What’s on in the Arts
23rd February, 2022
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Young Musicians’ Platform Award: Tune in to BBC Radio Ulster Classical Connections at 7pm on Sunday 27th February for a special BBC Radio Ulster Invitation Concert featuring the six current winners of the BBC NI and Arts Council NI Young Musicians’ Platform Award, supported by The National Lottery.
They’ll be performing alongside the Ulster Orchestra and conductor David Brophy. The scheme is a biennial award given to six young exceptionally talented solo musicians – this year spanning classical, folk and contemporary singer-songwriters – aimed at bolstering their careers.
John Toal will introduce pianist Justine Gormley, cellist Angus McCall and tenor Andrew Irwin, multi-instrumentalist and singer Jack Warnock, singer-songwriter and composer Rose Connolly and Derry/Londonderry singer-songwriter Roisin Donald, better-known as Roe. Don't miss out, tune in at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b055v0cw
Sean-nós na Fearsaide: Sean-Nós na Fearsaide celebrates and promotes the indigenous sean-nós singing and dancing tradition native to Ireland, in the city of Belfast this February.
Expect a mix of sean-nós singing and dancing, storytelling, sketches, traditional sessions and live music performances.
Friday 25th February, Kelly's Cellars
Oscailt na Féile with Caoimhe 'ceol' Ní Chathail, and music from Sorcha Stockman & Siúbhán Stockman.
Éamon Ó Donnchadha, Máire Ní Choilm, Micheál Ó Confhaola, Gearóidín Bhreathnach, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, Ray Mac Mánais agus Joe Ó Dónaill, Irial Ó Ceallaigh, Mairéad Ní Cheallaigh, Róise Nic Corraidh, agus aíonna eile. Bean an tí: Caoimhe 'ceol' Ní Chathail
Finishes with a concert from Gráinne Holland, Éamon McElholm & Emma Robinson.
Saturday 26th February, White's Tavern (the Oyster Rooms)
Album launch: Mo Chroí 's M'anam - Micheál Frank Ó Confhaola. Being launched by Ray Mac Mánais. Music from Sorcha Stockman & Siúbhán Stockman. Éamon Ó Donnchadha, Máire Ní Choilm, Micheál Ó Confhaola, Gearóidín Bhreathnach, Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde, Ray Mac Mánais agus Joe Ó Dónaill, Irial Ó Ceallaigh, Mairéad Ní Cheallaigh, Nada Ní Chuirrín, Róise Nic Corraidh, agus aíonna eile. Fear an tí: Ray Mac Mánais. Closing concert with Clann Mhic Corraidh & Tuán Ó Ruanaidh.
Cuairt na nGael: Kelly's Cellars, Wednesday 2nd March@ 8pm
in partnership with Ealantas and Bord na Gaidhlig as part of Féile an Earraigh with musicians Jack Warnock, Caoimhe Ní Chathail, Frank Cassidy, Johnny Murphy, poet/author Seán Ó Muireagáin, and Scots Gaelic musicians Brian Ó hEadhra, Joy Dunlop and Séamuidh Mac Dhómhnaill.
For tickets on all of the above visit www.mhicreachtain.com
The Belfast Ensemble: After a sell-out run at Outburst Queer Arts Festival, the award-winning smash-hit production, Abomination: A DUP Opera, by Conor Mitchell, finally makes its Dublin premiere at The Abbey Theatre from 24 March – 2 April 2022. Revolutionary in form, Abomination centres on the scandalous live radio interview given by NI Politician Iris Robinson, when she referred to homosexuality as an ‘abomination’ – an act that has gone down in Irish queer history and instantly re-ignited the Northern Irish equality debate.
With their unique high-impact, multi-disciplinary style, the Belfast Ensemble wrap this story in a fresh web of incendiary historical comments by DUP members on the subject of gay rights, marriage equality, ‘poofs’ and ‘perverts’ to shockingly theatrical effect – challenging the power of words in the hands of the powerful. Contemporary, political, comic, and emotionally complex, this riotous Northern Irish original redefined what a 21st-century opera could say, and why… and with just a touch of drag!
Originally produced by The Belfast Ensemble and Outburst Arts for Outburst Queer Arts Festival 2019, with support from The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and British Council. For tickets visit www.abbeytheatre.ie
ITMA: in partnership with the NATIONAL CONCERT HALL presents DRAWING FROM THE WELL: THE LIAM O’FLYNN COLLECTION Tuesday 15 March 2022 at 8 pm Main Stage, National Concert Hall, Dublin An outstanding combination of esteemed soloists and masters of their art, many of the country’s top musicians, will come together to celebrate their connections with the late Liam O’Flynn (1945–2018) and his archive.
From world-renowned fiddle player and TG4 Gradam Ceoil Musician of the Year recipient Seán Keane, to up-and-coming teenage piping sensation Sorcha Ní Scolaí, this concert promises to give the audience a sensational live music experience.
