories.
Within the images that make up Portrait of Belfast, you’ll find musicians, writers, comedians, politicians, activists, artists, teachers, social workers, carers, parents, children and more. People from all ages and backgrounds. The resulting collection is a portrait of the people who make up Belfast today, reflecting both the city's history and future.
VOID Art Centre: presents,
Deirdre O’Mahony, 11 Jan – 8 Mar 2025. It is winter at Void Art Centre and time to reflect. This year they are grateful to inhabit the coldest season with a project that grows ideas we have been nurturing throughout the previous seasons. they are happy to do so with a long-term project by Deirdre O’Mahony; an artist with whom VOID not only shares an interest in food and farming but to whom they also feel very connected because of her slow and in depth approach to research and art practice.
FARMWORK presents a selection of Deirdre O’Mahony’s artworks made over the past ten years, reflecting on her interest in the politics of landscape, rural sustainability and food security, challenging mainstream narratives around agricultural matters and policy. In this project three distinct bodies of work expand on questions prompted by the artist’s extended research into the history of agricultural development.
Trial + Error reflects upon the efforts of one man, John Silke, to build up the seed potato industry in Donegal. FARM is a photographic and text installation of small farms in Ireland, UK and USA, including a new selection of image/texts from Northern Irish farmers.
At the heart of the exhibition The Quickening, a sound and moving image artwork, reflects on the relationship between farming, food production, and the social and economic impact of agricultural policies on soil, biodiversity, and climate change. Thanks to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s support, Deirdre visited us in November for a field trip here in the North West. She met with some generous farmers and carried out more research and production locally. The Quickening was commissioned by The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin and supported by The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Visit the VOID website for full details at www.derryvoid.com
Platform Arts: Visit www.nuacollective.com for more information.
CCA: presents, Urgencies, 18 Jan – 15 Mar 2025.
Artists include Hannah Casey-Brogan, Niall McLaughlin, Cara Donaghey, Kelly Ewing, Emily Waszak, Katrina Cobain, Leah Corbett, Aidan O'Neill, Sgàire Wood, James Mooney/Alex Pollock/Rodhlann Mossop/Sadhbh Sheehan.
URGENCIES (2025) is CCA's biennial group exhibition selected through open call. The artists represent a snapshot of some of the concerns and interests held today by early-career artists connected to our region. Working across a wide range of media, the topics covered include ecological breakdown, mental health, toxic masculinity, conflict, privilege, power, preservation and healthcare. Many of the works have been inspired by personal experience and specific issues but speak to wider national and global contexts such as medication shortages, violent attacks on identity, library closures, flooding, and the toxic blooms of Lough Neagh. The project will launch on Saturday 18 January 2025 at 7pm and will take place in CCA’s galleries and offsite. The exhibition will run until 15 March 2025.
Visit www.ccadld.org for more details.
Flowerfield Arts Centre - 11/01/25 – 01/03/25
Here, There and Them
A group exhibition of up to 30 works from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Collection co-curated with Flowerfield, charting a range of practices across painting, print, sculpture and craft disciplines over the last 20 years, featuring some of our early acquisitions to the most recent.
