0:00:29 > 0:00:34Hello and welcome to the first Arts Show of 2016,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38and we kick off the new year here in the city of Lisburn.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47This is Lisburn's Island Arts Centre
0:00:47 > 0:00:49on the banks of the River Lagan.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Opened in 2001,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55it has earned a reputation as one of Ireland's
0:00:55 > 0:00:59major multi-arts venues, created as a bespoke centre
0:00:59 > 0:01:04for performance, dance, community arts and exhibition space.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08And with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland recently
0:01:08 > 0:01:11relocating its headquarters to Lisburn, there's a real sense
0:01:11 > 0:01:15that the cultural map is expanding beyond nearby Belfast.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Here's what's coming up on tonight's show...
0:01:18 > 0:01:22We welcome the Chinese New Year with a look at the symbolism
0:01:22 > 0:01:25of the celebrations and its growing local appeal.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29The Arts Show exclusively reveals the winners
0:01:29 > 0:01:31of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's
0:01:31 > 0:01:34major individual artist awards for 2016.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39One of our finest young silversmiths, Stuart Cairns,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43holds his first solo exhibition at the R-Space in Lisburn.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47And we've live music from Derry/Londonderry band, Ports.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I'm tweeting now - @BBCArtsShow. Do join me.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Now, while most of us have already welcomed in 2016,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Chinese New Year is still to come.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Officially, it is on the 8th of February,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11but the various celebrations culminate in a gala event
0:02:11 > 0:02:15in Belfast's Ulster Hall on Sunday the 21st of February.
0:02:15 > 0:02:20In recent years, it's attracted a more diverse local audience,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23but what do we know about the symbolism surrounding it?
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Anna Lo, MLA, reports for The Arts Show.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32The Chinese New Year takes place on the second new moon
0:02:32 > 0:02:34after the winter solstice.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40Around the world, it's celebrated by one in six people on this planet.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46It is a feast of movement, symbolic dance, colour and mythology.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50This is a large event in the social calendar,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54with lots of local groups and artists taking part in the festival.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56But what does it signify?
0:02:56 > 0:02:59The years are named after the creatures
0:02:59 > 0:03:02of the Chinese animal zodiac.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06We are moving from the year of the goat to the year of the monkey.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Each has their own meaning.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16Chinese culture practises many art forms, such as lion dancing,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19which is taught right here in Belfast.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23The significance of lion dancing is, in our tradition,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26and our culture is...chase away evil spirit.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28CHINESE MUSIC
0:03:32 > 0:03:36During the lion dancing, we feed a lion with an iceberg lettuce.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42After the lion eating it, the lion will spit back some left over.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45The lion shares with you some good luck and fortune.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Chinese New Year is not only celebrated by Chinese.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54We welcome every culture and celebrate together.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07The lion dance is one of a number of significant symbols
0:04:07 > 0:04:09used at Chinese New Year.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15The art of paper folding has a strong cultural role to play.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20Chinese New Year means to me, it's very important for the New Year,
0:04:20 > 0:04:26that means we pass, last year we pass all the bad things away
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and we welcome the good things coming.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31This one...
0:04:32 > 0:04:34it means good luck.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35OK?
0:04:35 > 0:04:39And with those, we would put on both sides of the door,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and that is the word for good luck,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45but we do not put it that way, we put it upside down.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Upside down means coming.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52That means good luck is coming to that house.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Chinese people would like red colour.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01It represents good luck.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The gold, gold means money.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09The love of the colour red comes from Chinese mythology.
0:05:09 > 0:05:15It is said there was a beast called Nian, which ate villagers.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The villagers used to offer food to appease him
0:05:18 > 0:05:20at the beginning of each year.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25They discovered hanging red paper at the door kept him at bay.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29It has been considered lucky ever since.