The concert will showcase established and emerging talent including Mary Bergin (tin whistle), Matt Molloy (flute), Louise Mulcahy (uilleann pipes/flute), Noel Hill (concertina), Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Sorcha Ní Scolaí (uilleann pipes), Neil Martin (cello), Pádraic Mac Mathúna (uilleann pipes), Laoise Kelly (harp), Seán Keane (fiddle), Noel O’Grady (bouzouki), Colm Broderick (uilleann pipes), Tony Linnane (fiddle), Mick Conneely (bouzouki), Síle Denvir (harp, sean-nós) and Barry Kerr (flute, uilleann pipes).
Music on the evening will be interspersed with spoken word from the ITMA Liam O’Flynn Collection delivered by internationally acclaimed actor Stephen Rea. All the participants share connections with O’Flynn’s rich legacy. Seán Keane, who performed with Liam for over 40 years, will be joined by close friend and fellow piper Pádraic Mac Mathúna who plays the Séamus Ennis set of pipes bequeathed to him by Liam.
Tickets priced from €25 available from National Concert Hall online and NCH Box Office.
Glasgowbury: catch the Glasgowbury documentary, Pots, Paints and Plays with Gemma Bradley as part of BBC’s A Season of Arts. The documentary is proudly supported by the Department for Communities and the Arts Council.
Musician and broadcaster Gemma Bradley returns home to her rural roots to spend some quality creative time with three arts practitioners living and working in her native Mid Ulster. She meets butcher turned painter Conor Larkin and observes his practice, both on location and in his studio, where she tries her hand at watercolour work, before learning how to throw a clay pot with ceramic artist Stephen McGuigan.
Gemma then heads to the Bardic theatre in Donaghmore, where actor Brian McMahon takes her through a performance workshop. Inspired by the artists, all of whom are making it work for themselves in the place where Gemma’s own creative journey began, she returns to the site of her first public performance, where she reflects on the importance of supporting talent and making space for creative people in rural Northern Ireland. Tune in at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014569
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 with highlights including,
- 19 March, The Shamrock Tenors
To find out more about Portico or concerts coming up please visit porticoards.com
Northern Ireland Opera: presents, Into The Woods, at the Lyric Theatre from 9-27 February. Northern Ireland Opera is delighted to be bringing one of Stephen Sondheim’s most loved musicals to Belfast. ‘Into the Woods’ promises to be a real highlight for audiences in 2022: a wonderfully intriguing show that brings together and intertwines some of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, to ask what might have happened before “Once upon a time” and after “Happily ever after”.
This locally built and created musical will be presented at the Lyric Theatre, featuring some of Northern Ireland’s greatest musical and creative talent. Northern Ireland Opera is thrilled to be able to introduce Belfast to some wonderful new local talent while at the same time to be able to showcase some of the West End’s finest performers, some originally from Northern Ireland and making their debut performances back home.
‘Into The Woods’ follows three highly successful productions each February by Northern Ireland Opera at the Lyric: ‘The Threepenny Opera’ in 2018, ‘Sweeney Todd’ in 2019 and ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ in 2020. We look forward to welcoming audiences old and new to this latest production, opening on 9th February 2022. For more information visit www.niopera.com
Ulster Orchestra: presents Salon Sessions. With the aim to expand their support of and collaboration with local music artists, the Ulster Orchestra is launched an exciting new digital series, Salon Sessions, which is available to watch on their YouTube channel. Salon Sessions is free to view. For further information on Salon Sessions, please visit www.ulsterorchestra.org.uk
The Ulster Orchestra also presents a series of concerts. To view the full programme and to purchase tickets visit www.ulsterorchestra.org
Oh Yeah: The award winning NI Music Exhibition at Oh Yeah is now open for visitors. 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. There is a ‘Legends’ series of wall displays that hail the great achievers including Ruby Murray, Van Morrison, Terri Hooley, Bap Kennedy, David McWilliams and Henry McCullough to name a few. Exhibition cases display some unique rock and roll memorabilia including the Fender Guitar that Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol used to write ‘Run’ and ‘Chasing Cars’, a vintage street sign of Cyprus Avenue, made famous in a Van Morrison song, and a specially arranged exhibit of Gary Moore memorabilia.
Exhibition Opening Times
Mon – Fri: 10am-4pm
Sat: 12-5pm
More info will follow on when the Music Bus Tour will restart soon. To enquire about a visit, or for further info and group bookings please contact info@ohyeahbelfast.com or call 02890310845
ITMA: 'Drawing from the Well' is an online monthly ITMA series which connects artists with archival materials to inspire new art. To date, nine videos, podcasts and blogs have been created by leading traditional musicians, singers, and dancers, including Louise Mulcahy, Martin Hayes, Edwina Guckian and Cormac Begley. All episodes are free to view online at https://www.itma.ie/drawingfromthewell
Phil Taggart: ChillDaBeats is the brand new show from NI DJ, Phil Taggart. Every week he brings you a soft focus selection of the best alternative chill sounds along with the biggest guests picking some brain soothers in the Soul Food Selection. ChillDaBeats goes live every Sunday. Listen on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/show/0M2IpL7ldc1Rui2aa9meX3 This podcast series is supported by emergency funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Department for Communities.
