What’s on in the Arts
14th December, 2022
Skip to section
Ulster Orchestra: presents:
- 19 Jan, Sound the Horn, Marketplace Theatre, Armagh
- 20 Jan, Sound the Horn, Ulster Hall, Belfast
- 29 Jan, Scent of the First Snow, Ulster Hall, Belfast with Barry Douglas
- 4 Feb, Oscar Winners, Waterfront Hall, Belfast
- 10 Feb, Going Dutch, Ulster Hall, Belfast
- 23 Feb, Serenity, Ulster Hall, Belfast
- 4 Mar, The Strand Cinema Album Launch, Strand Arts Centre, Belfast
For further information and to view the new season programme please visit www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk
Oh Yeah Centre Belfast:
The NI Music exhibition at Oh Yeah is the only permanent exhibit for popular music in Northern Ireland. There is much to see, including a series of storyboards documenting and plotting the history and the stories of Folk, Punk, Rock, Jazz and more.
Exhibition Opening Times
Mon – Fri: 10am-4pm
Sat: 12-5pm
To enquire about a visit, or for further info and group bookings please contact info@ohyeahbelfast.com or call 02890310845
Moving On Music: visit www.movingonmusic.com
The Black Box: For further information visit www.blackboxbelfast.com
Scott’s Jazz Club: Scott's Jazz Club runs a weekly concert in Ballyhackamore club 1a Sandown Road every Friday Night from 9pm. The club provides a welcoming environment for world class jazz music to be experienced in a concert setting. For upcoming performances visit https://www.scottsjazzclub.com/
Portico of Ards: presents a new programme of events for 2022 . Portico introduces £5 tickets As the nights draw in and the heating bills rise, worrying about money is becoming a real issue for many. The Portico of Ards in Portaferry is meeting this challenge head on by offering tickets at significantly reduced prices to many of its concerts. To view the full programme visit porticoards.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/drawingfromthewell
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)
The MAC: presents,
New Exits: 10 Years of Painting Shows, 9 Dec 2022 – 23 March 2023
Free, suggested donation: £3
Booking available but not compulsory
https://themaclive.com/exhibition/new-exits-10-years-of-painting-shows
Curated by Dougal McKenzie & Hugh Mulholland
To mark the end of their 10th anniversary celebrations the MAC will present a major exhibition of new painting. The MAC is delighted to announce that the following artists have been selected to participate in New Exits: 10 Years of Painting Shows.
Juste Bernotaite - Hannah Casey Brogan - Megan Burns - Daniel Coleman - Patrick Hickey - Aimee Melaugh - Tim Millen - Jane Rainey - Yasmine Robinson - Cameron Stewart - Kwok Tsui
New Exits whilst set within the context of the many significant painting exhibitions the MAC has presented since its inception, is primarily an opportunity to draw attention to and celebrate the painting practices that have emerged and continue to flourish through the work of graduates of the BA and MFA Fine Art courses at Belfast School of Art since 2012.
The exhibition acknowledges the close relationship and interdependencies of the Belfast School of Art and the MAC and their proximity to each other has informed their work and contributed to their understanding of what it means to be a contemporary painter today.
The Sunken Gallery will become a space for conversation around painting with a rolling programme of talks, screenings and workshops exploring why painters and audiences continue to engage with this form of art making. Visit www.themaclive.com
Belfast Print Workshop: is celebrating 45 Years of Belfast Print Workshop with an exhibition at their premises at Cotton Court in Belfast. Belfast Print Workshop still has thirteen of the original members who were there at the beginning and it is a home for another generation of artists who are now establishing themselves. The Workshop has been a dynamic home for printmakers and it is a pleasure to acknowledge its contribution to the arts in Northern Ireland as we celebrate forty five years of growth and development with this exhibition. Visit www.bpw.org.uk
Craft Northern Ireland: presents the ‘Collectibles and Curiosities’ exhibition at Craft NI Gallery, 115-119 Royal Avenue, Belfast. For this exhibition, the Association of Contemporary Jewellers and Silversmiths NI has brought together 18 contemporary jewellers and silversmiths from all over the world. Each piece relates to the theme “Collectibles and Curiosities'' representing a wide range of narratives and cultures. Their diverse approaches to the brief show not only technical precision and a dynamic use of materials, they also reflect their artistry as storytellers. Jewellery is a statement to both challenge and delight; Collectible & Curious!