0:05:29 > 0:05:35It's a mixture of tradition, family, superstition and beauty.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Everything has a meaning and it points to hope and happy future.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Chinese New Year has some basic format that never changes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50There'll always be lion dances, there'll be lots of lanterns.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And there's also lots of noise.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55There's the very loud drumming music.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59This year, we're delighted to have a group coming from China,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01a world-famous group that are coming to perform,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and there'll be acrobatics, there'll be music and dance,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07traditional instruments and there'll be of course the face-changer,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09which is a very spectacular performance.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12If you've never seen it, it's brilliant.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15Maybe back 30 years ago, it was looking back to home,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18but I think now it's looking out to the world.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25PIANO PLAYS
0:06:28 > 0:06:32I think people that I've listened to recently that are doing
0:06:32 > 0:06:34something really interesting.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37There's a lot of talk and excitement around a young girl
0:06:37 > 0:06:39who goes under the name Jealous Of The Birds.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYS
0:06:43 > 0:06:49It's that thing of something that rings true, it sounds honest.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57The type is music I would play is like a post-punk indie folk music.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00# Shape on the grass... #
0:07:00 > 0:07:04My music feels, to me, at least, like a weird marriage of, like,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07whimsical, folky, hippie stuff from '60s and '70s
0:07:07 > 0:07:12but also, like, a kind of punk, grunge undercurrent to it.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Not to be wowed by age or something, but there seems an integrity
0:07:17 > 0:07:19and a sophistication beyond her years.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22But that's been the complete opposite from me,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25because probably when I was her age or Soak's age,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27my songs weren't very good!
0:07:27 > 0:07:30# I'm a singing girl... #
0:07:38 > 0:07:42The maker that we've selected as the one to watch for 2016,
0:07:42 > 0:07:43Patricia Millar.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Patricia's work is really vibrant, really interesting,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48quite different.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I take my inspiration from the Ards Peninsula.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54'I collect local clay from that area.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58'I'll harvest rushes, grasses, seaweed even,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'and those are worked into the clay to make the bog pots.'
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The texture of the bog pots is very reminiscent of, actually, the ground
0:08:06 > 0:08:11itself, and I try to recreate that by hand-carving into the clay.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Already her work is starting to appear in collections
0:08:16 > 0:08:20as far afield as the USA, Canada and Germany.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25We think that over the next year,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28a lot of really exciting things are going to happen for her.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Last year was a roller-coaster for public-arts funding here,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42with well-publicised cuts leaving certain parts of the sector
0:08:42 > 0:08:44here wondering about their future.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48But there is some good news, at least for three local
0:08:48 > 0:08:51practitioners, who have each started off 2016
0:08:51 > 0:08:54?15,000 better off.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57They are the recipients of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Major Individual artists award.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04And with me to tell me more about these awards is Norin McKinney.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Norin, what are these awards?
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Well, the awards are
0:09:09 > 0:09:12probably the most significant accolade that the Arts Council
0:09:12 > 0:09:15can offer for artistic achievement.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18So, they're aimed at established, maybe mid-career artists,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21who already have a significant body of work
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and who are now ready to undertake another significant
0:09:24 > 0:09:27step forward in their artistic development.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31How are they selected? Do they apply for this? They apply, yes.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33It's very competitive, of course,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and we can only make three to four per year.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38And what do you expect in return?
0:09:38 > 0:09:43In return, we expect that the proposal that they present to us
0:09:43 > 0:09:48will be a significant step-change in both their skill sets
0:09:48 > 0:09:53and a new piece of work which will then be presented to public
0:09:53 > 0:09:54and critical acclaim.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Examples from the past have included Owen McCafferty
0:09:58 > 0:10:01taking at least a year to write The Death Of A Comedian,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04which premiered then in the Lyric,
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Sinead Morrissey,
0:10:05 > 0:10:09who had been shortlisted four times for the TS Eliot Prize
0:10:09 > 0:10:12and then, in 2013, won it.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And Sinead would attest to the fact that the award gave
0:10:16 > 0:10:21her the time just to be fully immersed in the creative process.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Other examples have been Glenn Patterson,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27who wrote The Mill For Grinding Old People Young,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Lucy Caldwell, All The Beggars Riding,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34and David Park's magnificent The Poets' Wives, which then all went on
0:10:34 > 0:10:38to become the One City One Book choice for three consecutive years.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42So, it's money well spent, do you feel? Completely well spent.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46And it brings out some of the best work that's been created here.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Thank you, Norin. And now The Arts Show
0:10:49 > 0:10:52can exclusively reveal who those winners are.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53As they say, roll VT!
0:11:00 > 0:11:03'I'm Deirdre McKay, and I'm a composer.'
0:11:07 > 0:11:12Some of the music I write is quite spacious, slow...
0:11:16 > 0:11:18..otherworldly, I guess, in a way.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I love harmony, I love colour.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Other times, completely different to that.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32So, I suppose it depends on what you're writing for,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36it depends on what the instruments are, it depends on what it's for.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Some previous works which are quite contrasting, I suppose -
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Meltwater was written for strings, uses lots of natural harmonics.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50You pick up very beautiful physical resonance in the instruments.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55Dieppe, for voices...