Tommy Sands and Artsawonder: In this new online film series, legendary musician, Tommy Sands, films, sings, listens and learns from a singing five times world champion drum major Alan McBride, two young women, Jenna Stevenson and Wendy Graham Hanna, who initiate and drive an Arts hub shop, a rhythmic drum weaver rhythmic drum weaver Damien McKeown and a young woman Bronagh Kelly who lovingly echoes the poetry of her mother. To watch visit Media | Artsawonder (wixsite.com)
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents Music Corner, the best of traditional music with great traditional musicians every Saturday. Visit https://www.facebook.com/AnChulturlann/
FILM, LITERATURE, DANCE & DRAMA
The MAC: presents The Half Moon by Alice Malseed.
Written by Alice Malseed, one of Northern Ireland's most exciting new playwrights, the play explores the lives of three generations of women from the 1940s to the present day living in the Tiger's Bay area of Belfast.
Expectations, family dynamics, these women’s place at home, in the workforce and in the community are explored in this sharply perceptive one-person play.
Is a strong sense of home a double-edged sword; simultaneously allowing these women to feel comfortable but ultimately burdened?
Starring Ruby Campbell (Sylvan; Rough Girls), The Half Moon unveils a rich tapestry of female characters who will make us all look again at our own lives. For tickets visit www.themaclive.com
Bruiser Theatre Company in association with the MAC: presents Mojo Mickybo by Owen McCafferty. 6-10 April. Fast-paced, darkly funny and action-packed.
“Belfast. The summer of 1970. The heat’s meltin’ the tarmac on the street, the buses are burning bright and punters are drinking petrol outta milk bottles”.
Mojo and his mate Mickybo are two nine-year-old boys from opposing sides of the sectarian divide. They are 'thick as two small thieves', playing headers, being mouthy, building huts, spitting from cinema balconies and re-enacting their favourite movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They are young cowboys in the making, with the violence of The Troubles only obliquely impacting on them – until finally their friendship is destroyed in a way that they only later come to understand.
Critically-acclaimed Mojo Mickybo is pure, undiluted storytelling in Bruiser’s trademark dynamic physical style providing opportunity for a new generation of theatre-goers to experience Belfast’s most treasured, living playwright.
Age Guidance: 14+ Visit www.themaclive.com
The MAC, in association with WOMEN'STEC, presents a special event: Women's Work - Never Done on 19th March.
The seminal documentary film, Women’s Work, was produced by DoubleBand films in 1997, the year before the Good Friday Agreement. Join The MAC for a screening of Women's Work followed by a panel discussion with some of the women involved in the original film including Bronagh Hinds, founding member of Women’s Coalition (who can be seen having an altercation with Ian Paisley Snr. in the documentary) and Nuala Haughy who was the film's researcher and interviewer.
They will be joined by those new to the political and social activism arena in NI including political commentator Sarah Creighton. We will be interrogating and discussing developments, progress, and attitudes since the film was first screened, 25 years ago. The panel will be hosted by Lynn Carville, CEO of WOMEN’STEC. Click on the Team & Cast tab for the full panellist line-up.
Women's Work followed the election campaigns of several women, some relatively new to the world of the Northern Irish political system, across all political parties, in the run-up to that year’s Council and General Elections. Securing just 15% of seats in the Council Elections, not one of these women was elected in the General Elections that year.
Women's Work documentary screening: 45mins
Panel Discussion: 50mins. The MAC is grateful to DoubleBand Films and BBC Northern Ireland for their permission to screen the original film. Visit www.themaclive.com
The MAC in partnership with Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive: presents Dust on the Bible, a 1989 documentary by John T. Davis followed by a panel discussion on women’s experience within the evangelical Protestant tradition in Northern Ireland. 20th March.
Beginning with a screening of John T. Davis’ brilliant documentary, this timely and engaging event will look at how Northern Ireland’s evangelical Protestant community has been represented and critiqued by artists.
Hugh Odling-Smee will introduce the film and host a panel discussion featuring novelists Jan Carson and Sue Divin, and poet, Moyra Donaldson, all of whom have recently produced work exploring women’s experience within the evangelical Protestant tradition, including Except a Man by Jan Carson, a series of monologues and introductory essay for the MAC's NINOW100 project.
The afternoon will also include readings from all three authors and the premiere of a new short film, The Final Word, commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen, written by Carson and produced by Northern Irish filmmaker Tristan Crowe. It gives voice to one of the many silent women in Davis’ documentary. You can listen to an audio version of the piece here – link – https://themaclive.com/watch-listen/episodes/the-final-word.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich and Quotidian: presents Poetry Jukebox. Poetry Jukebox are #ChangingTheMessage! This project aims to share beautiful, profound and life-affirming words and change the words on our streets, opening hearts and minds, putting poetry to work where it belongs: everywhere, for everyone.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich is proud to host the first-ever Irish language Poetry Jukebox curation from February 2022. ‘Cead Aighnis: Leave to Speak’ is a collection of 20 contemporary poems, read by the poets themselves, and with translation to English. Curated by celebrated poet Celia de Fréine, it includes work from Gearóid Mac Lochlainn, Máire Mhac a tSaoi, Proinsias Mac a Bhaird, Philip Cummings and many, many more.
