A starting point for the city
A new exhibition by multi-disciplinary artist Jonathan Brennan opens in the ‘Canteen Gallery’ in Vault Artist Studios (14 October, 6-9PM). Featuring all new work created in 2022, this is Brennan’s first solo exhibition since...
The Eastside Arts Festival has a new ‘Family Ambassador’. If you haven’t already heard about this prestigious appointment, let me enlighten you. He is A Belfast Blog’s very own Jonathan Brennan, i.e. me. I’m...
I’m back to devouring fiction. Below are a few notes on the why and the what. Until 2 weeks ago I hadn’t read any fiction for nearly two years. The reasons are easy to...
Culture Night Belfast, part of the wider island of Ireland-wide celebration taking place annually on 21 September, is an event that I always make sure to attend, with my family, regardless of the weather. Parking...
I first encountered the work of Elizabeth Magill in Belfast’s Ulster Museum, specifically through a painting entitled Chronicle of Orange (2008). In the work, plant forms and trees are bathed in a pool of...
Adam Frew is a talented potter and ceramic artist based on Ireland’s north coast. His work ranges from exhibition pieces and large pots to functional items intended for everyday use. Since speaking with Adam...
In Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker, three men journey through the ‘Forbidden Zone’ – a damp, overgrown wasteland where the rules of nature no longer apply. Their goal is to reach a place within the ‘Zone’...
I’ve just returned from Ben Weir’s book launch of ‘Everything Gets Treated The Same’ at Framewerk gallery in Belfast. Artist/architect Ben Weir describes it as ‘A book about the death of buildings’, a rumination rather...
A Belfast Blog was thrilled to meet Dr. Zeynep Bulut. Zeynep moved to Belfast from London earlier this year to take up post as Lecturer in Music at the Department of Music and Sonic Arts...
East Belfast has a number of cultural heroes. George Best and Van Morrison are perhaps the biggest household names. And as with any area pushing a culture and tourism agenda, there’s no shortage of...
I’ve got a new Christmas Present Strategy. In short – all of the gifts I buy this year have to be made in Northern Ireland. Or at least designed in Northern Ireland. On Christmas...
A Belfast Blog ‘mystery locations’ – send your answers… This week we have decided to share a preview of something A Belfast Blog is currently working on… In its essence, it involves maps and illustrations. Possibly said too...
A Belfast Blog recently spoke to Stephen Snoddy. Currently the Director of The New Art Gallery Walsall, Stephen has been at the helm of a number of leading contemporary arts institutions, and the organiser of...
