Gathering in the glow

In a city which is built on a binary split, celebrations and collective rituals can trigger strong emotional responses, highlight divisions and clarify choices.

For the last 10 years artist Bronagh Lawson has been making connections with bonfires and their organisers across the city, considering them from an artistic point of view.

In order to integrate an understanding for them, she has documented their existence and made friends, noting how the collective ritual has changed over the years. How do we respect each other's cultures where intolerance and fear pervades in some people’s minds?

Hear from a community who have chosen a beacon and one who has the space for a larger bonfire. There will be space for listening and discussion.

Note: Fear is an unpleasant emotional state triggered by a perceived danger or threat, activating the body’s survival mechanisms such as the “fight-or-flight” response. It can arise from real, anticipated, or even imagined situations.

Bronagh Lawson is a socially and spiritually engaged artist, writer, curator. With a focus on visual art as a key transformational lever in the on going shift of our traumatised society. She believes art is the missing link to transforming our society.

28 years experience community development,13 years collaboration with Adjunct Professor of Art Therapy Suellen Semekoiski at the School of Art Institute Chicago where together they have developed a form of contemporary art underpinned with art therapy that acts as a healing mechanism.

Writing: weekly art column Belfast Media Group contributor to Fortnight Magazine and Art UK. In 2020 she published a book Belfast City of Light based on her experience of going to every church in Belfast for a service.

A Fulbright scholar and member of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, she was the only artist to stand for election to the Northern Ireland Forum, the body for all-party talks which led to the Good Friday agreement.

She set up the Inspire programme for artists with learning difficulties for Arts for all with her 2 sisters. She has won awards for her work with Art and Dementia with the Ulster Museum, A regional Talk Talk Digital Heroes Award for her development and running voluntarily an online Platform for artists, galleries and audiences in Northern Ireland and during her 13 years of working on business/ community development within the enterprise sector she won awards for her finance training from the FSA, a gender equality award from the European Equal programme and has helped hundreds of people into full or part- time work, education or self employment in her role as a business adviser. She helped set up Intercomm’s women in enterprise programme which won a National Training award

She has 20 + years of board experience, Current Chair of Bbeyond, previous chair of PsSquared, Belfast Print Workshop and Women’s Tec. Board member of NI Mental Health Arts Festival. Graduate of Winchester School of art with a 1st class degree in textiles and fashion and Parsons School of Art New York

Art Collections: including the Office of public works, UTV, South Eastern Health Trust, City East, Irish Architectural Archive, Ulster Museum (jewellery) and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

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