0:00:08 > 0:00:12Welcome to The Arts Show, our monthly look at the best arts
0:00:12 > 0:00:14and culture in Northern Ireland.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Tonight we are in the Belfast School of Art, a world-leading
0:00:17 > 0:00:19art school and a landmark building
0:00:19 > 0:00:21in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24We are here for the annual New Talent exhibition.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Literally thousands of people will pass through here to see,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30enjoy and put their hands in their pockets
0:00:30 > 0:00:33to support the next generation of artists.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04There really is the most tremendous atmosphere here tonight
0:01:04 > 0:01:06and from this show to our show,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09here's what's coming up on tonight's programme.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Can a community of brightly-coloured art pods in Bangor
0:01:14 > 0:01:17reverse the fortunes of the boarded-up seafront?
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Award-winning Irish novelist Colum McCann on his Garvagh roots
0:01:20 > 0:01:23and why he felt compelled to write
0:01:23 > 0:01:26about Northern Ireland and the peace process.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The founder of the Enniskillen International Beckett Festival
0:01:30 > 0:01:33on ignoring the world's cultural capitals
0:01:33 > 0:01:35to bring art festivals to rural places.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And from a melting pot of different musical traditions,
0:01:38 > 0:01:45the music of flute bands fuses with jazz in the UK's City of Culture.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51It is the biggest night of the year
0:01:51 > 0:01:57for the Belfast School of Art, with approximately 300 graduates' work on show.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00But what makes the school such a world leader?
0:02:00 > 0:02:04With me is Debbie Fraser, the associate head of school.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Wow. It is an incredible night.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08An amazing spectacle of creativity
0:02:08 > 0:02:11and just amazing energy.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15And as you said, 300 people celebrating getting their degrees
0:02:15 > 0:02:18in art and design, across every spectrum.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Are you surprised every year at the numbers of people that come
0:02:22 > 0:02:24- through the doors to see the show? - No.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29It has grown and grown every year. We have had 2,000, 3,000, 4,000.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32You know, this is the largest gallery there is in...
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Certainly in Northern Ireland, on this evening and for a whole week,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39we welcome everybody.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42You do want people to give, to purchase,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46- because that is supporting the next generation.- It is critical.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Entrepreneurship is not a word that sits very well in some sections of the art world
0:02:51 > 0:02:54and so we talk about entrepreneurial thinking
0:02:54 > 0:02:58and how do you embed that in your practice because if you can't sell your work,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01how are you going to buy the materials to make the next piece?
0:03:01 > 0:03:06We talk about globalisation and how it is not just about the local.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10It is looking beyond that and competing with not just their peers
0:03:10 > 0:03:15but who's doing the same thing outside - local, national, international.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And tremendous alumni have come from here as well.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I'm thinking of Oliver Jeffers in the world of illustration,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Colin Davidson as a painter.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28- It has got real skill in terms of getting people out there.- It does.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33It's core to the educational system of art and design.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36People seem to think that an art and design student,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39"Oh, what are they going to?" We have graduates in every field.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43The recognised artists such as Oliver Jeffers or Sean Cross,
0:03:43 > 0:03:49who taught here, but also people who fit into curatorship, into the health sector.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51You look at a lot of the organisations in Belfast
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and our graduates are in there making decisions about the good of industries.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Debbie, thank you so much.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01What is it like to be a student here and have your work on show?
0:04:01 > 0:04:05I'm off to meet final year fashion design student, Sophie Webb.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Sophie, this is your stuff. It's absolutely gorgeous.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20- Thank you very much.- It's fashion, it's print and knit.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22So what inspired you?
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Basically, I've always been inspired by the sea and water
0:04:27 > 0:04:32and shells and my final collection I just wanted something really related to that.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And this kind of material, this is very, if I may say so,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37- this dress is very Game Of Thrones. - Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- You've been working on Game Of Thrones for the last two years.- Yes.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43For the past three summers of university.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- So I had a brilliant time. So much fun.- That is incredible, isn't it?
