Project shines light on new creative work

Funded by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and the Community Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund the project provides a platform to showcase artists who, through various art forms, explore, highlight a range of current issues including the city of Belfast during lockdown, the role of the artist at a time of isolation and pandemic, a Mother’s love for family and community, and the legacy of the Windrush Generation.

All the artists involved in the project are from a migrant or BAME backgrounds with a direct connection to Northern Ireland, offering a fresh perspective on intercultural life in the arts in UK and Ireland. These commissions are of vital importance to people who care about advocacy and justice in the arts, as well as the rights of artists of migrant and visible minority backgrounds to self-expression.

With the pandemic impacting hard on ethnic minority communities Terra Nova was determined to find a way of highlighting and supporting the ideas and experiences of artists working interculturally in Northern Ireland and beyond. The plight of intercultural freelancers, often far from their families and support networks, encouraged Terra Nova to find funds for these small commissions.

Led by Terra Nova’s artistic director, Andrea Montgomery, artists have been encouraged to explore and experiment in self-guided work. It is hoped that audiences will enjoy the work online from artists just starting out to those who are established, artists who don’t have English as a first language and artists with disabilities. The short pieces are wide ranging in style and are based on the artist’s investigations.

Looking forward to sharing the second international cohort commissions online, Andrea Montgomery said:

“Terra Nova is delighted to continue with our intercultural cohort commissions and are very excited to share the work developed by these amazing artists for everyone to experience online. With support from Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, the Community Arts, Culture & Heritage Fund as well as ongoing support from the Department for Communities and Belfast City Council, we have worked during the pandemic with our network of freelance artists to develop work we are very proud of.

“The pandemic has been challenging for everyone in the arts, but it continues to be especially difficult for freelance immigrant and ethnic minority artists. We hope this project inspires more intercultural artists to work with us in the future as we continue to our commitment to drive and innovate in the area of intercultural arts.”

The commissioned pieces have been released online and are free to view on www.terranovaproductions.net or from Terra Nova Productions’ Youtube channel.

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