{"id":15215,"date":"2017-10-11T09:41:35","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T08:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/?p=15215"},"modified":"2017-10-11T09:44:47","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T08:44:47","slug":"ulster-university-welcomes-belfast-international-arts-festival-exhibition-fashion-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/2017\/10\/ulster-university-welcomes-belfast-international-arts-festival-exhibition-fashion-freedom\/","title":{"rendered":"Ulster University Welcomes Belfast International Arts Festival Exhibition Fashion & Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ulster University\u2019s Belfast Campus on York Street will play host to an extraordinary international exhibition, \u201cFashion & Freedom\u201d which runs from the 9th<\/sup> -28th<\/sup> October, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival.<\/h1>\n

\"\"Fashion & Freedom is part of 14-18 NOW, a five-year programme of arts experiences connecting people with the First World War.\u00a0 14-18 NOW commission new work by leading contemporary artists across the spectrum of visual arts and design, theatre, film, dance, digital, music, poetry and mass participation events, inspired by the period 1914-1918.<\/p>\n

One of the most significant evolutions at home during the First World War, was the huge change in women\u2019s lives. More than one million women went to work for the first time. Some in munitions factories, driving buses and ambulances and inthe London Underground.<\/p>\n

With new responsibilities women experienced new freedoms, including their clothing.\u00a0 Tight corsets and heavy skirts were replaced by more natural and fluid silhouettes.<\/p>\n

A century later, this era has inspired \u201cFashion & Freedom\u201d, an ambitious, multi-faceted exhibition which examines the First World War fashion legacy, for the 21st<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n

Richard Wakely, Festival Chief Executive says, much of this year\u2019s Festival programme in one way or another touches upon the human and socio-political consequences of conflict and warfare from World War One through to the present day civil war in Syria. \u201cArtists and events reflect on freedoms lost, freedoms gained and freedoms still to be won and none more so than the group exhibition, Fashion and Freedom,<\/strong> which is based on contemporary reflections of the costumes and clothing worn by women in the period 1914-18. The lives of Irish women during that period were impacted in many different ways. The campaign for female suffrage effectively ceased on the outbreak of the war but the contribution of women to the war effort was central to the extension of the franchise to women in 1918.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis local and all island context is reflected in new works specially contributed by students from the Ulster University\u2019s Belfast School of Art which will sit alongside original and evocative designs by Holly Fulton, Roksanda, J JS Lee, Vivienne Westwood, Emilia Wickstead<\/strong> and Sadie Williams<\/strong> and several short new films from SHOWstudio and Luke Snellin. This is a terrific and thought provoking exhibition that is free to the public and not to be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

180 students from the Textile Art, Design and Fashion and Ceramics, Jewellery and Silversmithing courses worked with staff, artists and designers in residence in an intense workshop focused on producing artwork, products and accessories on the suffragette theme.Embracing the mantra \u201cDeeds not Words\u201d they created a range of outfits, badges, brooches, emblems, jewellery and accessories with a colour palette purple, white and green, reflecting the suffragette movement\u2019s colours and the central role handicrafts played. Fabrics are embellished with beading and embroidery. Household items such as whisks and pastry cutters have been transformed into jewellery.<\/p>\n

Alison Gault, Ulster University Lecturer in Textile Art, Design and Fashion, said: \u201cUlster University is delighted to host this prestigious exhibition in its Belfast campus.\u00a0 The show pays tribute to an era of radical change in women\u2019s lives, which resulted in a huge shift in fashion, and will include pieces from leading female designers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the first time the exhibition has showcased in Northern Ireland and it\u2019s a massive privilege for our students to be part of such a significant event. \u00a0Ulster University staff worked\u00a0<\/strong>in collaboration with our artists in residence and students to add new pieces with a local context to the display.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am also honoured to have my own design showcased in the exhibition.\u00a0 My work took inspiration from my grandmother, Lizzie Moore, who lived during this period and was a part of the suffragette movement.\u00a0 In homage, I created a knit apron dress made from linen to reflect a time when Belfast was the linen capital of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, added, \u201cAs Principal Funder of the Belfast International Arts Festival, the Arts Council is proud to support this impressive exhibition inspired by women, through National Lottery and public funding.\u00a0 By programming this high-quality, ambitious exhibition, featuring some of the biggest names in fashion, the Festival continues to bring the highest quality, top international work to Belfast; I would encourage everyone to go along.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a large scale undertaking with an emotive theme.\u00a0 Visitors will enjoy equally, the talents of our future stars, alongside the impressive work from international icons of fashion.<\/p>\n

The Ulster University\u2019s Belfast Campus also plays host to a panel discussion on Saturday 14th<\/sup> October, \u201cWomen at Work\u201d.\u00a0 For more information on the 191 shows in this years\u2019 Festival, please visit www.belfastinternationalartsfestival.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ulster University\u2019s Belfast Campus on York Street will play host to an extraordinary international exhibition, \u201cFashion & Freedom\u201d which runs from the 9th -28th October, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival. Fashion & Freedom is part of 14-18 NOW, a five-year programme of arts experiences connecting people with the First World War.\u00a0 14-18 … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15215"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15218,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15215\/revisions\/15218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatsonni.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}