Entertainment

Tourism and arts bodies join with musicians and theatre groups to 'embrace the place'

John McIlDuff of Dumbworld, composer Neil Martin of Snow Water, Armagh Rhymers Dara Vallely and Anne Hart, and Paula McFetridge of Kabosh at the launch of Embrace The Place at the Titanic Slipways in Belfast
John McIlDuff of Dumbworld, composer Neil Martin of Snow Water, Armagh Rhymers Dara Vallely and Anne Hart, and Paula McFetridge of Kabosh at the launch of Embrace The Place at the Titanic Slipways in Belfast John McIlDuff of Dumbworld, composer Neil Martin of Snow Water, Armagh Rhymers Dara Vallely and Anne Hart, and Paula McFetridge of Kabosh at the launch of Embrace The Place at the Titanic Slipways in Belfast

TOURISM Northern Ireland and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland have joined forces to launch Embrace The Place, an initiative in which the arts are being used to tell the stories of four of the north's tourism hotspots.

Creative groups and organisations including Kabosh theatre company and The Armagh Pipers were commissioned to present original artworks to reflects the heritage of Belfast's 'Maritime Mile', Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, Navan Fort in Armagh and The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh.

Award-winning production company Dumbworld, set up by composer Brian Irvine and film-maker John McIllduff, have, in partnership with the Titanic Foundation come up with All The Things We Are, a piece of audio-visual contemporary art that reflects the comings and goings at Belfast's former ship-building hub.

The artwork, located at the Titanic Slipways, is free to access and marks the beginning of an installation that will remain in place for six months.

Kabosh and Seamus Heaney HomePlace will present a theatrical walking tour called A Bellaghy Tale across three weeks in September; the Armagh Rhymers and Armagh Pipers Club will present Macha at Navan Fort, a multi-media performance featuring music by renowned composer Niall Vallely on September 6-7; while events company Snow Water has created Live at the Folk Park, which takes visitors on a musical journey charting the stories of people who emigrated from the north over the course of 300 years.

The latter involves musicians and singers including Gareth Dunlop, No Oil Paintings, Jack Warnock, Roe, Eilidh Patterson, Niall Hanna and Maurice Leyden, with Neil Martin as musical director and Joe Lindsay presenting.

“We have had a phenomenal response to this project from the arts sector and were overwhelmed by the quality of entries, given it was a new initiative. We are very excited to have supported the creation of the four projects and look forward to our visitors experiencing them over the coming weeks,” Rosemarie McHugh of Tourism NI, which has invested £150,000 in the project, said.

:: For tickets and more information on Embrace The Place events see titanic-foundation.org/riverbox; seamusheaneyhome.com; visitarmagh.com; and nmni.com/our-museums/ulster-american-folk-park/Home.aspx