The Arts in Northern Ireland

By Rhonda Strickland

For the visitor to Northern Ireland there is an abundance of opportunities for studying or participating in the arts—or just having a good time attending events and seeing the real Northern Ireland. The organizers of the many organizations and festivals are very friendly and open to outsiders. They want North Americans to see that Northern Ireland has a rich cultural and artistic life and is not just a hotbed of troubles.

The Verbal Arts Center is a busy drop-in resource center in Londonderry where you can obtain information on literary events, join a writing workshop, attend a reading or “poetry slam,” purchase publications by Irish authors, and use the Center’s computer database to find the latest on Irish writers and events. In addition to being a hub for local literary arts, the center also aims to be a “window into international literature.” It regularly sponsors an international storytelling festival.

In Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland runs the “Artslink” office, where you can find arts events throughout the province. You can check their database, or get a monthly broadsheet listing festivals and events.

Belfast is also home to the Creative Writers’ Network, an umbrella organization bringing together writers’ groups from all over Northern Ireland. They organize writing courses in all genres.

And if you’re an aspiring screenplay writer, the Northern Ireland Film Commission is worth checking out. They connect script writers with production companies and offer helpful publications on how to get started making films. As for live theatre, the Shankhill Theatre Company in Belfast, is open to anyone who wants to act or write drama for production.

In Belfast, the Linen Hall Library features a regular monthly schedule of lectures on literary and historical issues. In their pleasant café you are actually encouraged to linger over coffee or lunch while reading their library materials.

RHONDA STRICKLAND writes from Shepherdstown, WV.