On 15 May 2025 the Workshop Creativity in Cultural Peace Work: Opportunities and Challenges saw 13 speakers gather in front of an interested audience at Queen’s University Belfast to share the ways in which they are involved in or respond to the interplay of creativity, culture and peace in Northern Ireland.  Representatives from arts organisations and social enterprise, Belfast City Council, the academic sector as well as writers and musicians discussed a variety of key issues, including creative learning and storytelling, social innovation and state funding.  Among the many insights raised, the importance of representation and diversity in the conversation about peaceful relations was highlighted, as was the relationship between sectarianism and racism.  The concept and purpose of cultural spaces were debated but there was agreement that these should foster inclusion and coexistence, while participants also noted as a priority the need to create space for ambiguity.

This event was organised by Professor Fiona Magowan, Mitchell Institute Theme Lead: Religion, Arts and Peacebuilding, Queen’s University Belfast and Dr Louise Harrington, Assistant Professor in postcolonial studies, decoloniality, and contemporary literatures in the Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta in Canada.