Month: January 2021

Northern Ireland’s talent will be highlighted to the world as Culture Night Belfast continues to support local artists in collaboration with Out To Lunch Festival supported by The Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels and Arts Council NI.

‘A Taste of Belfast and Brussels’ will be broadcast as part of the Out To Lunch festival and features musicians Anthony Toner, Ursula Burns and Ciara O’Neill and poet Stephen Connolly.

Pre-recorded at Rosemary Street Church before Christmas, the event will be broadcast at 1pm on Tuesday, January 19 2021.

Susan Picken, Director of the Cathedral Quarter Trust and Culture Night Belfast said: “2020 has been a very challenging year for Culture Night Belfast but it was wonderful to end it on a high, working with some brilliant artists as well as with Out to Lunch, The Office of the Executive Office in Brussels and Arts Council NI.

“We’re really delighted with the showcase that will be broadcast this month. It’s a great taster of the talents of Anthony, Ursula, Stephen and Ciara and a reminder of just how uplifting and important the work of our artists and performers is. And made even more special by the setting of the beautiful Rosemary Street Church.”

Since 2012, the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels has worked with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to present a Culture Night showcase of the best of Northern Irish arts and culture, bringing a host of musicians, writers and performers to Brussels and introducing their work to an appreciative international audience.

Over the years the programme has featured acclaimed Northern Irish talent including Joshua Burnside and Grainne Holland and the event has now become a highlight of the Brussels cultural calendar.

For obvious reasons, the 2020 edition has had to be reimagined for the post-COVID world and, as the online version of the event featuring some of the artists who have taken part in previous years.

Singer-songwriter Anthony Toner is a gifted guitarist and one of Northern Ireland’s most popular live acts, with a wonderfully warm and lyrical style.

Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and comedienne Ursula Burns has been smashing the stereo-typical image of the harp for 25 years by performing and touring the world with her music through Song writing, Theatre, Circus and Comedy. Having played everywhere from the Albert Hall to the boot of her Tardis Imaginarium,

Stephen Connolly is a writer and publisher who runs The Lifeboat Press. He edited New Poets from the North of Ireland with Sinéad Morrissey for Blackstaff Press and his poems have appeared in Poetry (Chicago) and Poetry Ireland Review. He is currently writing a book about running.

Local songwriter Ciara O’Neill has received international attention and acclaim over the last six years working with some of the greats in Nashville

This year Ciara has already recorded a socially distanced performance for a short film created with Tourism Ireland and Distant Sky. She will release a new EP early 2021 and is working on her third album.

To book your free ticket go to >> https://cqaf.com/a-taste-of-belfast-and-brussels