Exhibiting makers includes: Alena Štukavcová Doležalová (Czech Republic), Ana Nadjar (Chile), Anne Earls Boylan (UK), Annie Ricketts (UK), Cameron & Breen (UK), Carmen López (Spain), Carol Bergocce (Brazil), Céline Traynor (Ireland), Cleopatra Cosulet (Romania), Clodagh Molloy (Ireland), Ebrahim Mohammadian Elird (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Eva Lynch (Ireland), Gerhard Herbst (Australia), Lynne Speake (UK), Mária Roskó (Hungary), Rosie Deegan (UK), Shannon McShane (Ireland), Taylor Fentz (US). For more information visit www.craftni.org
Golden Thread Gallery: presents HOLD ON TIGHT – Sinéad O’Donnell | Jayne Parker | Katherine Nolan | Hollie Miller | With text by Angela Halliday from 19 November to 14 January 2023.
Hold on Tight is a provocative exhibition of corporeal artworks by four artists working in performance and moving image: Sinéad O’Donnell; Katherine Nolan; Jayne Parker; and Hollie Millar. Each of these four female artists works in response to their bodies, questioning the vulnerability of human flesh through lived and sometimes violent experience.
Curated for the Golden Thread Gallery by Peter Richards and Mary Stevens, Hold On Tight presents the different ways in which these artists use materials and how they can be manipulated by the body. Uncomfortable tensions underpin the exhibition; abject guts and soft slime contrast to ice and hard porcelain. A visceral exploration of moist, slippery and sticky material gives way to a precariously tall pile of plates teetering on the edge of falling over. Both the artistic concept and the nature of the materials merge. Different aspects of control are important, e.g. what can be made to happen? What do we anticipate? What can we let go?
Performative pieces which take place during the exhibition, leaving traces and ephemera – shattered plates for example – will then become part of the show. The artworks appear to be at sort of precipice, akin to our bodily experience of life. We are waiting for something to happen. Visit www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents
Brexit Sausage le Shiro Masuyama: After Brexit, under the Northern Ireland Protocol it was agreed that Northern Ireland would continue to follow EU rules on product standards to prevent checks along the border. Instead, inspections on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would take place at Northern Irish ports. This has prompted criticism that a new border has been created in the Irish Sea. Under EU food safety rules, sausages are no longer allowed to enter Northern Ireland from Great Britain. Belfast-based, Japanese artist Shiro Masuyama has realized a new social intervention using sausages to highlight this Irish Sea Border which was created after Brexit. Shiro Masuyama was born in Tokyo. Following international residencies in the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Flax Art Studios, Masuyama moved to Belfast, where he’s been based ever since. As a Japanese artist who has settled in Belfast, he’s in a unique position to question how identity can be influenced by the dominant political forces surrounding us.
Estranged by Lorraine Cleary at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: 1 Dec – 26 Jan. Themes explored in Cleary’s work arise from a misogynistic culture that has been ingrained in Irish society for decades. Estranged is large site-specific installation made from deconstructed domestic objects that are painted pink and are then stacked vertically in suffocating layers. The concept behind the work arises as a reaction to female entrapment in the home.
This layered assemblage of flattened and repurposed domestic fixtures lines the gallery walls acting as a type of obstacle that serves as a tangible representation of that invisible barrier experienced by those within the realm of abuse. Domestic abuse occurs within a physical arena with far reaching implications within the psychological. Estranged is a tangible response to this. Body & mind become estranged, a disembodied reaction to abuse. Two spaces exist simultaneously, a space within a space; that of the gallery itself and the Estranged Space that lines its perimeter.
