It’s a family affair for Lisburn sisters at Imagine! Belfast Festival

Lisburn native, Mags White-O’Kane joins as the new festival director, following the retirement in 2024 of festival founder, Peter O’Neill.

While her sister, an acclaimed young adult novelist, Shirley-Anne McMillan will participate in the showcase - The Seamus Heaney Centre Presents: Land alongside the Fighting Words Project.

This year’s festival is taking place from March 24-30 across Belfast and will explore the theme ‘helping you make sense of a crazy world’.

This unique festival is in its 11th year and features over 120 events in 50 venues across the city, supported by over 60 partners.

The week-long programme is an eclectic mix of talks, workshops, theatre, comedy, music, exhibitions, film, poetry and tours.

Mags has over 20 years’ experience in the arts working as an event manager, facilitator, and development manager.

In 2024, Shirley-Anne was announced as the new Children’s Writing Fellow for NI at Queen’s University Belfast.

Commenting on her new role and the festival Mags said: “The Imagine! Festival has always been one of my favourite festivals.

"For years I’ve admired and appreciated how it has focused on community, elevated real people’s voices and encouraged participation.”

She continued: “Our theme this year, ‘helping you make sense of a crazy world’, is more pertinent than ever given the deafening noise of misinformation and the insane information spewing from algorithms that we’re all experiencing and subject to.

"We’re aiming to help refocus and bring the attention back to real people and their ideas and lives, through engaging with arts and culture in real-time via our programme of events.”

This year the festival will feature keynote artists and speakers such as Cory Doctorow, Lemn Sissay, Jo Caulfield, David Baddiel, Alison Spittle, Matt Forde, artist-in-residence Erin Fornoff, Tim Arnold, Roman Krznaric, Inua Ellams, Andy Zaltzman, and Sinead Morrissey.

Other highlights include a series of events examining the relationship between music and activism, particularly ska and reggae; a special focus on artistic expression in a digital age and the constant barrage of modern media on our thinking and habits; and the intersection of the climate crisis and growing inequality and injustice across society.

Speaking about ‘The Seamus Heaney Centre presents: LAND’, Shirley-Anne said: "As Children’s Writing Fellow I am delighted to be able to bring this opportunity to participate in the Imagine! festival to the young people and adults associated with the Seamus Heaney Centre.

"This relaxed showcase of local young writing talent will focus on the theme of LAND as it relates to our individual identities.

"If there are young people aged 13-18 who would like to get involved I’m also offering a free writing workshop on Saturday March 22 at the Seamus Heaney Centre.

"It’s a chance to have some fun with words and write one or two pieces which you’ll then be able to read at the event the following week.

"You don’t need to have written anything before, everyone is welcome. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone there so please come along and tell your friends.”