0:11:55 > 0:11:59very sparse and written in waves,
0:11:59 > 0:12:00to be like the sea, actually.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03TENOR SINGS
0:12:03 > 0:12:08Driven, a very passionate piece, a quite emotional piece, as well,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10for tenor and mixed ensemble.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14# At last the end's in sight... #
0:12:18 > 0:12:21'In its best moments, it's quite elating.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:24With deadlines and things it can be very pressurised,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27so it's not always like that.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32I see the award primarily as being developmental,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36to try stuff that I know I need to try.
0:12:36 > 0:12:43'So the really exciting thing is that you are forced into taking
0:12:43 > 0:12:47'risks that you might otherwise pull back from.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:49And it's the risk-taking, developmental aspect which, I think,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52is the most precious part of the award.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02"I set up in general practice two years ago
0:13:02 > 0:13:06"and had hoped that, by now, I would have built up a decent business.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10"My training had been more than adequate
0:13:10 > 0:13:12"and I think my manner, professional.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16"Nevertheless, my anticipated patients clearly suffered
0:13:16 > 0:13:18"chronic good health."
0:13:21 > 0:13:24'My name's Jimmy McAleavey, and I write plays.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27'I mostly write for stage.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'I also have written quite a bit for radio drama
0:13:31 > 0:13:33'and a wee bit of TV and film.'
0:13:34 > 0:13:38I write mostly for stage because...
0:13:38 > 0:13:41formally it's the most expansive or elastic.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45"Clasping a handkerchief to my face, I opened the door and
0:13:45 > 0:13:50"approached what must have once been Van Helsing, slumped in an armchair.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53"The wireless hissed static."
0:13:53 > 0:13:54Radio is a beautiful form in itself.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58It seems to be somewhere between the stage play and the screenplay.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00'I would like to write more for screen,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05'but, unfortunately, all we seem to watch are cop shows.'
0:14:05 > 0:14:07And I don't have a cop show for you.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11My most recent play was
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Monsters Dinosaurs Ghosts at the Abbey Theatre.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18It was about Republicans struggling with their consciences,
0:14:18 > 0:14:23and it was about that terrible kind of existential spiral.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Someone once advised me to get to the desk before you arrive,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33'so I decided to try and take that one step further,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36'so I write in bed in the mornings.' LAUGHS
0:14:36 > 0:14:37'As soon as I wake up.'
0:14:38 > 0:14:43Writing is mostly about thinking about the structure of things
0:14:43 > 0:14:48and how to do things. The fun bit is dialogue.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52'But most of the work that goes into a play, for instance,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57'is invisible, so it's about figuring out very knotty problems
0:14:57 > 0:14:59'that are quite intangible.'
0:14:59 > 0:15:04That bit there, that's pure craic. Y'know?
0:15:06 > 0:15:08At the end of this year,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12I hope to have repaid this public investment by writing
0:15:12 > 0:15:15at least two large-scale plays
0:15:15 > 0:15:18for which I'll have to develop certain new skills,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22one set in America in a wagon train and another about a man
0:15:22 > 0:15:26called Chief O'Neill, the man who, in real life, saved Irish music.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37'I'm Conor Mitchell, and I am a composer.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I have one foot in several disciplines,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46but my music is built to be seen, so I write for the stage -
0:15:46 > 0:15:48so that's opera, music theatre -
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and text, so all of my music has stories and words.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00'Moving between those disciplines is difficult, because you're dealing
0:16:00 > 0:16:02'with different audiences,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04'and I think there are preconceived notions.'
0:16:04 > 0:16:07But they all have one thing in common, which is that they
0:16:07 > 0:16:10are slaves to the words and they're slaves to the stories.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18'I'm going to use the award to take three pieces that had
0:16:18 > 0:16:21'previously been written that have since grown in my imagination
0:16:21 > 0:16:23'and make them much bigger.'
0:16:23 > 0:16:26One is a symphony, another one is my Requiem For The Disappeared
0:16:26 > 0:16:29and another one is a concerto.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33But it's about me taking time out from being a slave to story
0:16:33 > 0:16:35and words and opera and music theatre
0:16:35 > 0:16:38and song cycles and song in general
0:16:38 > 0:16:40and work with huge, epic forms.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'What fascinates me about music is the unspoken that can happen in it.'
