In this episode of What Northern Ireland Means to Me, we meet Quintin Oliver, who's an activist, a campaigner, a lobbyist, and a public policy specialist. TRANSCRIPT I was brought up in east Belfast in what was termed a Protestant house in a Protestant area. And I went to a Protestant school and my … Continue reading WNIMTM — Quintin OLIVER
A concise, well written, and thoughtfully illustrated book about a master of surrealism. Learnt interesting insights about Rene Magritte. One can appreciate how aspects of his life affected his artistic work, including his family experiences, coming of age, and his (sometimes fraught) relationships with friends and peers. The book also provides good explanations of the … Continue reading Book review — This is Magritte
Exposure therapy: Natural Connections exhibition by Allan LEONARD 17 June 2021 Belfast Exposed launched its exhibition, “Natural Connections”, which showcases 60 shortlisted images, from over 1,400 received. The competition ran earlier this year, asking people to submit images that represented connections with nature, which “sustained, surrounded, supported, and encouraged people and communities” during the pandemic. … Continue reading Exposure therapy: Natural Connections exhibition
Book review — World Press Photo 2021 by Allan LEONARD 26 June 2021 World Press Photo 2021 is a book compilation of finalists of its annual competition. Entries are submitted by professional visual journalists. There were nine juries across the photo and digital storytelling contests. For the 2021 contest, general jury chair, Nayantara Gurury Kakshapati, … Continue reading Book review — World Press Photo 2021
The media’s role in peacebuilding: none of its business? by Allan LEONARD 9 June 2021 So is peacebuilding none of the media’s business? That was a conclusion that broadcaster and journalist, Declan Harvey, posed to a panel of fellow journalists and writers at an online webinar delivered through Belfast City Council’s PEACE IV Programme, which … Continue reading The media’s role in peacebuilding: none of its business?
Disinformation in a pandemic: sharing fact checkers’ experiences 23 March 2021 As part of the Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics, editors from three fact-checking organisations across these isles shared their experiences of work during the pandemic — Claire Milne (Full Fact), Christine Bohan (TheJournal.ie), and Allan Leonard (FactCheckNI). The event was hosted by … Continue reading Disinformation in a pandemic: Sharing fact checkers’ experiences
Documenting natural connections through photography by Allan LEONARD 10 April 2021 Melanie Law, who has just joined the Eve Blair Show on BBC Radio Ulster, interviewed Christopher Barr and me for her inaugural feature (at 26:00). The discussion was on photography and a competition that Belfast Exposed is hosting, in conjunction with Translink and Arts … Continue reading Documenting natural connections through photography
Appropriate and accessible storytelling in museums and heritage sites by Allan LEONARD 26 March 2021 During an Imagine! Festival event, academics and practitioners shared their knowledge and experiences of the use of storytelling in museum and heritage site environments, as a means of evoking emotion in appropriate and accessible ways. “Storytelling enables us to learn … Continue reading Appropriate and accessible storytelling in museums and heritage sites
Book review: Irish Summers (Harry GRUYAERT) by Allan LEONARD 21 March 2021 Harry Gruyaert’s work is recognisable by its saturated colours of thoughtfully chosen hues. The interplay with light is also crucial. There are images in Irish Summers that exemplify such decisive moments, when colour and light come together to satisfy Gruyaert’s quest for sensual … Continue reading Book review — Irish Summers (Harry Gruyaert)
Book review — Old Ireland in Colour (John Breslin & Sarah-Anne Buckley) by Allan LEONARD 14 March 2021 Old Ireland in Colour is an ongoing project of colourising black and white images by photographers in Ireland in the late 19th to early 20th century. The catalyst was John Breslin working on colourising some photos of … Continue reading Book review — Old Ireland in Colour (John Breslin & Sarah-Anne Buckley)
Book review — New Ways of Seeing (Grant Scott) by Allan LEONARD 21 February 2021 We read books of fiction and non-fiction, and may acquire a respect for how difficult it is to create such works ourselves. We are taught how to read the written word, and by practising reading, tend to appreciate its transformative … Continue reading Book review — New Ways of Seeing (Grant Scott)
