Peacebuilding a shared Northern Irish society
‘Productive discomfort’: artists grapple with identity’s contradictions in live ARINS podcastby Allan LEONARD8 May 2026 Belfast Exposed gallery on Donegall Street hosted a live recording of the ARINS “My Identity” podcast on 8 May 2026, as part of the BIEN programme — an ongoing series of exhibitions and events under the title “British? Irish? Either?... Continue Reading →
‘The violence is continuing’: scholars examine embodied memory of conflictby Allan LEONARD6 May 2026 The International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) at Ulster University hosted a seminar to mark the exhibition “Aftershocks: The Sensory Afterlives of Violence”, on display at the university’s Belfast campus until 13 May. The seminar brought together Professor Roísín Higgins (Maynooth University), who organised the event... Continue Reading →
Peace photography: supporting conflict transformationby Allan LEONARD13 June 2025 At an online session organised by Dr Tiffany Fairey, a senior research fellow at King’s College London, participants gathered to explore the intersection of photography and peace. The event brought together a range of experts and practitioners to discuss how photography can foster cultures of peace... Continue Reading →
Exploring cultural peace work in Northern Irelandby Allan LEONARD15 May 2025 Cultural peace work entails using creative and cultural practices to foster peace and reconciliation, particularly in post-conflict societies. In Northern Ireland, various organisations and individuals are harnessing the power of arts and culture to address deep-seated issues from a history of sectarian violence. In... Continue Reading →
Peacemakers’ ball: woven Belfast storiesby Allan LEONARD8 February 2025 In coloured chalk on a black board, a sign outside Belfast’s city centre communal space at 2 Royal Avenue invited passersby to come in and participate in Peacemakers, a craft exercise to make stitches with alternating colours of yarn on an oversized French loom, then return to... Continue Reading →
‘Nothing for the likes of us to be afraid of’: Me Oul Segocia reviewby Allan LEONARD13 November 2024 “We’re quiet, decent folk. There’s nothing for the likes of us to be afraid of,” says Danny, who wants to assure his fiancée Eileen that the increasingly deteriorating security situation in their neighbourhood won’t seriously affect them... Continue Reading →
‘Imagine a time we can draw hope together’: dreams and visions from Korean children by Allan LEONARD 8 January 2024 From 8–12 January, Ulster University hosted at its Belfast York Street campus an exhibition of drawings by children of Korea and its diaspora. The drawings were created as part of programmes in partnership with Okedongmu... Continue Reading →
Book Review — The Working Mind and Drawing Hand of Oliver Jeffersby Allan LEONARD17 October 2023 Oliver Jeffers is known for his charmingly illustrated children’s books, with a sense of play and wonder. He is less known for his fine art work, which is arguably underappreciated. This included me, and as Jeffers himself remarks in... Continue Reading →
Transmitting photographic energy of colour and love: Hannah Starkey’s Northern Ireland peace women by Allan LEONARD 4 June 2023 As part of the Belfast Photo Festival and in partnership with the Ulster Museum, artist Hannah Starkey gave a talk about her previous work and current exhibition on display, Principled and Revolutionary: Northern Ireland’s Peace Women.... Continue Reading →
‘A long-term devotion to complexities’: women, art and activism by Allan LEONARD 3 June 2023 As part of the Belfast Photo Festival and hosted by the Ulster Museum, several panels of women spoke about how the realms of artistic practice and activism have evolved over recent decades, with consideration of future change. National Museums NI... Continue Reading →
Art can transcend GFA ‘institutional sclerosis’: Paul Arthur by Allan LEONARD 13 April 2023 Professor Paul Arthur (Ulster University) suggested that the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement could be interpreted as “the end of the beginning”, when we moved from a political life of zero-sum (if you’re winning, I must be losing), to one of agreeing to... Continue Reading →
The memorials in our heads: the Im/material Monument (Gail Ritchie) by Allan LEONARD 11 April 2023 As the information sheet for Gail Ritchie’s exhibition, The Im/material Monument, points out, 25 years after the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement there is no memorial to commemorate the collective dead of the Troubles. Through a series of... Continue Reading →