By Conor O’Neill
Belfast’s longest running international celebration of arts and culture returns for its 62nd edition this autumn with a jam-packed programme of global artists converging across the city.
The festival runs from October 16th to November 20th, and ahead of the full programme reveal later this summer, the organisers have revealed a series of festival highlights across the visual arts, music, dance and theatre.
Peforming at the Mandela Hall on October 28th, all the way from West Africa, will be Les Amazons D’ Afrique, a collective of talented female musicians renowned for their unique blend of traditional African rhythms and contemporary sounds. The arts meets advocacy with the group’s blend of vibrant energy, intricate harmonies and compelling lyrics that address issues of gender equality and social justice. The band’s previous two albums have garnered considerate acclaim, and their latest record, Musow Danse, released earlier this year, has been described as one of the great pan-African consciousness LPs in modern history by Rolling Stone magazine.
October 29th sees blues legends Paul Jones and Dave Kelly and the masterful singer-songwriter Freddie White present a night of Blues & Ballads at the Grand Opera House. Founders and lead vocalists of The Blues Band, Jones and Kelly are two of the UK’s most revered and respected blues musicians and have played alongside the greats, including Howling Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Sonny Boy Williams. Part of the fabric of Ireland’s music scene, Freddie Whir, who has toured with Eric Clapton, has captivated audiences with an eclectic repertoire and magnetic energy for decades.
Following a hugely successful run off-Broadway run The Vanishing Elephant by Charles Way for Cahoots Theatre Group lands at the Grand opera House from October 31st to November 2nd. This family spectacle is an epic tale of friendship and adventure that features onstage puppetry.
Showing throughout the festival at the Ulster Museum is Threads of Empowerment: Conflict Textiles’ International Journey. The exhibition, which opens on June 21st, displays 29 textiles from individuals and communities across the world who have experienced violence and conflict, human rights violations, poverty, oppression, and environmental issues. The artworks highlight how important a resource artistic expression can be as each piece is based on personal and poignant testimonies.
Touch, Hear, Feel, and ambitious new project by dancer/visual artist and current Festival Artist In residence Helen Hall invites us to re-imagine the way we experience arts. Touch, Hear, Feel art is felt, heard and understood in ways that transcend the traditional realm. The installation will create a unique opportunity for audiences to physically engage with the work, breaking down the barrier between the observer and art. Accompanying the sensory experience, an audio narrative will feature the voices of blind and partially sighted people providing insight into their experiences of touch. The installation spaces will then transform into the stage for a new dance piece choreographed by Helen. Touch, Hear, Feel, which is produced by the festival, will be open to the public in October.
ROOTS by former Festival Artist In Residence Eilen McClory together with Off The Rails Dance Company and the Black Mountain Community, is a unique performance that blends dance, poetry, storytelling and active participation. In this event art and nature intertwine to rewrite the narrative of Belfast’s public spaces as audiences watch, listen, move, touch and connect in an engaging journey to transform a shared but contested space at Belfast’s ‘million brick’ peace wall tat divides the Springmartin and Springfield communities. ROOTS takes place in a specially designed garden at the Black Mountain Shared Space from August 10th to August 18th.
From October 24th to the 25th at the telegraph Building, Solab, a new collective led by Kwame Daniels, presents North Star, an ambitious live show that will feature music and literature, all deeply rooted in Black music and culture. The immersive live performance is inspired by the historic speech given by orator, writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglas in 1845 and is led by Grammy Award winner, Kaidai Tatham, award winning poet, Nandi Jole. rising stars Leo MIyagee and Winnie Ama, alongside a host of talent including nearly 100 pupils from four Belfast schools. The show will a;so feature special commissions by acclaimed actor Colin Salmon and Ivor Novella winner Hannah Peel.
The full programme for this year’s Belfast International Arts Festival will be available from August 13th at http://www.belfastinternationalartsfestival.com
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