:00:08. > :00:12.monthly look at the best Arts and Culture in Northern Ireland. We're
:00:12. > :00:17.coming to you from the old Shoe Factory in Belfast which sits at the
:00:17. > :00:20.edge of the city's Cathedral Quarter. The building is listed in
:00:20. > :00:30.the 1918 street directory as JJ Stafford & Sons of 12-14 Union
:00:30. > :00:30.
:00:30. > :00:33.Street who manufactured wholesale boots and shoes.
:00:33. > :00:35.Today it's surrounded by our national newspaper offices and has
:00:35. > :00:37.been compassionately redeveloped with bars and clubs bringing
:00:37. > :00:41.commercial life to a neglected chamber of the city's heart.
:00:41. > :00:51.There's a lot going on in the Arts in Northern Ireland over the next
:00:51. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:12.few weeks - here's what's coming up. Writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, one of
:01:12. > :01:15.the key creatives behind the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, is behind
:01:15. > :01:22.another major spectacle, The Return of Colmcille, part of the UK City of
:01:22. > :01:24.Culture programme. I met him to discuss.
:01:24. > :01:31.Photography as contemporary art reflecting new ways of seeing our
:01:31. > :01:38.violent past. We explore unique political landscapes in a new
:01:38. > :01:39.exhibition - Northern Ireland: 30 Years of Photography hosted by
:01:39. > :01:42.Belfast Exposed with the MAC theatre.
:01:42. > :01:44.Controversy surrounds the future of the Ebrington site in Londonderry
:01:44. > :01:48.which will stage the prestigious Turner Prize in October. What will
:01:48. > :01:51.be its legacy post 2013? We explore the options.
:01:51. > :01:54.And celebrating 100 years of the first competition score written for
:01:54. > :02:04.Brass in the UK, we have a performance from award-winning local
:02:04. > :02:04.
:02:04. > :02:11.impact here in Northern Ireland in recent years. Despite its wider
:02:11. > :02:14.popularity here 150 years ago, it is still perceived as being elitist.
:02:14. > :02:19.And there's a wider criticism that not enough is done to grow an
:02:19. > :02:22.audience locally. In 2010, the arts Council of Northern Ireland created
:02:22. > :02:32.NI Opera, promising a dynamic new approach to opera with productions
:02:32. > :02:36.
:02:36. > :02:46.tailor-made to meet the needs of a modern audience. Three years on, how
:02:46. > :02:57.
:02:57. > :03:00.has it in going? We went to find out. Opera. It could be the ideal
:03:00. > :03:08.art form for Northern Ireland. Opera tells the biggest stories and it's
:03:08. > :03:11.sung by people with the biggest voices. Never! Never! Never!But,
:03:11. > :03:15.although Northern Ireland loves to wear its heart on its sleeve,most of
:03:15. > :03:22.us have never had a night at the opera. NI Opera promised to be a
:03:22. > :03:25.fresh start. So, has it found a new audience? It's based here, at
:03:25. > :03:33.Belfast's Grand Opera house. Opened in 1895, its seats were filled by
:03:33. > :03:35.opera lovers at a time when this was a mainstream night out. How
:03:35. > :03:40.successful have you been at attracting new audiences to your
:03:41. > :03:44.performances,and how can you gauge that? We can gauge it in two ways.
:03:44. > :03:47.We can gauge it through the number of people who go and see our
:03:47. > :03:50.productions. When we produced the Flying Dutchman here, over the
:03:50. > :03:53.course of the performances, we achieved,I think it was 85-90%
:03:53. > :03:55.audience capacity. But then, also, the levels of enthusiasm that people
:03:55. > :04:04.give to usafter performances again, we've been really overwhelmed bythe
:04:04. > :04:08.response. There is such fantastic music out there that we want to
:04:08. > :04:14.bring to as wide an audience as possible. NI Opera's latest
:04:14. > :04:16.production is A Hand Of Bridge, by Samuel Barber. It's the story of the
:04:17. > :04:23.two dysfunctional couples and the anxieties hidden beneath the surface
:04:23. > :04:32.of the green baize card table. It's being performed at bridge clubs.
