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 →
#MemoriesofOthers — The Irish work of #AkihikoOkamura A posthumous #photography #exhibition at Photo Museum #Ireland “You can’t imagine what he would have said, but you can at least respect the images historically.” My summary article on the curators’ panel discussion and #photobook publisher’s presentation 👉 https://mrulster.com/2024/05/15/the-memories-of-others-the-irish-work-of-akihiko-okamura/
#MemoriesofOthers — The Irish work of #AkihikoOkamura A posthumous #photography #exhibition @PhotoMuseumIRL #AtelierEXB My summary article on the curators’ panel discussion and #photobook publisher’s presentation 👉 https://mrulster.com/2024/05/15/the-memories-of-others-the-irish-work-of-akihiko-okamura/
The Memories of Others: the Irish work of Akihiko Okamura by Allan LEONARD 12 April 2024 Highlighting the exhibition and book of the Irish work of Japanese photographer Akihiko Okamura, Photo Museum Ireland hosted a curators’ panel discussion and a publisher’s presentation. Several dozen attended two hour-long sessions, surrounded by framed colour photographs from his... 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 →
‘Don’t get used as a propagandist’: visual storytelling of Ulster’s loyalist community by Allan LEONARD 19 October 2023 As part of its two exhibitions, “Not Surrendering” by Mariusz Smiejek and “No Surrender: The Protestants” by Ed Kashi, and to celebrate the launch of Smiejek’s book, Belfast Exposed hosted an artist talk with both photographers, facilitated... 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 →
‘Ordinary People’: an exhibition of standing up to hatred by Allan LEONARD 21 January 2023 “It’s the farmer in the field, and the pilot that he finds, Hides him in his barn, till all his wounds have healed. Or the baker making extra bread, to give a starving man, Or people helping people, who they’ll... Continue Reading →
Peace Heroines: Spotlight on Stormont by Allan LEONARD 21 September 2022 The Herstory project, established in 2016 to elevate the stories of women in national histories, launched an art exhibition at the Long Gallery in Parliament Buildings, Belfast. “Peace Heroines” features nine vibrant, largescale individual portrait paintings by artist FRIZ — women who have made an indelible mark... Continue Reading →
Reflecting on our collective human response to the social stress of the pandemic, through “exposure therapy” photos. My article on #NaturalConnections #photography #exhibition @BelfastExposed ➡️ https://mrulster.com/2021/07/01/exposure-therapy-natural-connections-exhibition/
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 →
Want to discover an artistic take on #misinformation and #fakenews? Honoured to have my essay of recent #photography #exhibition republished @BelfastExposed : https://x.com/BelfastExposed/status/1243544314740908037