0:04:47 > 0:04:50As a fashion designer you are walking out into an industry.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53In fact you have been working on Dracula as well.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56I'm just so lucky to have the opportunity to do that.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58It has been fantastic.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02You are holding some screen-prints in your hand.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05You have done this pretty much from scratch, haven't you?
0:05:05 > 0:05:09I created one of the designs from scratch, from inspirations
0:05:09 > 0:05:11from my own artwork and shells.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Basically, it's stained-glass windows and I did gel tones,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17trying to get those coming out.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20And the great stained-glass window person is Harry Clarke.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- Has he been an inspiration?- Yeah.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27It's his inspiration which relates back to where the commission is coming from.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Because this is an actual commission.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34This is paid work. This is not just your final-year degree show.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And it is Inis Meain. Tell me a little bit about them.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Inis Meain is an Irish knitwear company or designer knitwear company
0:05:40 > 0:05:46down in Galway and it's off the Aran Islands and it's just fantastic.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49The heritage, and they're so into tradition and their knitwear
0:05:49 > 0:05:51is all about the culture of Ireland
0:05:51 > 0:05:57and luckily I have been asked to use one of my prints for their collections of scarves,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01thanks to my tutor, Alison.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06- That is incredible. The future is very bright for you, isn't it? - Really exciting. I'm so excited.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Thank you so much. We wish you continued success.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12I feel my cheque book twitching. Thank you.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Now, 45 years ago, these buildings on York Street
0:06:16 > 0:06:20put art at the heart of a deprived inner-city area.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Now the new initiative in Bangor hopes to do the same.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27In recent weeks, Queen's Parade has become home to brightly-coloured art pods
0:06:27 > 0:06:32but will they really help turn around the fortunes of the boarded-up seafront?
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Karen Patterson has been back to see what's happening in her home town.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46They are certainly eye-catching, aren't they?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50It's like a slow reveal as you walk around each corner
0:06:50 > 0:06:53as to what's going to be in the window in front of you
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and I have no idea what to expect.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58But your eye's drawn to the next one
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and you want to see more and more and more.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06The sun's shining and you kind of have to pinch yourself. This is Bangor.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Since the end of March, Project 24 has been taking shape
0:07:13 > 0:07:15here in my home town.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18These 12 art pods will occupy a vacant site on Queen's Parade
0:07:18 > 0:07:22in Bangor for two years as studios for artists,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27including a glass worker, a sculptor, a painter and a jewellery maker.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32But could art and culture be more than just a stopgap
0:07:32 > 0:07:34here on the seafront?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Could this be the start of the renaissance for Bangor?
0:07:39 > 0:07:43The creative industry sector is the only growing sector at the moment.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46What we're trying to achieve here is an economic benefit
0:07:46 > 0:07:51through the introduction of art and culture to this local area.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54For generations, Queen's Parade was the seaside.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Oh, the summer days spent there.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59But the sand was shipped out in the 1980s,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03when North Down Borough Council gave the go-ahead for Bangor Marina.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05The hotels and restaurants were closed
0:08:05 > 0:08:09to make way for a new shopping centre that never materialised.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Queen's Parade went from being a bustling, vibrant seafront to an eyesore.
0:08:15 > 0:08:21Today many of the shops are closed, it feels unloved and neglected.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Karen, what we are trying to do is achieve
0:08:23 > 0:08:26a greater footfall for the town centre.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28The more time people spend in the town centre,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31the better the economic spin-off and what we are trying to do
0:08:31 > 0:08:34is keep people in the area and hopefully spending money.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And there is a very businesslike arrangement
0:08:38 > 0:08:40between the council and the artists.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I get a subsidised studio rent
0:08:43 > 0:08:46so it doesn't cost me very much per month,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48which means that I can take a risk.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52However, we actually have to contribute a lot of time
0:08:52 > 0:08:55so we are expected to be here at least 30 hours per week.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58You have the shop window right in front of us where people
0:08:58 > 0:09:00can basically view you all day long.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04That's a little bit daunting at first.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06You have to sort of learn to keep working.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10But Sarah and the other artists here are not just a visitor attraction.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13They are businesspeople in their own right.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15I don't do anything that fails
0:09:15 > 0:09:20so I am prepared to work hard to make sure that it is successful.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24I know that there are plans in place for how it is going to progress
0:09:24 > 0:09:28and I think that is very exciting and very forward-thinking.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31What would you say to people who think it's naive of a council
0:09:31 > 0:09:35to build an economic regeneration plan on artists?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37They are a bit flimflam, they might say.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40I've been a jeweller for 20 years. I make my living out of this.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43Why don't they come in and ask me what I do?
