• the arts column: June 4th

    June 4, 2019 - By 

    This week sees a host of exhibitions opening across the island of Ireland, with shows in Belfast, Cork, Navan and Dublin; as well as the launch of this year’s Belfast Photo Festival. We’ve details of some of the festival’s highlights below, along with information on four openings happening nationwide. As always, if you have an event, talk, exhibition, or would like to recommend one please get in touch via aidan[at]thethinair.net Exhibition Opening | Platform Arts, Belfast This Thursday (June 6th) sees the opening of a new collaborative exhibition in Belfast’s Platform Arts. Titled Bedeck, the show features the works of David Lunney and Eleanor McCaughey, two artists who…

  • PhotoIreland Festival Launch

    May 3, 2018 - By 

     Laia Abril – On Abortion Today sees the launch of this year’s PhotoIreland Festival, with a number of events in and around Dublin to mark the occassion. The month long festival coincides with the Eighth Amendment referendum on May 25th, and this huge societal and political debate is refreshingly not absent from either the content or structure of the festival. For PhotoIreland’s duration the main hub of the foundation, The Library Project, will be taken over by the Together for Yes campaign. With this year’s main exhibitions including Laia Abril’s On Abortion and Sarah Cullen’s You Shall Have Exactly What You…

  • Picture This: The Honeymoon Suite @ Golden Thread

    July 15, 2017 - By 

    There comes a point in self-portraiture when you lose focus of the fact the imagery in front depicts the artist themselves. While you don’t truly ‘forget’ this knowledge, it doesn’t become the overriding concern. The work transcends itself from self-portraiture to portraiture, and with this emerges the possibility of the work to speak of societal observations rather than personal musings. The more successful the work is the quicker this process happens, which allows for greater insight. The most obvious case of this, in the history of photography, is the canon of Cindy Sherman. It’s hard not to think of Sherman…

  • Picture This: Belfast Photo Festival

    June 20, 2017 - By 

    Sensory Deprivation – © Juno Calypso 2016 Belfast Photo Festival returns to the Northern Irish capital for the month of June. The main theme for this year’s biennial is Sexuality & Gender, with eleven exhibitions taking place across Belfast discussing this topic. As well as the festival’s main brief a number of exhibitions discussing other subjects are integrated within the programme along with a host of talks, workshops and events. With the current social and political environments that exist on this island, and further a field, a look at the role of gender in society, and specifically the ability of the…

  • Belfast Photo Festival Youth Edition

    April 5, 2016 - By 

    Proudly calling itself Europe’s only photography festival for young people, Belfast Photo Festival’s Youth Edition will take place across the city from April 3 to May 30. With exhibitions focusing on the likes of skate and BMX culture, boxing and the physical and emotional experiences of elite gymnasts, tours and screenings looking at the likes of the Titanic and workshops focusing on gig photography, freestyle and how sports can promote social cohesion and acceptance, this year’s programme bounds with diversity from start to finish. Go here to check out the full programme and to buy tickets.

  • Belfast Photo Festival 2015

    May 7, 2015 - By 

    Presenting one of the leading International Festivals of photography in the UK and the Visual Arts Festival of Northern Ireland, Belfast Photo Festival will return to the city from June 4-30 with an extraordinarily varied programme. With a whole host of exhibitions, workshops, masterclasses, talks, tours, screenings and portfolio reviews on the cards over the four weeks, the festival – which has been two years in the making – will include work by major international photographers alongside Northern Ireland’s finest photographic talent. Highlights from this year’s outing for the festival include To Camera, a group exhibition at the Golden Thread Gallery,…

  • Belfast Photo Festival

    May 3, 2013 - By 

    Taking place over a month from June 6 to June 30, Belfast Photo Festival will celebrate some of the most exquisite national and international photography and visual culture. Undoubtedly Northern Ireland’s premier visual arts festival, this year’s city-wide celebration of the photographic image will have a variety of stunning exhibits featuring the cream of local and global talent. Highlights throughout the festival run include On-Set(Ulster Museum), which presents behind the scenes photography taken during the filming of major features shot in Northern Ireland, including HBO’s highly successful series  Game of Thrones. Or if you visit The Naughton Gallery (Queens University)…