Belfast International Arts Festival at 60

Description

This research event comes as part of a large grant application currently being developed by the applicants to look at festival cultures in Northern Ireland, specifically the relationship between the artist and the festival. As a precursor to the research activities of that grant and to tie in with the sixtieth anniversary of the Belfast Festival (formerly Belfast Festival at Queen’s, now Belfast International Arts Festival), we would like to host a one-day symposium to examine the history, function and impact on arts cultures of that festival, those of Belfast and beyond. The applicants note a relative lack of research undertaken on festivals in the region. While we acknowledge the work done by Margaret Topping, Paul Ell, and Michael Pierse’s (From Dark Tourism to Phoenix Tourism: The Ethics of Cultural Translation in Urban Festivals) and Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh, Pierse, and Topping, The Féile Journey at 30: Translating Culture through Community Festivals, we note these remain among the few major projects to address festival cultures in NI in any comprehensive manner. There remains a lack of extensive academic inquiry into arts festivals and festivalisation in the region, even though festivals have come to function as a highly significant medium for the dissemination of the arts here. Understanding with clarity the function of festivals in Northern Ireland will help with an understanding of how best artists might be supported and will clarify the sort of contribution in general that festivals make to arts and culture. Given its history and role in the city, the Belfast Festival presents a vital starting point and case study for festival research in Northern Ireland.

Period	2022
Event type	Conference
Location	Belfast , United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	Local