For further details visit www.culturlann.ieVOID Gallery: presents Isabel Nolan's solo exhibition from 22 November 2022 - Saturday 18 February 2023. The exhibition comprises paintings, drawings and objects, reflecting Nolan’s ongoing interest in modes of human organisation, the shifting status of artefacts and images over long periods of time.
The experience of lockdown during Covid-19 and the slowing down of time has a resonance in this exhibition. Often working at home, drawing, an important element of Nolan’s practice, became the sole conduit of how she made ‘meaning’ happen and manifested a response in a time of huge uncertainty. The paintings have an ethereal and otherworldly quality stemming from years of reading and harvesting ideas from diverse fields; philosophy, archaeology, physics and theology. Her works are revealing; representing the unseen, a fluid version of the world that continues to explore the periphery, the otherworld, and questions of ‘meaning’. To view the supporting programme of public events visit www.derryvoid.com for more
Belfast Exposed: Visit www.belfastexposed.org
ArtisAnn:
ArtisAnn Gallery, 70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, BT5 5AE
Tue – Fri: 11am to 6pm ; Sat: Noon to 5pm
All artworks are available to buy. You can also buy art from this exhibition through the Arts Council supported Own Art scheme which gives you an interest-free loan over 10 months (and you still get to take the art home immediately the exhibition ends). Visit www.artisann.org
Newry Arts Festival: A ten-day celebratory mix of exhibitions, comedy, music and drama will shine a light on Newry’s arts scene as part of a major new festival. Running from 2 to 11 February, Newry Arts Festival will welcome renowned acts from the Newry area, including Rozlyn Sheridan, Newpoint Players, Joanne Quigley McParland and Newry Chamber Music and visual artist Cora Harrington, as well as top artists from across the region.
In this diverse programme, comedians Paddy McDonnell, Ciaran Bartlett and William Thompson will be among those drawing crowds to the city, art exhibitions will celebrate the work of Seán Hillen, Caóilfíonn Murphy O’Hanlon and Richard Kelly, and drama lovers can enjoy a range of productions from Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days to the Dirty Dancing themed comedy ‘Nobody Puts Bernie in the Corner’.
Music lovers can look forward to performances including the London Film Music Orchestra presenting iconic film music from Hans Zimmer and John Williams, the singer-songwriter Brigid O’Neill’s Country Folk with a dash of jazz, and eclectic fiddle and guitar music from Zoë Conway and John McIntyre. There’s a series of accessible music workshops too with Garden of Music.
For family fun, join the StreetFeast Team as they celebrate our farmers, chefs, foragers, distillers and artisans at the moveable food and drink Street Feast in Newry Market. The festival also features workshops ranging from soap making to traditional willow weaving, as well as interactive kids’ workshops. Or for something a bit different why not undertake the Silent Disco Adventure Tour of Newry. Some of Newpoint’s illustrious members also come home for a special evening of tales, dramatic readings and maybe even a dance at Newry Town Hall.
Tickets and programme details can be found at newryartsfestival.com
Imbolc International Music Festival: is firmly embedded in Derry’s cultural calendar and is one of Ireland’s leading folk, trad and roots music festivals. Organised by Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, the festival offers high quality blended concert experiences, with a mixture of favourite international artists, alongside new and emerging talent.
