What’s on in the Arts
6th April, 2022
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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 and returns to the Lyric Theatre from 6-10 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 and www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
Sestina: This April, Belfast-based early music ensemble Sestina presents performances of Handel’s Messiah in Kilkenny and Belfast, featuring an ensemble of authentic period instruments. In a dramatic concert staging, with 8 soloists performing from within the choir, Sestina will explore the narrative at the heart of this masterpiece. The project will showcase some of Northern Ireland’s most talented young singers as soloists, including soprano Ellen Mawhinney, tenor Graham Cooper and baritone Malachy Frame. Eight young singers have been selected from Sestina’s Next Generation Mentoring Programme to join the chorus for the performances, and will work alongside the soloists in Sestina’s proven successful approach to mentoring.
Handel’s Messiah will be performed in
St. Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny (23rd April, 7.30pm)
Fisherwick Presbyterian Church, Belfast (24th April, 7.30pm)
Cork City Hall at the opening Gala Performance of Cork International Choral Festival (27th April, 8pm)
For full details of the concerts and ticket booking, please visit sestinamusic.com/events
Northern Ireland Opera: presents one of the most beautiful operas ever written, La Traviata, which returns to The Grand Opera House on 10, 13, 15 and 17 September 2022. Join Northern Ireland Opera as they present a brand-new production of one of the most popular operas of all time: the much-loved and cherished La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi.
La Traviata tells the tragic love story of the beautiful courtesan Violetta Valéry and the romantic Alfredo Germont. After falling hopelessly in love the two leave the dizzying heights of Paris society for the country, but their relationship threatens to shame Alfredo’s family name. His father confronts Violetta and demands that she leaves Alfredo. In a desperate act of self-sacrifice Violetta agrees, but her decision has terrible consequences.
This stunning new production comprising four performances is sure to delight and move audiences of all ages. It is perfect for anyone looking to experience an opera for the first time as well as for existing opera fans. Northern Ireland Opera is delighted to engage with the Ulster Orchestra to bring this masterpiece with its gloriously romantic score to life. Visit www.niopera.com
Northern Ireland Opera also present the 12th Glenarm Festival of Voice, 26-28 August 2022. Join Northern Ireland Opera and BBC Radio 3 in the beautiful coastal village of Glenarm this August for our annual celebration of song: The Glenarm Festival of Voice. Now in its twelfth year, this much-loved event brings together BBC Radio 3 recitals, outreach events, performances their Artist Development Programme and culminates in the Competition Finale where five singers from across the island of Ireland compete in front of a live jury panel to win the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize and become the NI Opera Voice of 2022. Applications to enter the vocal competition are now open – if you are between the ages of 18-28, born on the island of Ireland and either a singer pursuing career in opera or as a professional pianist. Visit www.niopera.com
The Black Box: presents a series of concerts this spring with highlights including:
- Susie Blue, 9 April
- Matt McGinn and Damien McGeehan, 10 April
- The Victory Rollers, 10 April
- The First Slip, Trad in The Green Room,
- The Swing Gals, 29 April
For further information visit www.blackboxbelfast.com
Hex Hue: presents Lucent at The MAC on 14 April 2022 at 7pm. Imagine a Jools Holland show set in a magical landscape of light and glitter and that's what you can expect from this night of music. Lucent is a celebration of new beginnings, of emerging out of darker times into the start of something brighter and more hopeful. Hex Hue will be joined by music legends Beauty Sleep and the brilliant Sasha Samara. All of the bands will be on stage together and collaborate on each other's songs in a not to be missed musical adventure. Set in a beautiful landscape designed by Timmy White and Tracey Lindsay with lights designed by the award-winning Ciaran Bagnall.
Hex Hue marks a clean break for Belfast vocalist and musician Katie Richardson whose name is synonymous with eclectic creative spirit and collaboration in Northern Ireland. Between her varied work as a composer, producer and songwriter, she’s long been at the heart of the country’s forward-pushing musical community. Bearing the imprint of Scando pop and percussive electronica every bit as much as introspective indie, Hex Hue offers up harmony-driven, Technicolour alt-pop that locks its gaze on the horizon to see better, brighter days. For tickets visit www.themaclive.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 visit porticoards.com
A major highlights features Arts Council Major Individual Artist award recipient, Ian Wilson.
