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Ekphrasis: Writing & Art

Our Ekphrasis projects build on the long history of dialogue between writers and artists in Belfast, and reflect the interdisciplinary research interests at the Seamus Heaney Centre.

Every year we collaborate with the Ulster Museum and their curators on a series of seminars and live events, and publish a pamphlet of new poems written by our students in response to artworks from the Museum's collection. These poems remain connected to the artwork through inclusion in their permanent collection files.

Besides the annual collaboration with the Ulster Museum, many of our staff and students are involved in the visual arts through art criticism, curatorial work, and individual art practices.

FRONTIER WORK: Four Artists on Ireland's Border

Garrett Carr is a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's, and author of The Rule of the Land: Walking Ireland’s Border. He is also the curator of Frontier Work, an exhibition in the Regional Cultural Centre in Donegal, which brings together four contemporary artists whose work examines Ireland’s borderland. Frontier Work opens 14 Jan 2022. The exhibition and series of events that accompany it are being organised by Artlink and funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Read about the works-in-progress here.

Image: by Anna Marie Savage

Art & Writing: with Stuart Cumberland & Jake Hawkey

Poet and PhD candidate Jake Hawkey talks with painter Stuart Cumberland, finding common ground in their research and creative practices.

Watch it here

A Unique Silence (2021)

in partnership with Professor Jenny Browne and her students at Trinity University Texas

A Unique Silence: the Rembrandt Etchings

The first chance to see six etchings by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, since they were gifted to the Ulster Museum. Visit the online exhibition here...

The Pamphlet

Featuring new work by students from the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's and Trinity University Texas. Download the pamphlet here...

The Readings

With readings by contributing poets filmed at the Ulster Museum, and AI-generated visuals by Glenn Marshall. Watch now...

Changing Views (2020)

with support from Padraig Regan, Fulbright scholar Jenny Browne and SHC Fellow Vahni Capildeo

Changing Views: the Artist as Traveller

Conversation was led by guest tutors Padraig Regan, Jenny Browne and Vahni Capildeo. Learn more about the exhibition here...

The Pamphlet

Featuring writing by Bebe Ashley, Jess McKinney, Caitlin Phenix, John Reid, Noah Swinney, Grace Tower, Milena Williamson, Padraig Regan and Vahni Capildeo.

The Readings

With readings by contributing writers, alongside the artworks, it was filmed during lockdown and features music by Duke Special.

Privilege of Distance (2019)

with poems in response to a range of works from across the Ulster Museum's collections

Privilege of Distance: Collection Highlights

Conversation was led by Dr Stephen Sexton and Curator of Art Anna Liesching. Learn more about the Museum's Collections here...

The Pamphlet

Featuring poems by Bebe Ashley, J. Taylor Bell, Bart Breathnach, Supriya Dhaliwal, Erin Gannon, Aine McAllister, Mícheál McCann, Marcella Prince, Andrew Rahal, and Milena Williamson.

That All I'd Seen Would Be Left Untranslated

commissioned by the Courtauld Institute of Art on the occasion of RES/Fest Belfast 2018.

That All I'd Seen Would Be Left Untranslated

RES/Fest Belfast coincided with the loan of the Courtauld's Female Nude, by Amedeo Modigliani to the Ulster Museum in October 2018.

The Pamphlet

Featuring poems by Padraig Regan, Emma Must, Stephen Sexton, and Caitlin Newby, and published in collaboration with the Ulster Museum and Courtauld Institute of Art.