0:09:43 > 0:09:47We are the new business. I'm a home-grown business.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52The arts do have a proven track record for reinventing run down seaside towns.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55St Ives in Cornwall is a well-heeled tourist Mecca
0:09:55 > 0:09:59thanks to its thriving arts scene and Tate Gallery
0:09:59 > 0:10:03but it's been a artist colony since the late 19th century,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06attracting major figures like sculptor Barbara Hepworth.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Can Bangor boast an equivalent?
0:10:08 > 0:10:13An exhibition at North Down Museum makes the case for Colin Middleton.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17I think he'd be seen now as arguably the most significant
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Northern Irish artist of the... Potentially of the last century.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23What sort of pulling power does he have?
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Middleton could become in a way synonymous with Bangor,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29the way Barbara Hepworth is with St Ives.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32There is a great attraction for me for the town in reclaiming
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Middleton because there is an all-Ireland interest.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39There are collectors all over Ireland who have his paintings.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42But building a major visitor attraction like Tate St Ives
0:10:42 > 0:10:46would require forward planning with serious ambition.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Do you think North Down Borough Council
0:10:48 > 0:10:50will put its money where its mouth is
0:10:50 > 0:10:55and invest in making Bangor a high-profile arts destination?
0:10:55 > 0:10:58We have to see what comes out of the consultations, et cetera,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00but we do believe this proves the market exists
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and we will be pushing that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07For me, Project 24 could start to change
0:11:07 > 0:11:09how Bangorians see their home town.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13The tired old seafront has a new spring in its step
0:11:13 > 0:11:15and the optimism of the artists in their pods
0:11:15 > 0:11:18could rub off on everyone else.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23The Bangor renaissance. Maybe it's not such a strange idea after all.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29And the art pods are in Bangor until 2015.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Now, Colum McCann is one of the leading novelists of his generation.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Born in Dublin, he now lives in New York
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and has just completed a screenplay of his breakthrough novel,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Let The Great World Spin, for film director JJ Abrams.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45His new book, Transatlantic, straddles America and Ireland
0:11:45 > 0:11:49with a cast of characters from famine time to present-day,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52including one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace process,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Senator George Mitchell.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55Earlier this week,
0:11:55 > 0:11:59President Obama quoted McCann in a speech in Belfast ahead of the G8
0:11:59 > 0:12:02and put him in Irish literary heavyweight company,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05with Yates and Heaney.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08"Peace is indeed harder than war,"
0:12:08 > 0:12:11the Irish author Colum McCann recently wrote.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I recently met Colum to discuss Transatlantic.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21How do you, for want of a better word, keep all the voices in your head intact?
0:12:21 > 0:12:26This new book was probably the hardest book I've ever worked on.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30To be totally honest with you, there were times when it drove me mad.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34"He kisses her. Then his son.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37"He pinches the boy playfully on the toes.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39"The roll of soft skin at his fingers.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44"He takes the nappy, still warm to the touch, and drops it in the bin.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48"Life, he thinks, is still capable of the most extraordinary quips.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50"A warm nappy. At 64."
