The Duncairn

Name: The Duncairn
Address: Duncairn Avenue, Off Antrim Rd, Belfast, BT146BP, GB
Telephone: 02890 747114
Rating: 4.9

Home
United Kingdom
Belfast
The Duncairn

Duncairn Centre for Culture & Arts

"More Than An Arts Centre" Visit our website for more information!
(79)

Since opening its doors in 2014, nearly 260000 people have visited the Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts. Not only has the centre been huge boost for the arts in north Belfast, but it has also greatly contributed to the regeneration of the area. The new £3.5million Arts Centre is north Belfast’s first and only dedicated arts centre and provides a world class facility consisting of 3 art studio/

office spaces, an exhibition area, a community meeting room, a 190 seater theatre/performance area, a café/bistro and conference rooms. The Duncairn runs an exciting and extensive arts programme for the community every year, and the complex is home to more than a dozen autonomous groups catering for around 800 people every week. Located in the heart of north Belfast, we create the opportunity for everyone in the community to have access to and engage with high quality arts and cultural programmes regardless of their social or cultural background. The Duncairn embraces a strong ethos of cross community inclusion to ensure that all sections of society feel welcome and valued while gaining the maximum benefits from involvement in creative community activity, arts, culture and heritage projects.

30/11/2024

Some amazing pieces of work created today by our participants. Thanks to for a brilliant workshop

30/11/2024

If we could bottle up this woman’s attitude and sell it, we’d be millionaires in no time. Welcome back June. We missed ya!

29/11/2024

Calling All Young Artists and Musicians in Belfast! 📢📢

Are you between the ages of 16 and 25 and looking for a space to showcase your talent, build your profile and connect with a thriving creative community? The Duncairn, one of Belfast's most essential cultural spaces, is opening its doors to the next generation of local talent ️‍🔥

As Belfast proudly holds its UNESCO City of Music designation, this is a great opportunity for emerging musicians to find a home for their creativity. But it doesn't stop there - this call is open to visual artists, writers, poets, performers, photographers, illustrators, digital artists, designers and creatives across all mediums

The Duncairn is far more than a venue - it's the beating heart of North Belfast's arts scene. With year-round programming of live folk, acoustic and traditional Irish music alongside exhibitions, theatre and more, it has established itself as a cornerstone for culture in the city

They believe in passion, enthusiasm and natural talent - no qualifications or years of experience are needed to apply. All you need is a sample of your work and the ambition to grow and connect

📧 Submit your original work (a clip, a recording or a file) via email or WeTransfer to [email protected]

🗓️ Deadline: Friday, 20th December 2024

Take the next step in your creative journey - apply now and join the legacy of talent nurtured by The Duncairn

29/11/2024

We are delighted to announce an Open Call offering young artists of all disciplines an opportunity to become part of the next generation of talent we work with at the Duncairn.
We understand that there are limited opportunities for young people to show their work and meet other individuals from the creative community, so we are opening the door to provide a space for creatives to share their talent
If you’re a musician, poet, spoken word performer, dancer, visual artist, storyteller, photographer or have a creative talent in any medium, you’re between the ages of 16 and 25 and you’re searching for somewhere to develop your talent, build your profile and grow your network, then this open call is for you.

You do not need a qualification, CV or years of experience to apply. We value natural talent, passion and enthusiasm.
Simply send us a clip, a recording, or a file of your original work via email or wetransfer to [email protected]

DEADLINE: FRIDAY 20TH DECEMBER 2024

29/11/2024

𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲 : Sat 14th Dec

We are over the moon to welcome a great friend of ours, Maxine Peake, to host a gorgeous night of music, poetry, writing, readings and craic to round off our 10th Birthday year.

Can you remember back to the dark days of the covid lockdowns when we launched ‘The Duncairn Virtual Cabaret’; a bit of everything streamed live to your front room every weekend? Well, we’re going to re-create it in person and in great company with actress and writer Maxine Peake, writer Aoibh Clarke, musicians from the Duncairn Creative Collective and other special guests.

