West Cork and Belfast to unite in artistic partnership

A new project uniting West Cork and Belfast in artistic partnership is set to take place in 2023 and 2024.

Ballydehob’s music venue Levis’s and the Duncairn Arts Centre in Belfast are set to establish a cross-border artist’s network titled ‘The Ties that Bind’.

Co-ordinated by Cork County Council in conjunction with Belfast City Council, ‘The Ties that Bind’ will provide artists with a platform to collaborate and work collectively on new projects through exchange residencies.

The project is part of the Creative Communities on a Shared Island programme, which aims to foster cross-border cultural relationships in Ireland, in line with the Government’s Shared Island Initiative.

Through residency exchanges, ‘The Ties That Bind’ will offer artists from rural Cork and inner-city Belfast valuable opportunities to develop their craft, engage with local networks and organisations, forge new relationships, and create new bodies of work, culminating in mini festivals.

Renowned artists, Mick Flannery from Cork and Joshua Burnside from Belfast, will serve as the participant’s mentors, with the project open to emerging musicians and artists of all genres.

Chief Executive of Cork County Council Valerie O’Sullivan explained: “This collaboration between the Cork County Council and Belfast City Council is a unique opportunity for artists from both regions to come together, share talents and strengthen connections. This project epitomises the spirit of the Shared Island Initiative, and we are proud to be a part of it. We look forward to seeing the positive outcomes of the project in both West Cork and Belfast.”

Mayor of the County of Cork Frank O’Flynn added: “Thanks to the support of Creative Ireland, we look forward to exchanging ideas, creativity and knowledge with our partners in Belfast City Council and to learning from their experience as a Unesco designated City of Music.”