:04:32. > :04:35.aim to put on productions throughout Northern Ireland. Not just in
:04:35. > :04:38.Belfast but the outlying regions as well. We are hoping that, in
:04:38. > :04:40.producing A Hand Of Bridge, in what are very geographically spread
:04:40. > :04:43.venues we will reach a demographicwho have not necessarily
:04:43. > :04:47.seen opera in their lives before. And that's really what we're all
:04:47. > :04:51.about. Most of the performers in A Hand of Bridge are on NI Opera's
:04:51. > :04:58.Young Artist programme and there's not a PA system in sight. So, where
:04:58. > :05:01.does that sound come from? We learn to breathe from what we call our
:05:01. > :05:06.diaphragm support but also that our rib cage kind of expands to get as
:05:06. > :05:10.much air in as possible. So, that way, I am able to not just sing from
:05:10. > :05:13.my throat, but to disconnect everything. HE SINGS A SCALE. That's
:05:14. > :05:17.kind of very thin and it wouldn't carry in a hall. Whereas, if I add
:05:17. > :05:22.the breath and that the diaphragm, and expand it... HE SINGS SCALE
:05:22. > :05:32.LOUDER AND MORE RESONANTLY. It can carry a lot more, in a bigger room.
:05:32. > :05:38.
:05:38. > :05:42.And the grand Opera house has the very place. Compared to the room
:05:42. > :05:45.that we were just in, this space lends itself to opening up, and you
:05:45. > :05:49.can try and fill this room, hopefully, so that the people at the
:05:49. > :05:52.back can hear everything as well as the people at the front. Put your
:05:52. > :06:02.money where your mouth is. Time to fill this room with that voice.
:06:02. > :06:03.
:06:03. > :06:06.try. HE SINGS LUSTILY IN ITALIAN. But, how would a new production go
:06:06. > :06:09.down with audiences miles away from the Grand Opera house? Warrenpoint
:06:09. > :06:12.Bridge Club meets hereat the local golf club. Is this where to find the
:06:13. > :06:20.new audience for opera? Have you ever seen an opera before? Oh, yes.
:06:20. > :06:25.You have? I have, yes. At the Opera house in London. Have you ever been
:06:25. > :06:30.to an opera before? I have, yes. There are not too many of them
:06:30. > :06:33.around here, so it's only occasional! # The Queen, you trumped
:06:33. > :06:37.the Queen! Bridge clubs traditionally attended by
:06:37. > :06:40.middle-class people, so in a way, you're not reaching a new audience.
:06:40. > :06:44.Well, my feeling would be that I have no knowledge of playing bridge
:06:44. > :06:54.in a club environment. So I am quite open in my expectations. And I think
:06:54. > :06:54.
:06:54. > :07:03.from what I gather, Bridge players come from all parts of society. #
:07:03. > :07:07.The king of diamonds, the Sultan of we ever see opera performed in a
:07:07. > :07:13.bingo hall? If you can find me an opera about bingo, I will certainly
:07:13. > :07:16.give it a go. If you can write one. I wondered how you could do a bridge
:07:16. > :07:21.opera and I was surprised how well it worked. It was really good. Most
:07:21. > :07:26.enjoyable. It is not something that was away in a big opera house.
:07:26. > :07:30.wonderful idea. There should be sort of more of that kind of thing.
:07:30. > :07:32.is a genuine drive to find a new audience for opera, but is it really
:07:32. > :07:38.to be found at bridge clubs? Tonight's performance here in
:07:38. > :07:41.Warrenpoint Has certainly come up trumps for NI Opera. But, I can't
:07:41. > :07:51.help but wonder whether or not we will see an operatic performance
:07:51. > :07:53.