MLADENOVIĆ & WILSON : VIOLIN & PIANO, 17 JULY 2022, 3PM
The Mladenović-Wilson duo bring together an outstanding Serbian violinist with one of Ireland’s leading composers, also a pianist in his own right. As a duo, Dušica Mladenović and Ian Wilson explore a wide range of music from classical greats such as Schubert and musical mavericks like Erik Satie to more contemporary work by the likes of Arvo Pärt and Wilson himself. The programme includes:
Sonata in A minor, op.137 (1816, 23’) Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Fratres (1977, 11’) Arvo PÄRT (b.1935)
from the Book of Longing (1996, 12’) Ian WILSON (b.1964)
Socrates Ungraved (1918/2016, 27’) Erik SATIE (1866-1925) / Ian WILSON
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.p>
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
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
DU Dance: Youth dance groups from across the island of Ireland will come together and return to the stage at The MAC, Belfast, on Sunday 24th April to present Unanimous a powerful and energetic showcase of their work.
Having been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the 9th annual showcase presented by Belfast-based dance company DU Dance (NI). It is an event for families, community groups and individuals of all ages with an interest in the performing arts.
Over the years, the Unanimous platform has continued to expand and help young people from the ages of 12-24 years from all over the island to get together in a professional theatre, develop skills, share their skills and form new connections. Rachel Sheil, Artistic Director at Limerick Youth Dance Company said of this opportunity to get together, “Thanks a million for Unanimous 2022. LYD are raring to perform and travel again.”
In bringing together some of the best youth dancers from across the island, Unanimous will see the following groups to perform in a non-competitive arena: Belfast Boys (Belfast), Brona Jackson Youth Dance Company (Derry/Londonderry), Connect Youth Dance (Enniskillen), Dublin Youth Dance Company, FYI Dance Club (Wicklow), Laois Youth Dance Ensemble, Limerick Youth Dance Company, Sutemos (Dungannon) and Youth Action’s Rainbow Factory (Belfast).
The diversity of the line-up for Unanimous reaffirms DU Dance (NI)’s commitment to fostering dance talent from across the island of Ireland and providing a supportive performance environment for dancers of all backgrounds.
Tickets are priced at £8 for adults / £6 for children / £4 for Community Groups with a free leader seat. Contact tickets@themaclive.com for information about group rates.
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 Tuesday evenings 7pm - 9pm at Echo Echo's studios on Magazine Street, Derry-Londonderry. Join Echo Echo for a short introductory evening course in Body Wisdom Movement and Dance for the over 50s led by Echo Echo's Artistic Director Steve Batts.
Of course moving is healthy, physically and psychologically but we aren't striving for those benefits. In our experience they come best as a by-product of exploring movement as a shared, poetic artistic process. The approach Echo Echo take is that older people have enormous poetic potential embedded in their movement lives. Echo Echo take away the expectations that are usually attached to dance as an art - extreme mobility, athleticism, agility - and begin from where people are.
Any men and women 50 years and upwards can join, no matter the level of physical ability or experience. To register please visit https://www.echoechodance.com/whatson/introduction-to-body-wisdom-movement-dance
For more details on al of Echo Echo’s classes and events visit www.echoechodance.com
Kabosh Theatre Company: presents a tour of, Before You Go, a new play
The Lyric Theatre and BBC Arts Lights Up: presents, Rough Girls, available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015694/lights-up-series-2-rough-girls
A century after the formation of the first Northern Irish women’s football team, Derry Girls’ Tara Lynne O’Neill’s debut play, enacted by an all-female cast, chronicles the courage and determination of the women who became known as the suffragettes of soccer. Rough Girls was filmed for television at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, with a socially distanced audience, for BBC Arts.
The Lyric Theatre: also presents a new programme for 2022 with highlights including,
- Abomination – A DUP Opera, 6-10 April
- Translations by Brian Friel, 23 April – 28 May
- Stones in his Pockets, 7 June – 3 July
- Breadboy, 28-31 July 2022
For further details on all events and to buy tickets visit www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
The Playhouse: On the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, The Playhouse in Londonderry presented The White Handkerchief performed in the city's historic Guildhall. This performance recreates the events of 30 January, 1972 and tells the stories of those who were killed and injured on Bloody Sunday. And it features a new generation of talent from Derry and beyond. This new film from BBC Northern Ireland documents the play's development from page to stage over a period of nine months. It includes the creators, local cast members and the families of the victims. Available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. www.derryplayhouse.co.uk
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
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
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.
