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Imagine! Festival of Ideas & Politics is back with a week-long programme to help you make sense of a crazy world. More than 90 events across seven days, with the festival organisers collaborating with lots of grassroots organisations and activists to bring small ‘p’ political issues to fore in accessible yet meaningful ways.
Here’s my pick from some of the discussions, workshops, exhibitions, films, comedy, lectures, talks, music and theatre.
Monday 24 March
There’s an embarrassment of riches on the first evening with Dr Cormac Moore marking the anniversary of the Irish Boundary Commission (19:30 in QUB Canada Room, free) while podcaster and impressionist Matt Forde chatting to William Crawley (20:00 in The Limelight, £15/£12) and journalist/storyteller Brighid ‘Biddy’ McLaughlin talks about grief, art, cooking and storytelling (20:00 in Europa Hotel £10/£8).
Just about the only event to platform serving politicians is the now annual cultural foray into the importance of art to these councillors, MLAs and MPs. Previous years have looked at poetry and speechmaking. This year, Claire Hanna (SDLP), Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Féin), Emma Little-Pengelly (DUP), Kate Nicholl (Alliance) and Peter Wrap (UUP) will be telling Stuart Bailie about the importance of music in framing their political landscape (19:30 in Crescent Arts Centre, £5).
And I’m gutted I’ll miss all of that as I’ll be in conversation with author and activist Cory Doctorow about disenshittifying big tech and discussing his latest novel Picks and Shovels (19:00 in Accidental Theatre and online, free).
Tuesday 25 March
On Tuesday there’s a chance to discover The Lost Writings of James Connolly with Dr Conor McCabe (13:00 at The Deer’s Head, free), find out about Protestant clergyman John MacNeice (father of poet Louis) who didn’t sign the Ulster Covenant (14:00 in St Anne’s Cathedral, £5), hear from photographer and filmmaker Christopher Ward about his Model Strangers project (20:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £5), listen to comedian and activist David Baddiel in conversation with William Crawley (20:00 in The Limelight, £20/£17), or let your hair down with Cabaret for Change with words and music to address “the political through the poetical” (20:00 in Accidental Theatre, £15/£12). And earlier in the day, there’s the first of a number of different events looking at Integrated Education (10:00 in Black Mountain Shared Space, free).
Wednesday 26 March
Jo Caulfield is chatting about her memoir The Funny Thing About Death at lunchtime (13:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £5) before coming back on stage for an evening of stand-up comedy Here Comes Trouble (20:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £15/£12).
There’s also a panel discussion on Integrated Education (19:00 in Seamus Heaney Centre, free) and two events celebrating the culture of Palestine: live music in Palestine 101 Live Webinar (19:00 in The Black Box, £8/£5) and a double feature of films We Will Remain/Dancing Palestine (20:00 in The Deer’s Head, £10).
There’s also a chance to do Nothing (13:00 at Native Coffee, Queen’s Quay, free).
And don’t overlook Tim Arnold with his part gig / part conversation with music, a critique of data colonialism and the monopolistic power of tech giants, and lots of thoughts about digital ethics and creative freedom, hosted by Stephen Coates (19:00 in The MAC, £15/£12).
Thursday 27 March
A workshop looking at how Rathlin islanders are developing community-led policymaking is being hosted by Ulster University PhD researcher Brian Morgan. You’ll hear how the islanders help develop the NI Executive-backed Rathlin Island Policy and try out one of the design-led facilitation methods utilised on the island (11:30 in Ulster University BC building, free). And there’s more conversation about Rathlin on Sunday afternoon at an event featuring Ruby Free, author of Rathlin, A Wild Life.
The Open University’s Dr Dónall Mac Cathmhaoill will be discussing his new book, Theatre and Politics in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland, recalling how different communities – republican, unionist, loyalist, LGBTQ+, and even newer migrant groups – have used theatre as a powerful platform to voice their struggles, champion their rights, and reimagine their futures (18:00 in Belfast Central Library, free).
The festival’s Artivist in Residence, Erin Fornoff, will be giving a spoken word performance on Thursday evening (20:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £10/£7).
Friday 28 March
Democracy Day spans the whole of Friday 28 March, beginning with a discussion of how Belfast could be made a more democratic city (10:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, free), with another event covering mutual care and ecological protection (12:30 in Crescent Arts Centre, free).
Lesley Riddoch returns to Imagine! Festival with a screening of her film Denmark – The State of Happiness followed by a discussion around learning from how small Nordic countries tackle change and whether that can apply to an Scotland seeking independence and a new Ireland (18:00 in QFT, £5).
The Belfast and District Branch of the National Union of Journalists is hosting The Lyra McKee Symposium which this year is looking at the threats and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence to journalism and the media in general (19:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, free).
Artivist in Residence Erin Fornoff is back discussing power and poetry with Words as Weapons, Words as Medicine (13:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £5).
Saturday 29 March
Historian Dr Robyn Atcheson is shining a light on familiar and not-so-familiar women from the nineteenth century who dared to push back against the notions of respectable society and shaped the city of Belfast (11:00 in QUB, £15/12 and includes an optional walking tour at 13:00). There’s another chance to catch this at the same time on Sunday 30 March.
There’s a west-to-east Glider tour stopping off at a number of ecclesiastical venues for a peek behind some of the city’s church doors (11:30 from The Church of Saint John the Evangelist, 444 Falls Road, £10 + Glider ticket). If you prefer pubs to churches, the Poetry, Politics and Pubs Tour is crawling around city centre venues checking out their political and poetical history with a chance for libation alongside education (14:00 from Sunflower Bar, £15).
Stories of art from international conflict zones and Steve Lally’s new book What Sort of Artist Are You? are up for discussion (13:00 in Golden Thread Gallery, free).
Pick up tips about how to lose a referendum from across Britain, Ireland and beyond with a fabulous panel of election geeks … and a fun quiz to test your knowledge (14:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, free).
Sunday 30 March
Well Dressed Hooligans is a walking tour led by Emma Casey telling the story of Belfast Suffragettes with their fire-bombing, window smashing, hunger striking campaign (11:00 from Belfast City Hall, £15).
A screening of Atomic People gathers the testimony of some of the last ‘Hibakusha’, survivors of the two atomic bombs, now mostly in their 80s, before their voices are lost forever (15:00 in The Black Box, £8).
Writers, growers and advocates Ruby Free (Rathlin, A Wild Life) and Kerri ní Dochartaigh (Thin Places, Cacophony of Bone) and are in conversation about the importance of community and creativity for personal and planetary health (15:00 in Crescent Arts Centre, £8).
Alison Spittle promises to confront misogyny, sexuality, classism, death and M&Ms in her hilarious and often angry show Fat Bitch (20:00 in The Black Box, £12/£10).
And to finish off the festival, there’s the annual politics quiz. Round up a team of four and test your knowledge about them ’uns, us wans, and our lovely history in Norn Iron, Northern Ireland, North of Ireland, our wee country, occupied 6 counties, Ulaid etc (20:00 in The American Bar, £15 for a team of four).
And if none of that tickles your fancy, check out the full programme on the festival website.
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