As well as pressing buttons on the physical jukebox outside the Cultúrlann, poetry-lovers will be able to listen online at https://www.culturlann.ie/en
BBC Dance Passion: Don’t miss Flight, a short dance film about that universal desire to fly, led by Northern Ireland choreographer/Co-Director, Jennifer Rooney and Co-Director, Ciarán Haggerty, commissioned by BBC Dance Passion. Flight is part of the BBC series A Season of Arts and available to view now on BBC iPlayer. The film explores that most universal theme - a child’s desire to fly. To watch Flight visit https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014fqd
Crescent Arts Centre: has launched a new season of the Crescent’s Creative Learning Programme where you can explore a hobby, brush up on your creative talents, or have a go at something new. Visit https://crescentarts.org/courses
They also continue their monthly Book Festival events until March 2022. Details of all events can be found at https://belfastbookfestival.com/whats-on
Echo Echo: has a new programme of dance and yoga classes, courses and workshops for adults or children available to register now. For more details visit www.echoechodance.com
Maiden Voyage Dance: Maiden Voyage Dance is inviting 3–6-year-olds and their grown-ups to join them on a ‘suit safari’ in their new show ‘MORF’, which will premiere at The MAC as part of Belfast Children’s Festival on 5 - 6 March. Exploring the magical in the everyday, ‘MORF’ sees two dancers use ordinary suit jackets to create familiar animals - including a jellyfish, an elephant, a bird, and a worm - as young audiences travel with them to a ‘fabric fantasy’ world of clouds, mountains, volcanos and castles. Nothing stays the same for long as what is there in one second is gone and transformed into something new the next.
Duration: 30-35 mins
Live performances
The MAC, Belfast: 5-6 March, 2.30pm and 4.30pm
School performances
The MAC, Belfast : 4,8,9 March
Streamed performances
Online QFT Player: 12-13 March
For further information and to book tickets (£10 each) for ‘MORF’, visit https://www.youngatartevents.co.uk/whats-on/morf
Kabosh Theatre Company: presents Belfast and 18 – 26 February, regional tour. This poignant new political play follows the lives of Bridget, Helen, Martin, Jason, and Tommy - five gay/lesbian people who sought sanctuary and community through Cara-Friend - a phoneline and befriending service set up in 1974 to support our hidden LGBTQ+ communities'.
Created by local playwright Dominic Montague, and directed by Paula McFetridge this compelling piece of queer theatre is grounded in research and conversations with Cara-Friend’s early service users. From rallying against the Save Ulster from Sodomy campaign to celebrating the right to exist won through the Dudgeon vs UK trial, Callings looks at the historical challenges faced by local LGBTQ+ communities, and tells a series of powerful personal stories that will make you laugh, cry, and consider just how far we’ve come. Featuring a talented local cast of Vicky Allen, Paula Carson-Lewis, Christopher Grant, Chris Robinson, and Simon Sweeney, Callings explores how these bright and resilient individuals found themselves and each other during oppressive times.
Callings will run at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, from the 15 – 17 February, followed by a regional tour:
18 Feb
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Derry~Londonderry
(part of the Sole Purpose Festival of Theatre for Social change)
19 Feb
Market Place Theatre, Armagh
22 Feb
The Ardhowen, Enniskillen
23 Feb
Strule Arts Centre, Omagh
25 Feb
An Táin Arts Centre, Dundalk
26 Feb
The Riverside Theatre, Coleraine
For further information on Kabosh and its work, visit www.kabosh.net
Seamus Heaney HomePlace: has released details of their new winter-spring 2022 seasonal programme of events. Visit www.seamusheaneyhome.com for tickets and information.
Grand Opera House: presents a new season of programming.
For tickets and to see the full programme of performances visit www.goh.co.uk
Millennium Forum: presents a new programme for 2022 .Visit www.millenniumforum.co.uk for tickets and to view the full performance programme.