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: has released details of their new programme of theatre, music and digital classes. 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 https://www.theduncairn.com/player
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 Podcast has a strong focus on mental health as part of the EA Health & Wellbeing programme this month. 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 Mammybanter. 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.
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.
https://shows.acast.com/spill-the-tae-youth-led-podcast
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 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
Tribes and Tribulations solo exhibition by Award winning Artist Helen Merrigan Colfer continues to May 21st Island Arts Centre. An stunning exhibition of monumental scale featuring 37 Sculptures of exquisite detail and a witty & wistful Lock Down diary celebrating life,compassion and companionship during Lockdown.The exhibition really is like living in a magical wonderland.A gifted artist who has captured themes of important to us all at this time.
An exhibition suitable for all ages and stages in life and guaranteed to lift your spirits and nourish curious minds
As part of this year's NI Mental Health Festival there will be two dedicated tours and talks with Helen Merrigan Colfer & Noelle Mc Alinden May 14th at 12.30pm to 1.30pm and repeated at 2.pm to 3.30pm. Contact Island Arts Centre for details
VOID: is delighted to present BLACK MED SECCO, a solo exhibition by Invernomuto, the name of the artistic personality created in 2003 by Simone Bertuzzi and Simone Trabucchi.
For their exhibition at Void, Invernomuto will create an immersive sonic, physical and visual environment referencing the Mediterranean basin.
In gallery one, through their research in the textile collection of the Museum Studio Del Tessuto (Fondazione Ratti, Como) Invernomuto have created a walled work using moiré textiles that allude to the refraction and movement of the sea. This pattern is replicated in the live stream in gallery two of Black Med. This is an online platform (accessible on blackmed.invernomuto.info) that acts as an archive of music. Black Med is compiled by Invernomuto and a vast array of invited artists and contributors. As part of the live projection stream the music is accompanied by projected slides containing theoretical texts and backstories that enliven the score. This music archive demonstrates the dynamic, multi-cultural sounds and music that emerge from this region and beyond. The intention of the project is to create an open and live system so anyone can upload new sounds into it: the goal is to have a growing archive, a Black Med magma, which constantly evolves. Visit www.derryvoid.com
UNBOXED: Thousands of participants aka Lumenators are being recruited from across Northern Ireland, by outdoor art experts Walk the Plank, to help create large-scale outdoor artworks in some of the region's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) for Green Space Dark Skies, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, from April to September 2022.
Gathering at designated Northern Ireland locations at dusk, Lumenators will be guided along pathways or waterways carrying smart lights that will enable digital choreography captured on film, while also being sensitive to the night-time environment. To protect these amazing places, the exact locations will only be revealed to the Lumenators who have registered to take part. There will be no spectators, but anyone can take part for free as long as they sign up in advance.
UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK and is commissioned and delivered in partnership with Belfast City Council, Creative Wales and EventScotland. If you would like to take part in Green Space Dark Skies register at https://greenspacedarkskies.uk/get-involved/
Arts For All: presents a group exhibition by graduate’s from Ulster University from 15-28th April 2022 at Cityside Retail Park, Ground Floor Unit, Belfast.
Arts for All is delighted to present a group exhibition with 27 Graduates from the 2021 Degree programme who will showcase their artwork. Due to the pandemic, the Ulster University in 2021 did not have its usual showcase exhibition that would allow the public to see the emerging artists. Arts for All have decided to support the recent graduates and present their work in a celebratory exhibition. The work ranges from Painting, Sculpture & lens and Printing Making. The diversity of subject matter will be of interest as the artists present eco feminisms, environmentalism, Queer art, nostalgia and childhood memories with several artists connecting to the term Ceasefire Babies. Other themes relate to social, political cultural and boundaries.