It's the last gig of the year, and the last gig of our 10th birthday celebrations - we hope to see you here!

Tickets: https://theduncairn.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173654574

29/11/2024

Today we celebrate our seventh type impact of culture and heritage: Community Building.
This relates to any of your work that brings people together, increases listening and empathy, reduces isolation, and betters understanding of heritage and history. The work we love most!

24/11/2024

Spent a crackin’ morning/lunchtime . Some pics of the stalls and goodies on sale. We were delighted to bring down our Trad Collective and a few special guests to play some music forcthe punters.

23/11/2024

Despite the howling wind, the lashing rain, floods and road closures our crochet enthusiasts and woodcarving creatives are up and running. Lovely vibe in the centre today. Steve is back with his beautiful Christmas Woodcarving session, and Aroona our Resident Stitch Café Master is warming up the community room with Corner to Corner crochet skills. Hope you are all having a great day yourselves folks ;)

20/11/2024

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 : 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱
Due to incredible demand we’ve decided to move Saturday’s ‘Suaimhneas’ gig with musicians Sammy Copley, Caoilfhionn Rose and storyteller Deirdre Kelly up into the theatre space which means tickets are BACK ON SALE!

Don’t worry, we’ll make it every bit as cosy, mellow and relaxing as our Good Room and with a lineup like that it’s a guaranteed beauty of a show.

🎟️ See https://theduncairn.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173648046

17/11/2024

Today it’s a Super Sunday - West Cork style as Levis’ in Ballydehob give us one more event before they hit the road 🥺 Music, mummers & madness for all the family and trust us, if it’s anything like the last few nights, you won’t want to miss it! Kids crafts and strong coffee for anyone who needs it 😊 Join us from 11am

16/11/2024

A magical evening of food, music and craic at last night’s Sing for Your Supper as part of the Levi’s Corner House Ballydehob takeover weekend.

The delicious food was prepared by Michelin chef and his kitchen team. There was also a variety of songs performed by brave and talented diners who competed to get their supper for free!

Thank you to everyone who made it such a fantastic event…now to set up for tonight’s Secret Song mini-festival!

16/11/2024

Just some of the audience performances last night at Sing for Your Supper as part of the Takeover Weekend…thanks to all for coming out and giving it a lash! Miriam was the winner and got her supper for free. Between the amazing food, the chat, the craic and the songs it was a truly magical evening!

Now to get ready for tonight’s Secret Song festival 🤫 Doors open 6.30pm and first act starts 7pm,

15/11/2024

Some of the crew have landed from West Cork to kick off their takeover weekend and already they’re part of the furniture! We can’t wait for all the shenanigans that the weekend is going to bring, here’s to friendships, creativity and community across our Shared Island 🙌

14/11/2024

Thanks to all who came to join us for the drop-in community Straw Boy mask making workshop today with visiting Cork artist Sonia Caldwell, lots of great masks made, ready for “hunting the wran” on Sunday afternoon ❤️

35 more artists are en route for a weekend like no other as Levis' Bar takes over The Duncairn thanks to our shared island project funded by CreativeIrl

14/11/2024

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽-𝗜𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭𝗮𝗺-𝟮𝗽𝗺 🌾

Join our visiting Cork artist Sonia Caldwell who will teach you how to weave 'Straw boy' masks ahead of this Sunday's traditional 'Wran Dance' as part of Levis' Bar's Junior Secret Song at The Duncairn.

No experience is required and all materials are provided - if you have old hats or clothes you’d like to decorate with please bring them!

It would be lovely to see lots of you here weaving weird and wonderful creations this lunchtime.

13/11/2024

It’s round about this time of year when we start to plan for Christmas, and what better present to give someone than the gift of creativity?!

Or maybe, you’ve been avoiding booking that class and need a New Year’s activitity to get you on your way to learning a new skill… look no further!

All our classes are as affordable as we can make them and include the materials you need, which means they usually sell out quickly. What are you waiting for? Check the website for registration!