The festival returns in Feb 2023 with a jam-packed programme of music, arts, and culture, there’s certainly something for everyone. Based in Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin in Derry-Londonderry and running from Sunday the 29 January to Sunday 5 February, be sure to catch one of over fifteen events, ten workshops, and eight days of festivities. Visit www.imbolcfestival.com
Belfast Tradfest: presents Winter Weekend from 24-26 February. Highlights include:
- Niall Hanna and friends, 24 Feb, The Deer’s Head Music Hall
- Seamus O'Kane – A Celebration. Feat: Mary Dillon & Deanta, Harry Bradley & Dónal O'Connor, Marcas & Róise Uí Mhurchú, Aoibheann Devlin & Deaglán Ó Doibhlin, Good Morning to your Nightcap, 25 Feb
- Ryan Molloy and The Duncairn Trad Collective (feat. Sinéad McKenna, Sorcha Stockman, Brendan Kerr, Brendan Loughran, Mia O'Donnell and Jude Scott). 26 Feb
For the full programme and to buy tickets visit www.belfasttraditionalmusic.com
Out to Lunch Festival: The 18th Out to Lunch Festival returns from 9-29 January 2023 to add a bright start to a New Year! From music, comedy, theatre, talks and more, there’s something to suit all tastes. Highlights includes:
- Lunch with the Ulster Orchestra, 10 Jan, The Black Box
- Trad for Lunch with Dónal O’Connor, Harry Bradley and Libby McCrohan, 13 Jan, The Black Box
- Coven Comedy Club, 21 Jan, The Black Box
- Úna Monaghan: Aonaracht – Album Launch, 22 Jan, The Deer’s Head Music Hall
- Arco String Quartet, 27 Jan, The Black Box
Don’t miss out, visit www.cqaf.com to view the programme and buy tickets.
FILM, LITERATURE, DANCE & DRAMA
Kabosh: presents,
- Not on Our Watch written by Louise Matthews from 25-28 January, a riotous rallying cry demanding essential services for the women of the north.
- Silent Trade written by Rosemary Jenkinson from 22 February until 3 March. A deftly crafted and exposing new production unveiling the alarming rates of human trafficking and domestic servitude reported in the north.
Visit www.kabosh.net
The Playhouse: presents the following,
- Beyond Belief – The Life and Mission of John Hume, 31 March-7 April 2023
For a full programme and tickets 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 events programme visit www.linenhall.com
Grand Opera House: presents a series of shows this month and next including the highlights below:
- Cinderella, Sat 03 Dec 2022 - Sun 15 Jan 2023
- Sister Act, 17-28 Jan
- Martin Hayes and The Common Ground Ensemble, 4 Feb
- The History of The Troubles (Accordin’ to My Da), 6-11 Feb
- Emer Maguire – Up to High Doh, 10-11 Feb
- Girl From The North Country, 14-18 Feb
- The Commitments, 20-25 Feb
For tickets and the full programme please visit www.goh.co.uk
Lyric Theatre: presents a new programme for 2022/23 with highlights including,
- Frankenstein's Monster Is Drunk And The Sheep Have All Jumped The Fences by Big Telly Theatre Company, 1-5 Feb
- Romeo & Juliet, 4 Feb – 5 Mar
- Pop Tart Lipstick, 17-18 Feb
- Silent Trade, 22-26 Feb
- Seisiún featuring Fra Fee, A Lyric Theatre Fundraiser, 12 Mar
- The Visiting Hours by Rod McCance, 17 Mar
For further details on all events and to buy tickets visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
Millennium Forum Derry-Londonderry: presents a new season of music, comedy, theatre and more. Highlights include:
- Born to Be Wild, 15 Jan
- The Three Amigos, 21 Jan
- The High Kings Tour, 26-27 Jan
- Blood Brothers, 31 Jan – 4 Feb
- Roll Over Play Dead, 2 Feb
- The History of The Troubles (Accordin’ to My Da), 18 Feb
- Swan Lake: Ukrainian Ballet, 2 Mar
For the full programme of events visit www.millenniumforum.co.uk
THE MAC: presents a fantastic programme of events with highlights including:
- Maggie Yer Ma, 25 Jan – 12 Feb
- Removed, 2-4 Feb. Written by Fionnuala Kennedy and brought to you by Prime Cut Productions. Directed by Fionnuala Kennedy and Emma Jordan.
- The Barber of Seville. 15 Feb
- Something Different, Tinderbox Theatre Company and Keith Singleton present a feverish carnal comedy that shines a very awkward light on relationships, 21-25 Mar
- Wasteland, 27-28 April. A dance show by Gary Clarke Company that dives headfirst into a gritty story of loss, hope, escapism, and survival.