The Lyric Theatre: presents a new programme for 2022 with highlights including,
- Into The Woods, presented by Northern Ireland Opera, 3-27 Feb 2022
- Callings, written by Dominic Montague and directed by Paula McFetridge
- Patrick Kielty, 15-20 March 2022
- Breadboy, 28-31 July 2022
- This Sh*t Happens All The Time, by playwright, Amanda Verlaque, 22 March-2 April 2022
- Abomination – A DUP Opera, 6-10 April
- Translations by Brian Friel, 23 April – 28 May
- Stones in his Pockets, 7 June – 3 July
For further details on all events and to buy tickets visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
The MAC presents a new programme for 2022 with highlights including,
- X’ntigone (After Sophocles’ Antigone), 2-13 Feb 2022, c0-production between The Mac and Primecut Productions
- Belfast International Arts Festival and Riham Isaac present Another Lover’s Discourse, March 2022
For further details on all events and to buy tickets visit www.themaclive.com
The Playhouse: For further information visit www.derryplayhouse.co.uk
DU Dance (NI): presents Belfast Boys, physical dance theatre for boys aged 7-11 years at the Crescent Arts Centre. Classes at 2-3pm every Saturday. No experience is necessary. Book at info@dudanceni.com
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/DMCSHOW or https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH9LxmhE8O1Af3Csk-k6vA
Duncairn: has released details of their new programme of theatre, music and digital classes. Highlights include:
- Sam Amidon, 5 March 2022, 7:30pm. Sam Amidon is an American folk artist, originally from Vermont, US. His parents are Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon, both well established folk musicians who raised him on a diet of old Irish and Appalachian folk. Amidon is a member of the Icelandic music collective/record label Bedroom Community, and is a multi-instrumentalist. As well as singing, Amidon plays fiddle, guitar and banjo.
- Saint Patrick’s Day concert: the team at The Duncairn has been tasked with reimagining a St Patrick’s event in Belfast city centre this year, bringing a little Duncairn magic to the celebrations! Stay tuned for more information about the free concert on the evening of 16th March!
To book visit www.theduncairn.com
Duncairn Player: all of the previous video projects can now be viewed from the Duncairn Player including The Duncairn Virtual Cabaret, Take 2, Carlingford and the Ring of Guillion Sessions. Visit www.edenplaceartscentre.com
Wheelworks: unique to WheelWorks Arts is their state of the art ArtCart — a mobile arts studio that travels to your venue and opens up to provide an additional studio space for workshops and is packed full to the brim with digital equipment such as ipads, music and film making technology.
Virtual ArtCart activities take place at your own venue. Where outdoor space is limited, Wheelworks bring the ArtCart creativity inside your centre. They also come with a full outdoor suite — marquees, stage sound, lighting and outdoor heaters.
This unique space allows your young people the opportunity to experience professional equipment in a custom-made studio. It allows your centre to offer a range of socially distance spaces and utilises outdoor space. To book your perfect digital and arts activities just email www.wheelworksarts.com
Streetwise: Fancy learning how to juggle and other circus skills?! In response to Covid 19 Streetwise Community Circus has developed a team of tutors who are now working via Zoom to reach out to those who can no longer participate in workshops. To take advantage of this opportunity all you have to do is email Streetwise on streetwiseathome@gmail.com. Suitable for participants who range in age from 8 to 80 plus.
Arts Care: has a wonderful range of arts activities available online on their Arts Care 4U Premium +, their online arts delivery channel that everyone can access. Arts Care’s new dedicated online arts and well-being workshop resource, ‘Break-Time’, accessed via their website to support the mental, emotional and physical well-being of children and young people through the Arts. New art, music, dance & exercise, drama, creative writing and clown doctor’s CDTV videos will be uploaded regularly and it’s all FREE. Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ85xLA2BlQQdrnWBhKw1hw
VOID: is delighted to present Sampler, the first solo exhibition by artist Aleana Egan in Northern Ireland. The exhibition will bring together existing works and two newly commissioned pieces, which expand on Egan’s nuanced approach to working with materials that are familiar and that often have residual memories associated with them. The word sampler derives from the Latin exemplum, meaning an ‘example’. In the context of sewing and textiles it was originally like a personal notebook for keeping stitches and motifs of interest together. Bringing works together under this title Egan intends to put emphasis on the ephemeral and fragmentary. It will continue her investigation into creating an ambient space through which to convey emotions by using sparing sculptural gestures. In short, expressing the immaterial through material means.
Visit www.derryvoid.com
Craft NI: Craft NI Gallery, 115-119 Royal Avenue, Belfast.
Dates: 5pm Thursday 3 February – 27 March 2022
Craft NI is delighted to welcome you to ‘Curved with intent’, an exhibition of contemporary design in wood. ‘Curved with intent’ is Craft NI’s first event of a varied 2022 exhibition programme and promises to raise interest in the beautiful medium of wood and admiration for the talented Northern Irish designer-makers who work with it. The participating designer-makers are David Cousley, Mark Hanvey, Ronan Lowery, Brian McKee and John Piekaar. Visit www.craftni.org
University of Atypical: presents The C word, Paradox and Optimism of the Will
Sinéad O'Neill-Nicholl
3rd February - 18th March 2022
University of Atypical is delighted to welcome you to join them for a new solo exhibition by the 2020, Graduate Award recipient Sinéad O'Neill-Nicholl opening as part of Belfast’s Late Night Art on the 3rd of February 2022.
Informed by field recordings made during periods of significant life events, the sound composition serves as both a personal antithetic response to late-stage capitalism and patriarchal structures - an exploration of paradoxical experience.