13/11/2024

This morning, visiting Ballydehob artist Sonia Caldwell of Kilcoe Studios showed P6 pupils from Holy Family PS how to weave rushes to make decorations and spoke about the traditions of Straw boys, Mumming and masking. A fun and informative session!

Tomorrow, at a free community drop-in workshop, and on Sunday as part of the family-friendly ‘Junior Secret Song’, there will be more opportunities to make weird and wonderful masks in advance of the big finale ‘Wran Dance’, all encouraged to join in!

——-
This artist exchange, as part of the ‘Creative Communities on a Shared Island’ scheme is made possible thanks to
CreativeIrl , Cork County Council &
Belfast City Council

12/11/2024

𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 & 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥!

We are very lucky to welcome Ballydehob artist Sonia Caldwell of Kilcoe Studios to North Belfast for the week as part of our Shared Island project artist exchange programme!

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 from 11am – 2pm Sonia will host a drop-in Masking and Straw boy mask-making workshop in our Good Room which is open to everyone – please do join us to prepare for Sunday's event.

This Sunday a group of artists and musicians from Cork will do an early season display of the Straw boy masks and the Hunting the Wren tradition with music, craic and madness . This will be a blending of the shared traditions of the Straw Boys and the Mummers which essentially find an excuse to wear masks and costumes and make noise!
The community are invited to assist in making Straw boy masks and other coloured costumes to add to the event this Sunday.
If you can, please bring also some old clothes and hats to decorate on the day .

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮
Sonia Caldwell is an artist and sculptor who has focused a large part of her work on studying native Irish plants and connecting them to our cultural heritage and exploring ways they can connect to our contemporary cultures. She has also worked with a wide variety of materials including stone and clay.

She started making Straw boy masks a number of years ago in Levis' Bar in Ballydehob as a way to delve deeper into the tradition of the Wren , or Lá and Dreoilín which traditionally takes place on December 26th. This was once a custom that took place all over Europe and there are ties also with the Mumming tradition which is more a cultural variation .

The practice of masking and dressing up in materials that are to be found locally either like old clothes or straw or other plant materials has led Sonia to explore this further in her sculptural work and she hopes to dive into this more on her residence in Belfast with Duncairn .

We all share the one ground beneath us no matter our background and plants and our environment can connect us literally to the ground we walk on, they are our common thread as well as all the other wildlife and flora that is common throughout all of Ireland and Britain and parts of Europe . Sonia will focus on this in her time in Belfast and will explore green areas like Cave Hill and share her knowledge of plants with local groups and bring her work to the weekend that is to be the “Levis’ take-over' weekend in Duncairn!

========
This project, as part of the 'Creative Communities on a Shared Island' scheme is made possible thanks to CreativeIrl , Cork County Arts, Cork County Council, Belfast City Council.

Address

Duncairn Avenue, Off Antrim Rd
Belfast
BT146BP

Telephone

02890 747114

Website

http://www.theduncairn.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Duncairn posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Duncairn:

Videos

The @theduncairn Trad Collective with special guest @joshuaburnside at @stgeorgesbelfast #Belfast #music #irishmusic #sunday @ourbelfastmusic

What a way to soend a beautiful sunny Sunday at St George’s Market Belfast. Chooons

@theduncairn Trad Collective at St George’s Market Belfast.

Wren Day came early this year as @levis_corner_house_ballydehob gave us a taste of the annual Straw Boy procession that is held in their village every 26th December. With masks created by artist Sonia Caldwell with our local community, plus music and mumming by West Cork musicians, the craic was so mighty we might have to host our own Lá an Dreoilín this year @theduncairn ! And that draws to a close the takeover part of the Shared Island project “The Ties that Bind”, what an amazing festival created and curated by our friends in West Cork, and a shining example of what magic can happen when it is encouraged to. We hope all 36 visitors get back home safe and well with fond memories of their time in North Belfast! @creativeireland @corkcountycouncil @belfastcitycouncil

Another truly special evening thanks to @levis_corner_house_ballydehob ❤️ Come see the gang today from 11am-2pm before they make the journey home. What a weekend!