0:12:52 > 0:12:54The idea of taking real people.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00Is there ever a nervousness about that, that you are taking
0:13:00 > 0:13:05fact-based history and imposing a fictional narrative on it?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The way I look at it is that the real is imagined.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11So the way we shape our narratives,
0:13:11 > 0:13:13the way we throw words at the page, necessarily,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17is an act of the imagination but the imagined is also real.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22So these two worlds come together with the new book.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24I wanted to write about the peace process
0:13:24 > 0:13:30so I wrote to George Mitchell and said, "Would you mind if I wrote about you?"
0:13:30 > 0:13:33He and his wife wrote back and said, "Absolutely."
0:13:33 > 0:13:35They said, "When would you like to come and meet me?"
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I said, "I'd rather not meet you, frankly. Thank you very much.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43"Let me go away for six months and try and imagine what you're like."
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And I sent it to them and they read it and were incredibly generous
0:13:46 > 0:13:50and they pointed out what was right and what was wrong.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53There are little things in there, like him weeping in the shower
0:13:53 > 0:13:55on the day before the Good Friday Agreement.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00And that, that's a very personal thing. And he said it was true.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03"A closet hardly big enough to step inside.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05"The senator goes upstairs, undresses,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10"steps in, leans his head against the tile, slick and grimy.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12"He doesn't care."
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Mitchell's beauty was his humility and his silence.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19In fact, literally just three days ago, I went to his house
0:14:19 > 0:14:22to drop off a copy of the new book and he said to me, beautifully,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25he said, "Say hello to the people of Northern Ireland for me."
0:14:25 > 0:14:30"The children looked like remnants of themselves. Spectral.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32"Some were naked to the waist.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36"Many of them had sores on their faces. None had shoes.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39"He could see the structures of them through their skin.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41"The bony residue of their lives."
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Transatlantic weaves together three parallel narratives.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Along with George Mitchell are the stories of Frederick Douglas,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50a black slave in the famine year of 1845
0:14:50 > 0:14:55and Alcock and Brown making the first flight from America to Europe in 1919.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58McCann boldly attempts to get inside the heads
0:14:58 > 0:15:02of very real but very different historical figures.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05"Alcock pushes back against the rudder control bar,
0:15:05 > 0:15:06"bends it with pure force.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09"A shot of pain through his chest and shoulders.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13" 'Good Jesus, Jackie. What happened there? Have we crashed?' "
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Why do you then take ALL their stories?
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Is there a moment when you think, "George Mitchell is a great story and I've got into his head"?
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Why is that not a full book?
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I think the thing is that you write towards your obsessions
0:15:24 > 0:15:28and, originally, I was obsessed by Douglas coming over here
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and his journey colliding with the famine
0:15:31 > 0:15:34but I didn't like to just keep the story then.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I wanted to bring it all the way to 2012, in fact.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40"The cottage sat at the edge of the lough.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42"She could hear the wind and rain
0:15:42 > 0:15:44"whipping across the expanse of open water."
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I didn't want to write what people might call an historical novel.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51These particular stories were all sort of tied together.
0:15:51 > 0:15:56They're heroic men who have made these transatlantic trips
0:15:56 > 0:16:02and I believe we're connected in all sorts of extraordinary ways
0:16:02 > 0:16:07and you can make sort of shotgun leaps into other people's lives.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11"One by one they visit his office. The air of worried men and women.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13"Every one with something to lose.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17"This, he has discovered, is part of their generosity.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20"The ability to embrace failure."
0:16:20 > 0:16:24For a Dublin writer, why the fascination with Northern Ireland?
0:16:24 > 0:16:27My mum is from Derry. She's from Garvagh.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29When I was a kid I used to come up all the time.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Northern Ireland has been in my blood for quite a while,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34which I suppose was an unusual thing
0:16:34 > 0:16:41for somebody from, say, suburban, middle-class Dublin at the time.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42Because you're based in New York now,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47do you feel you've got that geographical distance, that emotional distance from it?