0:16:59 > 0:17:03But the mechanism of theatre, the audience, that's what I'm after,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07and to take a break from that for a while
0:17:07 > 0:17:09and come back to the pure form of music,
0:17:09 > 0:17:14for me, will be really exciting, and that's what this grant is for me -
0:17:14 > 0:17:18stripping away the froth of the cappuccino, I suppose,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20and just getting stuck into the coffee.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26So, congratulations to Conor Mitchell, Jimmy McAleavey
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and Deirdre McKay. The best of luck to them.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Now, from one arts award to another.
0:17:32 > 0:17:3618 months ago, we revealed the winner of a new crafts bursary,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39the Rosie James Memorial Trust Award.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Applied artist Stuart Cairns was the first to receive
0:17:42 > 0:17:44the bursary, also ?15,000,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49which he has used to create his first solo show, Place And Process,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52currently running at the R-Space Gallery here in Lisburn.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54The Arts Show went for a look.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'My name's Stuart Cairns. I'm an applied artist,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09'and I work with found objects and precious metals.'
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I got the Rosie James Award last year,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21and getting that has allowed me to develop a new body of work.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24'The exhibition's called Process And Place.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27'It represents a year's worth of research,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30'exploring different aspects of my practice.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So you have the installation down the middle, of the made objects
0:18:33 > 0:18:37and found objects, which I call Driftline, and then on the walls
0:18:37 > 0:18:41we have different photographs that I've taken over the year...
0:18:43 > 0:18:46..and a big collection of drawings to sort of try
0:18:46 > 0:18:50and convey some of the effort that goes into making the work
0:18:50 > 0:18:53that runs down the centre of the show.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56I describe my work as "alternative silversmithing",
0:18:56 > 0:18:58so it's very sculptural and natural.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Just working with metal,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04just working with one material, even, doesn't really excite me.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08It's the combination of materials that kind of get me excited.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14In some ways, the discarded what you might call "rubbish"
0:19:14 > 0:19:17is more precious to me than the silver.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22My inspiration really came from experiencing the landscape.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24It's from being a kid
0:19:24 > 0:19:27and having sort of come across the work of CS Lewis
0:19:27 > 0:19:29and reading all his books
0:19:29 > 0:19:32and seeing the landscape as this kind of wonderful,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36magical place, and things that you might walk past normally
0:19:36 > 0:19:38but actually, if you look, they're really
0:19:38 > 0:19:40dramatically interesting, beautiful things.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49I started using the camera sort of as a tool to help train my eye
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and to try and tune myself in to what I was looking at,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55because you're looking for an interesting shot.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57Then, as you're looking for that interesting shot, you start
0:19:57 > 0:20:00experiencing the environment in a lot more intense fashion,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and then that draws you to what you might pick up.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05So, I'm collecting photographs
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and images as well as collecting physical things.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12When I was preparing this show,
0:20:12 > 0:20:16I also got a set of work together for a show which
0:20:16 > 0:20:19opens in March in the V in London with contemporary
0:20:19 > 0:20:22British silversmiths, so that's quite exciting.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And I have a few plans to apply for some residencies,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27so I'm going to do some more international work.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36"Chapter one.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40"'Do exactly as I tell you, or I'll put a bullet in your spine.'"
0:20:41 > 0:20:45In 2016, I think we should be looking at Steve Cavanagh,
0:20:45 > 0:20:47local man, crime writer,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51taken on by one of the largest publishing houses in the UK.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54"This guy wasn't going to shoot me in New York City on Chambers Street
0:20:54 > 0:20:57"at 8.15 in the morning in front of 30 witnesses."
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Steve's first novel, The Defence,
0:20:59 > 0:21:03shot to international acclaim, featuring Eddie Flynn,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07lawyer, con artist, a man in a very difficult situation.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Steve is a practising lawyer specialising in civil rights law.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14He has taken some of that background and given it to Eddie,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18though I dare say Eddie is a little bit less scrupulous than Steve.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Another writer we should keep our eyes on in Padraig Regan.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Padraig is a young poet from Belfast who recently won
0:21:25 > 0:21:28the Eric Gregory Award.
0:21:28 > 0:21:29Thank you.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Padraig will be publishing his first collection, Delicious,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34published by The Lifeboat, in 2016.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40I've selected Shaun Blaney, the actor, for two main reasons.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44The first is the sheer range of work that he applies himself to,
0:21:44 > 0:21:46whether it's experimental theatre work
0:21:46 > 0:21:50with Replay Theatre in education, a comedy with Tinderbox...
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I wouldn't say no reason.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Oh! You look great, by the way.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56But perhaps most significantly recently,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00his work in independent film and particularly the web drama Farr.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Going to shoot me, son?
