About
Belfast International Arts Festival returns for its 62nd edition this October, bringing together today's leading artists, writers, thinkers and cultural observers for an extended bumper five weeks of entertaining and enlightening talks, readings, exhibitions and performance from home and abroad.
As in recent years, audiences can enjoy the special events in our advance summer season; Threads of Empowerment: Conflict Textiles’ International Journey at the Ulster Museum and Roots, a new outdoor dance performance and audio trail from former artist in residence, Eileen McClory for Off The Rails at the new Black Mountain Shared Space.
Our autumn festival opens on 16 October with The Tragedy of Richard III by Oisin Kearney and Michael Patrick for The Lyric Theatre and continues with new theatre from Tinderbox Theatre Company, Big Telly, Prime Cut and Dominic Montague and our critically acclaimed collaboration with Cahoots –The Vanishing Elephant – which opened last October on Broadway in New York and was a Critic’s Choice in The New York Times.
The Festival is delighted to support the Belfast 2024 programme with our own production of Touch Hear Feel, a new dance performance installation from current Festival Artist in Residence, Helen Hall and co-designed with members of the visually impaired community; North Star an immersive live music performance from new ensemble Solab and inspired by the historic speech given by orator, writer, and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass in Belfast in 1845; and the aforementioned Roots.
We continue to profile important contemporary artists from the Arab world and this year, we host a double bill of dance and movement from Palestine – Losing It and In Between – in partnership with Féile an Phobail and also supported by Belfast 2024 and the British Council.
A diverse range of music genres are represented with concerts from Les Amazones d’Afrique; Ciaran Lavery; Iron and Wine; the return of BBC Introducing; and the Ulster Orchestra, who also guest with blues legends Dave Kelly and Paul Jones in a special collaboration at The Grand Opera House.
A packed visual arts programme includes the Ulster University’s celebrations for the 175th anniversary of the Belfast School of Art. Our Talks and Ideas programme strand this year features an array of critically writers including Michael Longley, David Peace, Naomi Alderman, Monique Roffey, and David Parks.
As always, we have many free events including exhibitions, workshops and performances, including the spectacular and acrobatic Wild from Motionhouse at CS Lewis Square.
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