0:16:47 > 0:16:51You know, I've been gone for the best part of 25 years
0:16:51 > 0:16:56but I wanted to come home and I think I've been preparing to come home, psychologically, for a while.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02Part of the reason to write this was to return back, sort of emotionally, as well.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08And Transatlantic by Colum McCann is out now.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Now, the world's first ever annual Samuel Beckett Festival
0:17:11 > 0:17:16could have gone to any major city on the planet - Paris, London, Dublin.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18But it didn't. It went to Enniskillen.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Last year was its first festival and it brought ambitious,
0:17:21 > 0:17:24provocative art to a rural town.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27The Happy Days founder and artistic director, Sean Doran, is with me.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Sean, was there ever a moment you thought you'd have been wiser
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- putting a festival like this on in a known cultural capital?- No.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Not a single second, really, because a well-known capital, I mean,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42it's full of provision, saturated and you're not needed.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45I think there was an intention on my part to come back to a place
0:17:45 > 0:17:49that hasn't got what the capitals of London, New York and Paris have.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- And how successful was it? - I was overwhelmed, I have to say.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57It exceeded what I felt could happen in the first year
0:17:57 > 0:18:02but I think an important thing in the Anglo-Celtic culture about it was it was a European festival.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- They came from Los Angeles and Japan. - And were you surprised at that?
0:18:05 > 0:18:08That they were making these huge journeys?
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Was it the fact you had booked top-quality acts
0:18:10 > 0:18:14and you knew that if you booked them, the audience would come?
0:18:14 > 0:18:16It is about quality, yeah.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And it's about the imagination of the programming and our curatorial approach.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Even the unaware audience can sniff it.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- They can sniff whether it's authentic.- OK.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28When people got to experience the work out of the lips of Adrian Dunbar,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31the local Armagh accent on an island on the Lough Erne
0:18:31 > 0:18:33and this was what got me interested
0:18:33 > 0:18:36is looking at how you can programme out of place.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38So we go in to the cathedrals, we go in to the crypts,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40we go in to the islands.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43We're down in the Marble Arch Caves this year. We're up in the air.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47And you're also going to Armagh so you've got this ambition
0:18:47 > 0:18:53to target places that are considered smaller and bring the art to them.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56It will happen at the end of May in 2014,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59there's a classical music, world-music-led festival.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- There's another individual that I'm not quite announcing just yet.- OK.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06But entirely counterpoint to the literary, theatre-led festival
0:19:06 > 0:19:09in Enniskillen but the two will be sisters of each other.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13Armagh is rich to actually site a festival so I'm not going in blind.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15I know what will work but I still want it, for me,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18to be daring and to be the impossible and people to look at,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21"Right. He's not going to make it work this time."
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- And you'll prove them wrong. - I think entirely so.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Because it comes down to the people,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27if places are ready for it and they want it
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and people elsewhere are more interested in getting out
0:19:30 > 0:19:33and finding new places and the regional places in Northern Ireland.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Sean, thank you so much.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And the Happy Days International Beckett Festival
0:19:38 > 0:19:40is in Enniskillen in August.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Now, flute bands are one of Northern Ireland's most vibrant cultures.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47They date back hundreds of years and today,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50around 30,000 people play in them on a regular basis.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It's a world of strong musical traditions
0:19:53 > 0:19:55but how do they respond to bold, new ideas?
0:19:55 > 0:19:58That's what's been happening in the UK City of Culture
0:19:58 > 0:20:01in a new collaboration between jazz composers Brian Irvine
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and Sid Peacock and a number of flute bands from Londonderry
0:20:04 > 0:20:07for the world premiere of Beyond the March.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18The band was formed in 1973. It is 40 years in existence now.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22The biggest majority of the band has always come from the Irish side
0:20:22 > 0:20:26of the estate but people who join it feel as if it's a family.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- How are we doing?- How are you doing?
0:20:29 > 0:20:31How are you doing?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35This is actually a slightly different piece.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37A different way of making a piece.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Because I suppose it's been about
0:20:39 > 0:20:43developing a kind of relationship with the band,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47taking ideas and really getting to know how the band works
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and how it allows tunes and so on and then kind of finding a way of
0:20:50 > 0:20:54deconstructing that and putting it together in a different kind of way.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58It has opened a few eyes to the boys
0:20:58 > 0:21:02of what they can play and what they are capable of, you know.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04One, two, three...