:07:53. > :07:55.touring our local bingo halls any time soon. Frank Cottrell Boyce is a
:07:55. > :07:58.heavyweight screenplay writer and children's novelist, whose CV
:07:58. > :08:01.includes numerous feature films, TV soaps like Coronation Street and
:08:01. > :08:04.Brookside. He was also a key member of the team behind the 2012 Olympics
:08:04. > :08:07.Opening Ceremony. His next large scale project is a two-day pageant
:08:07. > :08:14.in Derry which imagines the triumphant return from exile of the
:08:14. > :08:18.city's home-grown Saint - Colmcille. Taking place around his Remembrance
:08:18. > :08:21.Day in June, its success - like the Olympics - will depend on being able
:08:21. > :08:31.to galvanise hundreds of volunteers to take part. I caught up with Frank
:08:31. > :08:51.
:08:51. > :08:54.city for about 30 hours. There's going to be a massive show on the
:08:54. > :08:57.River Foyle, where we're going to bring the Loch Ness monster down the
:08:57. > :09:00.River Foyle because the life of Saint Columba is the first recorded
:09:00. > :09:04.sighting of the Loch Ness monster. The story is that Colmcille came
:09:04. > :09:07.back to the city and the city is going to tell him everything that he
:09:07. > :09:11.missed in these intervening 1500 years. The whole story of the city
:09:11. > :09:16.is going to be there. But the monster has also heard that
:09:16. > :09:20.Colmcille saying he's coming back for revenge. So it ends with a big
:09:20. > :09:23.Western-style showdown between a monk and a monster. In Irish, this
:09:23. > :09:26.city is called "the oak grove of Colmcille". As a child he was said
:09:26. > :09:36.to have been at the centre of miraculous events but left here, in
:09:36. > :09:37.
:09:37. > :09:40.shame, in 563 A.D. ,after a bloody battle. In exile on the Scottish
:09:40. > :09:43.island of Iona, he founded the monastery that was a beacon of
:09:43. > :09:47.learning during the dark ages and which produced the Book of Kells.
:09:47. > :09:50.From this tiny group of men on this tiny island, Europe was reborn,
:09:50. > :09:53.really. The life story of St Colmcille it's full of miracles,
:09:53. > :10:03.including him doing battle with the Loch Ness monster. Do you come to
:10:03. > :10:06.
:10:06. > :10:09.these stories because of the miraculous element? For the opening
:10:09. > :10:13.ceremony, we had this wall with quotes on. The quotation which
:10:13. > :10:16.really stuck and sort of became the title which was this great line from
:10:16. > :10:19.GK Chesterton where he said the world does not perish for lack of
:10:19. > :10:22.wonders. The world is perishing for lack of wonder. And it's not about
:10:22. > :10:26.you looking for miracles but to notice the miracles that are around
:10:26. > :10:36.you all the time. Why does it fascinate you so much, the idea that
:10:36. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:46.life can be amazing and even miraculous? It's just something I've
:10:46. > :10:49.got a really strong sense of, and is a sense that some people don't have.
:10:49. > :10:52.When it comes to Saints and miracles, Frank has previous form. A
:10:52. > :10:54.man of strong faith, his writing is littered with moments of
:10:54. > :10:57.transcendence, even in some very unlikely places. Tony, you did a
:10:57. > :11:00.good job. Basically, you were right. Sean is the greatest poet since
:11:00. > :11:04.Yeats. 24 hour Party People tells the story of Tony Wilson and the
:11:04. > :11:08.Manchester music scene. It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths, but
:11:08. > :11:11.you're right about Mick Hucknall. also wrote the screenplay for the
:11:11. > :11:15.2004 film, Millions, directed by Danny Boyle. A boy finds a bag of
:11:15. > :11:19.used banknotes and sets out to make the world a better place, helped by
:11:19. > :11:23.the saints that he meets along the way. You need to remember that there
:11:23. > :11:33.is nearly always enough good around to be getting on with. You just got
:11:33. > :11:37.
:11:37. > :11:41.to have a bit of faith, you know. If you have faith in people that makes
:11:41. > :11:46.you stronger. Do you? You've got enough to sort all three of you out.
:11:46. > :11:49.That seems to be very much at the core of who you are. If you've done
:11:49. > :11:53.anything creative, that's the way it works. You've got to trust the
:11:53. > :11:56.people around you. If you bring the water, it will be turned into wine.