Living in a seemingly perpetual state of existential crisis, exacerbated by her father’s death from Cholangiocarcinoma (a rare and aggressive cancer) the artist began to collect sounds that captured the essence of the experience.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020, this practice continued as a way of reflecting time and the daily experiences that accompanied our collective containment. This sound installation can be further considered as an examination of the limitations of human knowledge and phenomenological experience. Visit www.universityofatypical.org
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents,
Eimear Nic Roibeaird
Eimear Nic Roibeaird is delighted to debut her solo exhibition An Chéad Bhean/The First Woman in the Gerard Dillion Gallery. An Chéad Bhean tells the story of Irish womanhood through paintings and written work based on the Cailleach figure. The Cailleach figure appears in Irish lore and heritage. The Cailleach is a character is based upon the villainous image giving to Irish woman who possessed unattainable power that neither Nationalism nor Christianity could possess. In this exhibition she will be depicted as the “wicked” Aoife, the venturous Cessair, the frightful Morrigan and the heroic Sadbh. Weaving together myth and realism, this narrative exhibition is a compelling body of work that has been developed by Nic Roibeaird the past 18 months. She is inspired by her Gael heritage and culture and the stories of Mythology she was raised with and her own experiences as an Irish woman. For further details visit www.culturlann.ie
Kevin Hamilton
Traditional Cultures in this part of Ireland can often be abused and misused as a negative commentary, ‘a stick to beat the other side with.’ We are more than just flags and kerbstones. All cultures have an intrinsic beauty within, which is often overlooked. My new series of work I have focused on aspects of the built landscape which have traditionally been associated with one or the other side. Buildings and locations such as Stormont Castle, Clonard Monastery, Milltown cemetery and Windsor Park, created intriguing symmetrical compositions divorced from its previous traditional associations. Through this selection of work, I want to encourage all to see beyond the history of a place and appreciate the beauty within. My work is kaleidoscopic pieces drawn from locations and landmarks previously identified to be one or the other culture, from divided cultures here. Highlighting the beauty which is visible everywhere if you know how to look, a true beauty found in each culture which can be appreciated without prejudice. For further details visit https://www.culturlann.ie/en/visual-arts
ArtisAnn: presents Artefacts of a Pandemic by Connor Maguire, Wed 2nd to Sat 26th March, 2022.
Tue – Fri: 11am to 6pm ; Sat: Noon to 5pm
Connor has produced a series of paintings that are focused on things that we take for granted, such as products we use in everyday life. The art is inspired by how people have behaved and reacted to the global pandemic.
All the products chosen have a significance to our behaviour patterns during this time. Connor also sought out certain products due to the colour and text so the items painted were not just random paintings of household items but chosen for their significance and how we related to them during the pandemic
He has received numerous national and international awards during his career and has exhibited widely to great acclaim. His work has been shown at the Royal Hibernian Academy, the Royal Ulster Academy and at the Zurich Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Dublin. He has been shortlisted Artist of the Year for Artists and Illustrators Magazine in London.
Connor received support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to produce these paintings during the pandemic.
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
Golden Thread Gallery: presents Slow Art Day – Saturday April 2nd 2022
SLOW DOWN… THE MORE YOU LOOK THE MORE YOU SEE…
Life moves fast. Visitors to art galleries usually spend just 15 to 30 seconds looking at a piece of art – that’s less time than we spend looking at a page on the internet! But what would you see if you stopped, too a deep breath, and spent five whole minutes looking at a painting or photograph or sculpture? What would you see? What hidden detail or unexpected colour could you discover? What idea or memory or connection with the artist could you spark?
Step away. Look from the doorway. Step back… What if you gave it ten minutes?
We could all slow down and really savour the experience of looking at art. This year the GTG will join more than 200 institutions around the world taking part in Slow Art Day. It’s a global event with a simple mission: help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art.
Join GTG in the peace and calm of the gallery on Saturday 2nd April. Look slowly at the artworks in OXYgen by Aoife Shanahan in the Project Space and We Are Here in Gallery One and Two, featuring film works by Ayo Akingbade, Duncan Campbell, Susan Hiller, John Akomfrah and Samson Kambalu.
Then have a seat in their Process Room to discuss your experience. They will have free tea and coffee, additional seating and special ‘Easter egg’ information about the exhibitions that you might never notice if you weren’t taking your time. Experience art differently. Visit www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
The MAC: presents the following exhibitions:
Alfred Wallis: Artist and Mariner, 8 Dec – 27 Mar, presented in the Tall and Sunken Gallery.
Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) was a mariner and scrap merchant born in Devonport, Plymouth, who spent most of his life in Cornwall. He started painting around the age of seventy, with no formal training and little income. Despite these challenges, his artistic output was prolific. After going to sea as a cabin boy at the age of nine, Wallis spent his early life working on lugger and deep-sea fishing boats off the Cornish coast and in the Atlantic. He later set up a marine scrap store in St Ives. Following the death of his wife, he turned to making art as a creative release from the loneliness he felt. All works in the exhibition are by Alfred Wallis and from the collection of Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge.