DU Dance (NI): presents Belfast Boys, physical dance theatre for boys aged 7-11 years at the Crescent Arts Centre. Classes at 2-3pm every Saturday. No experience is necessary. Book at info@dudanceni.com
Echo Echo: presents Introduction to Body Wisdom Movement for Over 50s on
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich presents
Poetry Jukebox. Poetry Jukebox are #ChangingTheMessage! This project aims to share beautiful, profound and life-affirming words and change the words on our streets, opening hearts and minds, putting poetry to work where it belongs: everywhere, for everyone. As well as pressing buttons on the physical jukebox outside the Cultúrlann, poetry-lovers will be able to listen online at https://www.culturlann.ie/en
Crescent Arts Centre: has launched a new season of the Crescent’s Creative Learning Programme where you can explore a hobby, brush up on your creative talents, or have a go at something new. Visit https://crescentarts.org/courses
Seamus Heaney HomePlace: has released details of their new winter-spring 2022 seasonal programme of events. Visit www.seamusheaneyhome.com for tickets and information.
Declan McConaghy Show: Newry based former BBC broadcaster, Declan McConaghy has created a new serfies of short films where he talks in-depth to creatives from Newry and the surrounding area who have made a contribution to theatre, music, dance and the performing arts in general. The view the films visit https://www.facebook.com/DMCSHOW or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH9LxmhE8O1Af3Csk-k6vA
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:
- 14 Jan, Ciaran Lavery, Blánid, Buddy Wakefield & Abby Oliveira
- 19 Jan, Duncairn Comedy Club
- 20 Jan, Joshua Burnside and Ferna
- 21 Jan, Nava
- 22 Jan, A Night for Daniel Johnston
- 28 Jan, Not On Our Watch
For further details visit www.theduncairn.com
Duncairn Player: all of the previous video projects can now be viewed from the Duncairn Player including The Duncairn Virtual Cabaret, Take 2, Carlingford and the Ring of Guillion Sessions. Visit https://www.theduncairn.com/player
Eden Place Arts Centre: has an exciting range of courses and workshops to get your creative juices flowing including wood sculpture, Inner Lanscapes, Abstract Art, Ceramics, Painting for Beginners, Contempoary Botanical Watercolours, Landscape Painting Life Painting, Spinning and Weaving plus Portrait Painting, among others. All courses are designed for adults aged 18+. Visit www.edenplaceartscentre.com
Wheelworks: unique to WheelWorks Arts is their state of the art ArtCart — a mobile arts studio that travels to your venue and opens up to provide an additional studio space for workshops and is packed full to the brim with digital equipment such as ipads, music and film making technology.
Virtual ArtCart activities take place at your own venue. Where outdoor space is limited, Wheelworks bring the ArtCart creativity inside your centre. They also come with a full outdoor suite — marquees, stage sound, lighting and outdoor heaters.
This unique space allows your young people the opportunity to experience professional equipment in a custom-made studio. It allows your centre to offer a range of socially distance spaces and utilises outdoor space.
To book your perfect digital and arts activities just email lisa@wheelworksarts.com and visit www.wheelworksarts.com
Arts Care: has a wonderful range of arts activities available online on their Arts Care 4U Premium +, their online arts delivery channel that everyone can access. Arts Care’s new dedicated online arts and well-being workshop resource, ‘Break-Time’, accessed via their website to support the mental, emotional and physical well-being of children and young people through the Arts. New art, music, dance & exercise, drama, creative writing and clown doctor’s CDTV videos will be uploaded regularly and it’s all FREE. Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ85xLA2BlQQdrnWBhKw1hw
Greater Shantallow Community Arts: presents Spill The Tae Youth Led Podcast from the young people at Studio 2.
As well as having a voice the young people are developing their communication skills, confidence and self-awareness as well as learning skills in sound engineering and digital editing, skills they can take with them into their future career paths. You can find the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast but also by clicking this link below.