:11:56. > :12:01.In 2011, Frank got another call from Danny Boyle, asking him to be part
:12:01. > :12:03.of the project that turned out to be a man-made miracle. The opening
:12:03. > :12:07.ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics drew on a wealth of
:12:07. > :12:11.experience from the creative team. But also a sense of wonder that we
:12:11. > :12:14.see again and again in Frank's work. It was like being at primary school.
:12:14. > :12:18.It was just fantastic. We were saying, can we have a tree, and can
:12:18. > :12:21.we make a tree come up out of the ground? With people under it. OK,
:12:22. > :12:26.let's see how we can do that. Just coming up with the maddest notions.
:12:26. > :12:33.And what are we great at? Children's fiction. Harry Potter, Mary Poppins,
:12:33. > :12:36.Winnie the Pooh, these amazing things. There's something really
:12:36. > :12:44.sweet to be proud of that, because it's such a gentle, wholesome good
:12:44. > :12:51.thing that we do really well. was the cauldron so special to you?
:12:51. > :12:57.It was just so beautiful. 207 nations each brought their piece,
:12:57. > :13:00.they joined together. It was such a simple story, but so profound.
:13:00. > :13:09.with all that,and the euphoria of the success of that,why did you want
:13:09. > :13:11.to do this project? Just, it pulls together so many things for me. I
:13:12. > :13:14.love this city. And also,getting the opportunity to do another mass
:13:14. > :13:20.participation event. Because my experience of the Olympics was
:13:20. > :13:26.overwhelming. It was as though we had, or Danny had created, this sort
:13:26. > :13:30.of temporary utopia, this vision of what life could be. We don't do that
:13:30. > :13:35.a lot in art. A lot of art is about saying how rubbish things are. And
:13:35. > :13:38.this wasn't saying anything. It was being something. But the way it
:13:38. > :13:43.worked, it wasn't just the contents, it was the way people worked
:13:43. > :13:48.together, the way they kept the surprise. The way that they took no
:13:48. > :13:56.money and went that extra mile, it was a utopia, it was a vision of how
:13:56. > :14:03.good it was can be. But it is a divided city. I am hoping that it'll
:14:03. > :14:10.be a less divided city. And you think that a pageant, a creative
:14:10. > :14:20.event, can be a miracle, in this city? Yes, we get attracted to
:14:20. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:26.stories, and there is going to be a torrent of stories. If you can
:14:26. > :14:31.change the story, you can change everything. And you think that is
:14:32. > :14:36.possible? I think that is what the opening ceremony did. The story of
:14:36. > :14:42.Britain is that it was great when Shakespeare was around. And we have
:14:42. > :14:47.forgotten that we have done this, all these amazing things says. What
:14:47. > :14:54.is your vision for Derry-Londonderry? That is for the
:14:54. > :15:00.city. This shows sort of ends with it being turned to a blank page. And
:15:00. > :15:06.what is it, it is up to this very young city to decide its future.
:15:06. > :15:15.That is your role as a writer, to point that out. And if you look at
:15:16. > :15:24.the story of Colmcille, he was stuffed, he had nothing left, but he
:15:24. > :15:34.just kept believing that there was some purpose to him being here. You
:15:34. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:41.in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter. Northern Ireland, 30 years of
:15:41. > :15:47.photography features works reflecting our recent history and a
:15:47. > :15:55.chance to view the conflict outside the dominant media representation.
:15:55. > :16:05.But, is it art? We asked Professor of photography Paul Seawright, who
:16:05. > :16:10.
:16:10. > :16:15.has strong views on the subject, to take us on a tour. There is work
:16:15. > :16:19.here that has been hung in the Tate Gallery. It has been in modern art
:16:19. > :16:28.-- -- the Museum of modern Art, New York. This is not just small-scale
:16:28. > :16:33.local photography. This is a show of contemporary art, essentially, and
:16:33. > :16:37.people who are working within the context of the gallery and the
:16:37. > :16:42.museum, to talk about this place. There was a huge difference between
:16:43. > :16:48.taking a photograph, and what we often called making a photograph.