0:22:03 > 0:22:05If you make me.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06It was very much his initiative
0:22:06 > 0:22:08for which he won an acting award
0:22:08 > 0:22:12and which has achieved other awards internationally.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16Shaun's emblematic of that kind of entrepreneurial actor.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19You can see Shaun having a sustainable career.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20Don't.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21Don't.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24The local theatre scene taught me absolutely everything
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I need to know or want to know about being a performer.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29I didn't go to an accredited drama school,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31but I just tried to learn on the job.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33What was that like?
0:22:33 > 0:22:34What was what like?
0:22:35 > 0:22:36Losing.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40And in 2016, going to make the move to London
0:22:40 > 0:22:41and try that for a while.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43We've really got to do more to nurture
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and maintain the local talent that we have here.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48I do hope Shaun comes back.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00The artist I picked today is Stephen Johnston.
0:23:00 > 0:23:06He graduated in 2010 from Belfast College of Art.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10He has won the Hennessy Portrait Prize
0:23:10 > 0:23:12and has been in the National Gallery of Ireland.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17My work is inspired by all kinds of things.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20It could be random objects that people have in their houses
0:23:20 > 0:23:25that I think are really weird and cool and there's something about it.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31He has shown in the Royal Ulster Academy since 2011.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36This year, it was the Melody of Memories.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41I just love the dexterity, the integrity of the work.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43I wanted to capture
0:23:43 > 0:23:45an element of that kind of tension between the past
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and the present and something so run down
0:23:48 > 0:23:51that there can be something so beautiful that comes from it.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54That life kind of grows, like the ivy coming through the window.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00Looking at his other works,
0:24:00 > 0:24:06Bird Man I, Bird Man II, Bird Man III really is an emerging man
0:24:06 > 0:24:10facing the world. What way does he go?
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Some things really excite me and I want to paint
0:24:13 > 0:24:17and experiment with and focus on and see where that leads.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22It'll be interesting to see how his work develops.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26We just hope that he will continue on this path of discovery.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Only 28 years of age - the world's his oyster.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Well, that's almost it from The Art Show for this month.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39I'm on Twitter now and you can keep up-to-date with all arts coverage
0:24:39 > 0:24:44on BBC Radio Ulster's The Arts Show, Tuesdays to Fridays at 18.30.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46We leave you, though, with some live music.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Derry band Little Bear were making waves
0:24:49 > 0:24:54until they were forced to change their name because of legal reasons.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57They've rebranded as Ports and their new album,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00The Devil Is A Songbird is released in May.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04They're on tour, they're going to be playing in the Oh Yeah Centre
0:25:04 > 0:25:08as part of the Out to Lunch Festival this Saturday 30th January.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11We leave you, though, with their new single, Gameplay.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13This is Ports. Goodnight.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22# I know you
0:25:24 > 0:25:28# Like the back of my hand
0:25:30 > 0:25:35# Don't be foolish
0:25:37 > 0:25:39# Slither
0:25:42 > 0:25:46# To the end of my bed
0:25:47 > 0:25:53# It's just the two of us
0:25:55 > 0:26:02# Come down like snow and melt into my lips
0:26:05 > 0:26:11# You're like a blizzard
0:26:12 > 0:26:16# I understand
0:26:17 > 0:26:22# It's just gameplay
0:26:22 > 0:26:25# I can't pretend
0:26:27 > 0:26:31# When I feel this way
0:26:34 > 0:26:37# I notice
0:26:39 > 0:26:44# Everything you said was true
0:26:44 > 0:26:49# Help me deliver
0:26:51 > 0:26:54# I shiver
0:26:56 > 0:27:01# To the darkest side of you
0:27:02 > 0:27:06# Pull me closer
0:27:09 > 0:27:16# Come down like rain and seep into my skin
0:27:19 > 0:27:26# Put out the fire
0:27:26 > 0:27:29# I understand
0:27:31 > 0:27:34# It's just gameplay
0:27:34 > 0:27:38# I can't pretend
0:27:40 > 0:27:44# When I feel this way
0:27:44 > 0:27:47# I understand
0:27:49 > 0:27:53# It's just gameplay
0:27:53 > 0:27:57# I can't pretend
0:27:58 > 0:28:02# When I feel this way
0:28:06 > 0:28:11# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
0:28:12 > 0:28:17# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
0:28:19 > 0:28:23# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
0:28:25 > 0:28:30# Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. #