Ronnie Hughes: Isobar, 8th December – 27 March 2022, Upper Gallery, The MAC
Ronnie Hughes is one of Ireland’s most dynamic abstract painters. Hughes’ elegant and poised works are executed with complex technical skill yet retain a lightness of touch. While his finished paintings display a diversity of styles, at heart they share a common concern with the lived experience, and what Hughes has described as “the beauty, the fragility and the violence of being.”
Ronnie Hughes’ works evolve over a long time and are generally process-driven to the extent that there is no plan or, in most cases, any sense of the outcome until the works are close to completion. “My role is to steer and nuance their evolution; to balance the elements and, just as often, to disrupt them resulting in the emergence of waves, nebulae, constellations, lattice structures and fields”.
In recent years Hughes’ work has become more ‘optically’ charged, colour and shape are presented as vibrational energies where the haptic qualities that a painting’s surface contains and its ability to record, hold and represent time are amplified.
Hughes’ work is complex and multi-dimensional. The painted surface is constructed through a layering of stratas revealing a range of associative and representational qualities simultaneously. What appears to be random or chaotic is revealed to have a hidden template, structure or pattern, the regimented order of which is constantly gnawed at and undermined.
MAC Art Workshop: Big Feelings & Little Minds, 26 Feb & 12 Mar
Workshops for children, inspired by the amazing art exhibitions in The MAC galleries.
Still I Rise Diversity Storytelling is back to read from storybooks, inspired by some of the themes in the lives and work of our current exhibiting artists. Using stories that are filled with diversity and inclusive language, Anna and Orla will explore themes such as loneliness, grief, happiness and anxiety. Giving children the language to label their feelings encourages acceptance of big emotions and allows them to develop the tools to navigate mental health challenges and promote positive mental wellbeing from an early age.
This workshop is suitable for 5 - 8 year olds and adults stay in the session with their children. These workshops have limited capacity, and if this event is sold out, please email tickets@themaclive.com to be added to the waiting list.
For further information on this workshops and other workshops for kids visit visit www.belfastexposed.org
R-Space: presents Where lines are drawn and people connect group exhibition from 19th Feb – 18th March 2022.
Now in its tenth year, this group exhibition will explore artists’ and makers’ different approaches to the materials they choose to work with and why; the messages and meaning they wish to convey using those materials; what those messages are, and the methods of production and process they use to make the work.Five artists / makers based in Northern Ireland at different career stages, working in a variety of media, were selected from an open call for this exhibition titled: Borders, Boundaries and Bridges:
Eleanor Wheeler
Meadhbh McIlgorm
Paul McMordie & Robert Peters
Rebecca O’Flaherty
Sinead O’Donnell
The selected artists respond to the themes around borders, boundaries and bridges and will exhibit work that includes mixed media, performance to camera and sound. Visit https://www.rspacelisburn.com
CCA: CCA Derry-Londonderry presents
FEROX 14 Jan – 12 March 2022
CCA Derry-Londonderry is proud to present FEROX – its first exhibition of 2022, and artist Ciaran O Dochartaigh’s most extensive solo show to date. Ciaran makes use of a wide range of media – customised tools made of ceramic, marble, granite, sound recordings, technical drawings – in an attempt to deal with themes of generational grief, trauma and healing and how these lived experiences are indivisible from the landscape. Sources for Ciaran’s work are found in his research garnered from historical documentation and archival footage, as well as personal experience and storytelling.
FEROX focuses on Lough Fad East, Donegal – a small body of freshwater that supplies drinking water to the surrounding townlands in the Inishowen peninsula. The ecosystem of the lough has been damaged in recent years, most significantly by the introduction of a new fish species that has irreversibly altered its biodiversity which had previously been unaltered since the last ice age.
Throughout the duration of FEROX there will be a series of accompanying events, pending pandemic restrictions. Visit www.ccadld.org
Moving on Music: presents Brilliant Corners – A Festival Of Jazz In Belfast
Dates: Fri 4th – 12th March at The Black Box, Hill Street
Heading into its tenth year, Brilliant Corners is now heralded worldwide as one of the highlights on the jazz festival circuit. Renowned for the potential to see breaking and established talent in intimate surrounds, the festival has hosted performances from Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming, Soweto Kinch, Fred Frith and many more.
The festival returns to its spiritual home of the Black Box after last year’s online festival for 8 days of the finest international and local jazz sounds.
This year we cast the net across Ireland, the UK and Europe with Witch ‘n’ Monk, Wildflower, David Lyttle Trio, Black Top, Potsa Lotsa, Aoife Doyle and Band, The RBG Trio, Jas & Chums, The Long Game, ADJUNCT Ensemble, SlapBang, and Ishmael Ensemble all on the bill.