:16:48. > :16:53.Some of the photojournalism you will see in this exhibition is very much
:16:53. > :16:58.made by photojournalists who was at the camera with them. The difference
:16:58. > :17:01.between that and photographers like me, who work in a gallery context is
:17:01. > :17:06.that everything is preconceived, it is much more deliberate. It is
:17:06. > :17:16.something slower, that is the best way to think about it, so that the
:17:16. > :17:21.meaning emerges from the image more slowly. This is probably my
:17:21. > :17:28.favourite picture in this show. It is by the Welsh photographer Philip
:17:28. > :17:32.Jones Griffiths. It is hanging beside pictures made in Northern
:17:32. > :17:37.Ireland by an artist, who has worked the surface of the image, and
:17:37. > :17:43.scratched and scrape them, but it is up photograph of a soldier taking
:17:43. > :17:47.through his riot shield in 1973. It is fantastic. This is the reality of
:17:47. > :17:53.being a young soldier, staring through this scratched, damaged
:17:53. > :17:57.plexiglass. It is like as looking back at ourselves, at the past,
:17:57. > :18:07.something we wish to forget, that is slowly disappearing and receding in
:18:07. > :18:21.
:18:21. > :18:27.the memory. And for me, it sums all incredibly important. He was a
:18:27. > :18:32.Chuter of mine 30 years ago, at art school. And when I first saw this
:18:32. > :18:37.work, I remember thinking, how does that say anything about the troubles
:18:37. > :18:40.in Northern Ireland? Just landscapes, fields and mountains and
:18:40. > :18:46.very ordinary things. It was the first time that someone came from
:18:46. > :18:51.Northern Ireland, and did not go to photograph a riot, or the aftermath
:18:51. > :18:55.of them. They are in the frame, a union Jack flag in the middle of the
:18:55. > :19:00.tree, and if you just look closely enough, no matter where you go in
:19:00. > :19:10.the landscape, everything becomes emblematic and contested. The
:19:10. > :19:11.
:19:11. > :19:17.landscape is never orderly and mutual, in this case. -- neutral.
:19:17. > :19:21.These were from a series made 25 years ago called sectarian murder,
:19:21. > :19:27.locations where civilians were murdered during the 1970s. I went
:19:27. > :19:31.back to the sites and made these photographs and compare -- paired
:19:31. > :19:38.them up with newspaper texts from the time. Just ordinary people dying
:19:38. > :19:41.and being murdered with something that needed to be discussed. That
:19:41. > :19:45.was the meaning that I wanted to make -- how to use the beautiful
:19:45. > :19:51.landscape as a counterpoint to what is going on, to tell a very
:19:51. > :19:56.difficult message? I think if you look at the legacy, Belfast exposed,
:19:56. > :20:00.30 years, this is the perfect moment in time to bring all that together,
:20:00. > :20:10.and to say that the legacy of an organisation like hell fast exposed,
:20:10. > :20:11.
:20:11. > :20:21.is that they facilitated another way of representing who we are. --
:20:21. > :20:26.
:20:26. > :20:36.Belfast exposed. The lack of gallery space in very-Londonderry raised the
:20:36. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:48.question of where to host the works. The site looks fantastic. How big is
:20:48. > :20:51.it? About 26 acres. And these had been sleeping quarters? I went to
:20:51. > :20:57.December 2003, this would have been fully operational as an army
:20:57. > :21:05.barracks. Yes, as an army base.It was all cellular, little
:21:05. > :21:09.dormitories. It has been opened up into eight separate spaces, and now
:21:09. > :21:14.integrated to function as one, not only for the Turner prize, but also
:21:14. > :21:22.for its longer term use as a creative industries hub. The
:21:22. > :21:26.refurbishment work as cost �2.4 million, including �350,000 added to
:21:26. > :21:30.create state-of-the-art galleries, but it has been announced that after
:21:30. > :21:37.this year there will almost certainly be used for a very
:21:37. > :21:44.different purpose. When the Turner prize goes, in 2014, these will
:21:44. > :21:51.become fancy opera spaces? In terms of how people will occupy it but not
:21:51. > :21:55.in terms of its philosophy, it'll be run as creative industries hub, with
:21:55. > :21:59.businessmen tour, for entrepreneurial development. This is
:21:59. > :22:04.about jobs, about 50 small businesses kicking off from this
:22:04. > :22:07.space. It is not going to be standard office space. Substantial
:22:07. > :22:12.changes have been made to this building to host the Turner prize.