Artists include: Alex Plunkett, Sheenagh Bleakney, Sam Robb, Robert Millar, Kaitlin Murphy, Nina Oltarzewska, Nair Berenguer, Kerri Steele, DreamBean, Mya Dara, Maela Amin, Sionnain Rafferty, Juste Bernotaite, Kate Forbes, Kate O’ Neill, Amber Rossi, Leah Davis, Andrea Kerr, Amy Gracey, Alex Nolan, Riona Kearns, Michael Sparkes, Catriona Clarke, Alisha Mcgeown, Zoe Dunlop, Ronan Lynn, Megan Daly.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich: presents, Re: Place, Exhibition of Painting and Printmaking by Pamela de Brí. The selected body of work in Re: Place takes a fresh look at and draws attention to social and demographic changes in rural Ireland. The artist explores themes of place – land, home, location, placing and replacing. This land, inhabited for over 10,000 years, has changed and developed over time. People come and go and leave their personal, historical and cultural marks on the landscape in both the natural and developed environment, all adding to the metamorphosing deep map of the land. Re: Place brings the different strands together, documenting these ever changing shifts in rural Ireland.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich also presents Waiting for the Number 12 by Noel Connor. Noel Connor was born and raised in West Belfast and as a child he would have traveled from his home in Andersonstown into town on the number 12 trolley bus. Trolley buses were finally withdrawn from service on the 12th May 1968. For this project he tracked down and worked directly with the actual bus which made the last journey along the Falls Road, passing Broadway Presbyterian Church, now Cultúrlann.
Using film, poetry and photography, Noel explores why the number 12 from Casement Park to Castle Street features so conspicuously in his memory, examining how events on and around it capture a transition from childhood innocence into the realities of late 1960’s Belfast.
Both exhibitions continue until 28 April. For further details visit www.culturlann.ie
ArtisAnn Gallery
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
Golden Thread Gallery: presents HOW DID WE GET TO: WE ARE HERE? A collaborative exhibition of Artists’ Moving Image from the British Council Collection and LUX
19th March – 30th April 2022 Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast | 5th March – 16th April 2022 Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda
Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast and Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda announce a collaborative exhibition partnership presenting WE ARE HERE, Artists’ Moving Image from the British Council Collection and LUX.
Exploring themes of marginality and its representation, community, storytelling, world-building and critically reframing histories, these linked exhibitions present films from SONGS OF A FORGOTTEN PAST, one of five artists’ film programmes curated by Tendai John Mutambu for the British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, and LUX, an international arts agency that supports and promotes artists’ moving image practices.
The two exhibitions and programme of events at Golden Thread Gallery and Highlanes Gallery are separate but in conversation with each other; different interpretations from different places, with visits from each side of the border to the other gallery offering a chance to see the films from each other’s ‘here’. www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Golden Thread Gallery also presents an exhibition by Golden Thread Gallery Mentoring & Exhibition Award winner Drydan Wilson, focussing on the physical actions of skateboarding as a way of making art. The exhibition looks at the interaction between the practitioner and their environment, exploring the distortion of architecture and the subversion of its original purpose. 28 April – 28 May 2022, www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk
Belfast Exposed: Presents the following exhibitions:
Gallery 1: We, Us, Them
On now until 23 May.
We, Us, Them is a collaborative exhibition between Belfast Exposed and the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne which acts as a platform through which seven female artists explore personal reflections on communal history, identity and place. The project's ambition is to connect and promote indigenous languages and cultures, acknowledging the positive changes and achievements of such communities surviving and adapting to their changing environments.
The exhibition opened in Belfast on the 3rd March 2022 with a parallel exhibition underway simultaneously at the Centre for Contemporary Photography Australia. The Belfast exhibition will feature 5 of Australia’s most contemporary female photographers and videographers, and Belfast photographer, Deirdre Robb, and socially engaged artist, Lesley Cherry. It will bring together over 40 images and videos in a celebration of the power of community, communities of artist's, women, extended family and of the Irish Traveller and Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to society in their native country.
Gallery 2: The Truth is in the Soil -- Ioanna Sakellaraki Date: 3rd March -- 21st MayStudio Gallery: Proof Of Ghosts -- Joan Alexander Date: 3rd March -- 16th April
The experience of grief and mourning is all too familiar in Northern Ireland and due to the global pandemic, loss has touched upon everyone’s lives. It is experienced and dealt with in a variety of ways and can often be relegated to the back of the mind, unaddressed and allowed to fester. Differing communities and cultures process such pain in differing ways. The Truth is in the Soil explores how traditional Greek funerary rituals deal with the process of death. For further details visit www.belfastexposed.org
Seen to be Heard solo exhibition by Jennifer Willis at Belfast Exposed - April 28th.