0:21:05 > 0:21:07PERCUSSION
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Myself and another composer called Sid Peacock,
0:21:13 > 0:21:15Brian and Paula from Moving on Music,
0:21:15 > 0:21:20we've always wanted to do this project about the musicianship of flute bands.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Started working in partnership with four bands -
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Caw, Burntollet, Pride of the Orange and Blue, and East Bank.
0:21:30 > 0:21:31WHISTLE AND DRUM
0:21:32 > 0:21:37We've created lots of little loops made up of little, short phrases
0:21:37 > 0:21:42and we've constructed this piece that involves layering of these loops.
0:21:43 > 0:21:44That's it!
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'My own background, I was born just off the Shankill Road and my father was an Orangeman
0:21:48 > 0:21:52'and 12th of July was a massive family occasion, and I particularly
0:21:52 > 0:21:55'loved the sound of being able to hear three or four bands
0:21:55 > 0:21:59'at the same time, you know, as they kind of drifted past you.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:06We're going to rehearse the piece for the Playhouse
0:22:06 > 0:22:09on the 21st of June.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12This is the first time we've seen it and there's two weeks to go
0:22:12 > 0:22:13so here we go!
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I've cue cards, numbers.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18So whenever you see a cue card go up,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20that's telling you where we're going to go to.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Cos everything you do will be based on the pulse on the laptop,
0:22:23 > 0:22:25which is kind of like your marching pace.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28They're a bit daunted whenever they don't know what they're doing.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31But once Brian got into it, they're quite happy to learn and stuff.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34The key thing is, don't repeat a pattern.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38So it's a real test of your creative agility.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- HE LAUGHS - That's a look of fear!
0:22:42 > 0:22:44THEY LAUGH
0:22:46 > 0:22:48'They've got a bit of a stereotype in their mind
0:22:48 > 0:22:51'of what bands are and they don't really know nothing about them.'
0:22:51 > 0:22:54If they were to actually come along to the Playhouse
0:22:54 > 0:22:57and sit down and listen, maybe it would break down the barriers.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59So let's hope they do.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03- MUSIC - Again!
0:23:03 > 0:23:05Excellent! Excellent. Excellent.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Now, that will work.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Whenever I've been telling people, "Brian's coming down to conduct," you see eyebrows.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14They sort of think, "He's winding me up, here."
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I just think of this whole thing as this big statement
0:23:17 > 0:23:19of what the band is all about.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23It's about playing these tunes, about being musicians, being improvisers,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26being rhythmically tuned and all sorts of things so it's a really good opportunity
0:23:26 > 0:23:31and I think if we just keep that pulse in for two minutes, people will go, "Phht!"
0:23:32 > 0:23:34INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Yeah! Or alternatively we'll play the sax.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38THEY LAUGH
0:23:39 > 0:23:42This is a band of particularly achieved musicians.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46More open in terms of trying new ideas
0:23:46 > 0:23:50than some professional classical ensembles.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54They want to explore their music in every way they can.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07- Beautiful! - HE LAUGHS
0:24:07 > 0:24:11That really does sound like an incredible collaboration.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15The Arts Show at rehearsals for Beyond the March.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Back here at the Belfast School of Art, things are still buzzing
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and with me is a final year student, Ashling Linsday.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Ashling, you are an illustrator and you've only just gone
0:24:25 > 0:24:29and been nominated for the Oscars of illustration. How does that feel?
0:24:29 > 0:24:32It's unbelievable. I couldn't actually believe it.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I saw it published on Twitter, you know, the results are out
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and I kind of reluctantly went into my emails and was like,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41"OK. Have a look." And then yeah, I got shortlisted and I was like,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44"This is amazing." It was, like, one of the best things ever.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47And what will that mean for you in terms of a career?