:22:12. > :22:17.Areas of the first floor have been taken out so that large work can be
:22:17. > :22:20.brought in. Artist Willie Doherty has twice been nominated for the
:22:20. > :22:27.Turner prize and believes these galleries aren't too good to be just
:22:27. > :22:31.a temporary facility. My concern is that come January 2014, that this
:22:31. > :22:40.space that has been refurbished with such success will not continue to
:22:40. > :22:43.function as a gallery. I feel that that is a missed opportunity. There
:22:43. > :22:49.was a feasibility report that concluded that this site was
:22:49. > :22:54.feasible, that it could be developed as a cultural centre and that an art
:22:54. > :23:02.gallery would form part of that. what kind of work would you see
:23:02. > :23:08.here? Recently, there was a war whole exhibition in Belfast. It
:23:08. > :23:13.borrowed up foreign -- it borrowed a fabulous collection of works. This
:23:13. > :23:18.space with its climate control could accommodate those kinds of
:23:18. > :23:22.exhibitions. The potential is there, and we have two believe that. If
:23:22. > :23:27.there is a failure to take advantage of this opportunity, then we should
:23:27. > :23:34.be asking questions of organisations like Derry City Council, of
:23:34. > :23:40.politicians. There is a lot at stake. The effort to consolidate
:23:40. > :23:44.arts in this space has been giving up too easily. People are starting
:23:44. > :23:47.to say, look at this space, it is fantastic, are there any other
:23:47. > :23:52.options that are there any other options that could go into a revised
:23:52. > :23:59.plan, that there could be some gallery option within this space?
:23:59. > :24:04.Art is a creative industry, so I don't think that these two are
:24:04. > :24:08.majorly exclusive. We are happy to have a conversation about whether a
:24:09. > :24:12.gallery of regional significance it should be here. Any gallery would
:24:12. > :24:20.need to share this building and some of the space would inevitably go to
:24:21. > :24:24.other uses. Do you feel that it is still open to debate? I hope it is.
:24:24. > :24:28.I would be very disappointed and depressed if I thought that the
:24:28. > :24:33.decision had already been made, and that this gallery would close its
:24:33. > :24:39.doors at the end of this year, and wouldn't open again. That would be a
:24:39. > :24:49.terrible loss, and it would be a terrible indictment of our failure
:24:49. > :24:56.
:24:56. > :24:59.to build on the potential legacy from 2014. A few weeks agowe learned
:24:59. > :25:02.that a towering figure of the arts world here had died tragically. Mike
:25:02. > :25:10.Moloney, an Australian teacher and street performer, first came to
:25:10. > :25:13.Ireland in 1981. An inspirational soul with a rakish wit and charm,
:25:13. > :25:19.Mike made Belfast his home, and in 1985 co-founded the Belfast
:25:19. > :25:22.Community Circus School. In the 1990's he joined the Prison Arts
:25:22. > :25:31.Foundation, becoming its Director in 2005. Thanks to his pioneering arts
:25:31. > :25:36.projects which transformed lives, he leaves a lasting legacy. That's
:25:36. > :25:41.almost it for tonight. The art show will be back on the 20th of June.
:25:41. > :25:46.Until then, you can keep up-to-date at half-past six on BBC radio
:25:46. > :25:51.Ulster's asked extra. You can join me on our Twitter account straight
:25:51. > :25:56.after this show. We leave you with the performance. 2013 is a landmark
:25:56. > :26:00.year for brass band busy. It is 100 years since the first original