A delegation of Ladies featured in Jennifers moving portraits living with Secondary Breast Cancer presented a compelling manifesto to the Health Committee and Elected Representatives in Stormont March 16th. Arts, Advocacy and Activism in Action.
R-Space: presents presents “Oh, l’eau l’eau!”celebrating 150th anniversary of the first Wallace drinking fountains in Paris.
Re: New Wallace #5 (“Oh, l’eau, l’eau”) runs from 9 April – 6 May 2022 at R-Space Gallery (32 Castle Street, Lisburn) and online via R-Space Social media channels and www.rspacelisburn.com
Preview Saturday 9 April 2022, 2pm -4pm – all welcome
The Wallace Artist Residency programme, presented by R-Space Gallery, Lisburn in association with the Wallace Collection, London is now in its sixth year.
For Re: New Wallace #5 three artists were selected to work remotely and have been jointly commissioned to create the first animated short film on the story of the first Wallace fountains erected in Paris in 1872 by Sir Richard Wallace during the Paris siege. (Later, he was to donate five to Lisburn, two of which remain: in Castle Gardens and Wallace Park).
Northern Irish Artists Meg Earls and Neil Foster are collaborating with French composer Nelson Santoni on the work. The finished piece will be previewed at R-Space (together with all artwork to date) and is scheduled to be screened in Paris later in the year during the city-wide celebrations there in association with the Society of the Wallace Fountains. (http://www.wallacefountains.org/)
Visit www.rspacelisburn.com
CCA: CCA Derry-Londonderry presents
FEROX 14 Jan – 9 April 2022
CCA Derry~Londonderry is proud to present FEROX – its first exhibition of 2022, and artist Ciarán Ó Dochartaigh’s most extensive solo show to date. Ciarán 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 Ciarán’s work are found in his research garnered from historical documentation and archival footage, as well as personal experience and storytelling. Visit www.ccadld.org
Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival: returns from 28 April – 8 May with a fantastic programme of music and comedy. Highlights includes,
- Dani Larkin, 29 April
- Ciara O’Neill EP launch, 30 April
- Ruth McGinley, 6 May
- Declan O’Rourke, 1 May
- John Shuttleworth, 2 May
- Kae Tempest, 3 May
- Malojian, 7 May
- Brigid O’Neill EP launch, 7 May
Visit www.cqaf.com for the full programme of events.
Belfast International Arts Festival: marks 60th anniversary with ‘gift to the city of Belfast’.
On 23–24 April, the public are invited to dance beneath a gigantic chandelier as Cristal Palace by Transe Express transforms Titanic Paddocks, adjacent to Titanic Slipways, into an open-air ballroom complete with an airborne orchestra, aerial acrobats and sharp-witted characters. Cristal Palace is presented by BIAF in association with Belfast City Council, Circusful, Maritime Belfast Trust and Titanic Belfast
Cristal Palace is a major free civic event that links the past, present and future of BIAF, Titanic Quarter and more widely, the city itself. The two-day spectacle will be followed by a series of festival events in May, including Between Tiny Cities (6–7 May) at The MAC, an exhilarating hip hop b*boy battle between two dancers, one from Cambodia and one from Australia, and a selection of family-friendly events set to take place in July and August.
For more information about Cristal Palace and to book tickets (booking opens 10am Friday 25 March), visit belfastinternationalartsfestival.com
Open House Festival at The Walled Garden: Open House Festival returns to the stunning setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden this August, with an exciting line-up of music, comedy, theatre, classic film and spoken word events.
Headline acts include Beth Orton, Martha Wainwright, Paul Brady, Paddy Raff, Eddi Reader, Villagers, Duke Special and the Hothouse Flowers, as well as festival favourites Celtic Soul, Ronnie Greer and Manukahunney. Specially commissioned events include Berts To Bangor, recreating the amazing jazz music performed at Berts Jazz Bar in the Merchant Hotel, Belfast. This year’s Classic Film screenings include Thelma and Louise and Chicago.
The fully seated events will take place on the Walled Garden lawn under a beautifully lit stretch tent, providing an outdoor garden experience but with protection from the elements. More acts will be announced in the coming weeks. Vie the current Walled Garden programme at www.openhousefestival.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.
For full events listings please refer to the Féile an Phobail website www.feilebelfast.com
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'. Visit https://www.thewaterwayscommunity.org