More info and ticket prices at https://www.brilliantcornersbelfast.com/
Limited full festival tickets are selling fast
Panarts: presents the 18th Panarts Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival from 16-19 March 2022 in Belfast. This year’s festival is a mixture of online virtual concerts and in-person events live at The Ramada Hotel and includes a number of concerts and workshops. For the full programme and more information visit www.belfastnashvillecongwriters.com
Féile an Earraigh: is a vibrant and inclusive culture and arts festival, celebrating and showcasing Irish culture, music and diversity. The programme offers a wide variety of arts and cultural activities including traditional music, workshops, concerts, tours, walks, talks, literary events, youth and sporting events and family based activities.
Féile an Phobail’s Spring festival, Féile an Earraigh, celebrates and showcases local Irish culture and diversity through an eclectic mix of vibrant and inclusive Irish cultural and arts activity for local people and visitors to the city in the lead in to and including St Patrick’s Day. The 2022 festival will see over 150 events take place in more than 30 venues throughout the City.
Highlights include:
- Headline shows by Irish Super Bands Aslan and Beoga, the Féile Trad Trail, with live traditional music in various locations throughout Belfast;
- Bodhran, Tin Whistle and Sean Nós singing workshops
- Irish language crash courses for all levels of ability
- Family friendly trad music session
- Talks and discussions
- Events to mark International Women’s Day and World Book Day
- Activities for families in local community centre’s and public libraries
- Mutiple tours and walks
- Number of headline concerts
For full events listings please refer to the Féile an Phobail website www.feilebelfast.com where the programme will be available to view from Thursday 17th February.
Illuminate, Embrace the Walled City: Take a journey through time this February and discover the secrets of the Walled City as you embark on a magical illuminated trail telling the story of a legendary place that will capture both your heart and your imagination. Funded by Tourism Northern Ireland as part of the Embrace A Giant Spirit campaign 'Illuminate' will run over two weekends, 17th - 20th and 24th – 27th February, and shine a light on the events that have shaped the unique story of Derry, a city that has been forged through a millennium of adventure, endurance, imagination and endeavour. Visit www.derrystrabane.com/illuminate
Belfast Children’s Festival: On the back of a 2-year hiatus for live events, Belfast Children’s Festival 2022 is returning from 4-13 March 2022 with a line-up of gigantic proportions.
From contemporary dance ‘MORF’, creating the magical out of the everyday, to theatre performances of ‘A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings’, incorporating magical realism, and ‘Birdboy’, celebrating the power of imagination, offering a vision of hope and connection. A newly commissioned opera ‘Nobody, Somebody’ will focus on real issues of homelessness and mental health and ‘Touch’ a new exhibition created by local children will explore the impact of social distancing during lockdown, reflecting on and creatively responding to the pandemic impact. International performances will return to this year’s festival with ‘Do As I Say’ from Sweden, a dance performance exploring issues of bullying and authority, and ‘No Man is an Island’ from the Netherlands which brings connection, cooperation, communication and creativity together, collectively making sure that the line-up for Belfast Children’s Festival 2022 is combining reality with the magic of escapism.
In addition, the 2022 programme will feature a new production from Replay Theatre Company ‘Harbour’ An enchanting multi-sensory baby opera, where parents and little ones can discover this strange new world together. Festival favourites will return including the ‘Giant Family Day Out’ at Cathedral Quarter, ‘Acoustic Picnic’ and ‘Baby Rave’, for all of the little dancers and big dancers too!
View the full programme at https://readymag.com/u2245057935/bcf-2022/
Look North: North Belfast’s rich culture and built heritage is to be recognised in a new Festival whose aim is to celebrate the story of North Belfast with its vibrant and diverse community.
This debut weekend festival - Look North! The North Belfast Festival - will take place from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 February in a wide range of venues along the new North Belfast Cultural Corridor. In just over one mile you can find 15 historic buildings and sites which stretch back to the 18th Century. It is an area also renowned as the birthplace and alma mater of such international literary talent as Brian Moore, Helen Waddell, John Hewitt, Ciaran Carson, Sinéad Morrisey, Anne Devlin, Gerald Dawe, Bernard MacLaverty, and Anna Burns.
The festival programme is jam-packed with activities to showcase and celebrate North Belfast’s rich heritage and its cultural, creative and literary talents, with appearances from local authors, artists and young people, though it is not all limited to the area. To this end the programme reflects a wide range of activities and interests, including talks, poetry readings, panel discussions, walks, historic tours, the visual arts, music and comedy performances, creative writing classes for adults and the launch of the first Look North! Short Story Literary Awards in association with Intercomm North Belfast. Visit northbelfastfestival.com for full details.
Waterways Storymaking Festival: Over the past four years, the Waterways Storymaking Festival has offered a chance for people all over Northern Ireland to reflect and connect in a deeper way with the unique beauty of our waterways. With the continuing support of the National Lottery through the Arts Council, the festival this year will run through the first six months of 2022, offering an opportunity to share with each other thoughts, reminiscences or pure flights of fantasy on the theme of 'Waterways'. Story submissions to the 2022 festival competition are invited from all ages and abilities. There are also free online creative writing workshops to spark some inspiration with talented local writers in January and February. Visit https://www.thewaterwayscommunity.org