What role can the arts and creativity play in navigating unresolved concerns, ongoing debates and controversial questions for our communities?
Exploring complex topics, from reconciliation and truth-telling in the context of colonialism to polarising social or political issues, this symposium will feature exchanges between leading artists and researchers from Australia and Northern Ireland about difficult conversations we, as a globally connected society, need to have today.
The conversations
Paul Moore in Conversation with Ara Devine
Paul Moore talks with filmmaker Ara Devine about the subjects within and the process behind the making of his award-winning short film ‘TURF’ – exploring the experience of life on the border in Ireland and the brief encounter between one man who lives there and a displaced Syrian refugee.
Watch TURF – A Short Film by Ara Devine.
A Reading of Selected Poems by Kathleen McCracken
A reading of selected works exploring issues relating to First Nations experiences in Canada, in particular, violence perpetrated against indigenous women and the complexities of being an artistic ally to indigenous rights.
Ciara Hickey in Conversation with Array Collective
2021 winners of the Turner Prize, Array Collective, discuss their art-making as activism for women and LGBTQ+ rights and share some practical lessons in how to continue working as a collective despite obstacles and recognition by establishment interests.
TURF – A Short Film by Ara Devine
A Derryman and a Syrian asylum seeker spend a day working on a bog with a complicated journey across the Irish border.
Watch the conversation with Paul Moore and filmmaker Ara Devine.
Siobhan Wills in Conversation with Willie Doherty
A case study between a human rights filmmaker and acclaimed visual artist sharing a common interest in documenting inter-generational social trauma through places and landscapes that have experienced political violence.
Creativity in Difficult Spaces: Creative Interventions with Veterans and First Responders
Vahri McKenzie in conversation with Tony Eaton, Geoff Grey, and Paul Magee