0:24:47 > 0:24:49It's really, really good publicity.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Since then I've already had people contact me and things, for jobs.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- Really?- Not really high-profile jobs just yet but, you know,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01- jobs here and there and it's doing well for me.- Why illustration?
0:25:01 > 0:25:06I came here four years ago and did the foundation degree first
0:25:06 > 0:25:08and then tried loads of different things
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and realised illustration was what I wanted to do.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13So where do you go from here?
0:25:13 > 0:25:17At the minute I'm trying to get signed with an agency.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19I'm applying to the top ten ones in London at the minute
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and hoping I'll get that cos then I'll get some high-profile clients
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and start to do some editorial work, like,
0:25:25 > 0:25:31maybe a few people that were here before like Peter Strain, Oliver Jeffers or Barry Falls.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36They all went, got signed up and started doing things for the New Yorker and New Scientist and stuff.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Hopefully.- Have you had a chance to chat to them?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Oliver is obviously doing amazingly well,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44- based in Brooklyn in New York now. - He's doing so well.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48- Your work reminds me of his work as well, the simplicity of it.- Yeah.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Well, Peter Strain actually came in and did seminars with my group
0:25:51 > 0:25:56so he was really, you know, a major influence on me towards the end.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Oliver Jeffers is great. I nearly have all of his books.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02There's something so good about his stories.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05There's always a nice cleverness as well as his illustration.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07And that is something you like to combine?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- You're not just the illustrator, you're the writer as well.- Exactly.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Ashling, thank you so much.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Now, I'm going to head off to the other end of the university campus
0:26:16 > 0:26:20to meet another final year student, painter Andrew Haire.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Andrew, this is incredible.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35- The buzz here tonight is just unreal, isn't it?- It's so exciting.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I've never felt anything like this in a place like this.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39It's usually quiet,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41I'm just in here painting, and now there's people
0:26:41 > 0:26:44looking at the work and engaging with the work so it's very exciting.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Not only engaging with the work.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- There are red dots on them so you've sold some.- Yeah.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Pretty happy with that.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55It's landscape but it's not Irish landscape. It's where?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58I decided that Iceland would be an accessible wilderness
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- to travel to and... - So you went there?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Yeah, I went there last summer to travel and get first-hand photography
0:27:06 > 0:27:09to base the paintings for my third year show on.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13I use acrylic paint in thick layers, translucent layers,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17that build up a glass-like shimmering surface
0:27:17 > 0:27:20and that's to mimic, when I was in Iceland we did a lot of driving
0:27:20 > 0:27:23from place to place and as a result...
0:27:23 > 0:27:28I was taking photographs through the car window a lot so I decided
0:27:28 > 0:27:31I wanted to mimic that kind of reflections
0:27:31 > 0:27:34and refractions of light in the paintings themselves.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37What has the art collage meant to you?
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Has it helped you find your voice as an artist?
0:27:40 > 0:27:41Over the three years I've been here,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45it's given me the chance to experiment, experiment, experiment,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47try lots of different things
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and be able to come to the conclusion that is this degree show.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Without the art college I wouldn't have had the time
0:27:53 > 0:27:58or the place to be able to develop my work to where it is now.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02Do you feel confident about a future career as an artist?
0:28:02 > 0:28:04I don't know if you could ever feel confident
0:28:04 > 0:28:08but the goal at the start of this show was to sell one painting
0:28:08 > 0:28:11to somebody I don't know and I will take that any day of the week.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15I've got your card in my pocket
0:28:15 > 0:28:20and I think that your name... Certainly the buzz in this room is around your work,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- so I wish you continued success, Andrew. Thank you.- Thank you.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Well, that's it from The Arts Show from the Belfast School of Art.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39If you've been inspired by anything you've seen tonight,
0:28:39 > 0:28:43join me live on Twitter straight after the show.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46You can also keep in touch with arts and culture on BBC Radio Ulster's
0:28:46 > 0:28:47Arts Extra,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50every weeknight at 6:30pm.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52We're back on 25th July with a special show
0:28:52 > 0:28:55from Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58From me, goodnight.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd