Issue 81 - Belfast BT4 • BT5 • BT16
OVER 15,000 VISIT EXHIBITION AT TITANIC BELFAST
TITANIC Belfast has revealed that it has attracted over 15,000 visitors in just three months to view its free exhibition celebrating the work of Lucian Freud.
More than 100 family-friendly events, happenings, workshops, performances and exhibitions are planned for Belfast Culture Night.
Culture Night Belfast returns with a new look and 100+ activities city-wide
Culture Night Belfast returns on Friday 19th September with a new look and 100+ activities city-wide Residents and visitors are invited to free pop-up activities and drop-in events taking place at venues from 4pm to 10pm, as part of Culture Night celebrations across Ireland. This year’s event – the first since 2021 – is funded by Belfast City Council, with additional support from
Linen Quarter and Cathedral Quarter BIDs. Programmed and delivered by MayWe and DaisyChain Inc, it has been designed with the city’s artists and creatives, via an open call process. The result is a programme of more than 100 familyfriendly events, happenings,
workshops, performances and exhibitions, reaching into every corner of the city and across Belfast city centre. Whether it’s Titanic wrestling at Grand Central Station, the Firepoise fire and light show in CS Lewis Square, Oíche Chultúir rooftop concert at
An Chultúrlann, a family roller disco in Shaftesbury Recreation Centre, or live oil paintings of commuters as they travel through York Street Station, Culture Night has it all.
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Since May, 86 per cent of this art exhibition’s visitors came to Titanic Belfast specifically to see Lucian Freud’s Etchings: A Creative Collaboration which includes over 60 of the renowned artist’s famous etchings as well as a unique immersive experience created by the world-famous attraction. In this time, it has attracted visitors from around the world including America, Australia, China, Canada, Germany, Poland and Spain. Artwork featured in the exhibition includes Bella in Her Pluto T-Shirt (1995) with Freud capturing his daughter in wearing a t-shirt that carries deeper layers of personal significance; one of his most ambitious etched pieces, Self-Portrait: Reflection (Cancelled SelfPortrait) (1996) offering a
haunting and unflinching examination of himself in later life and Donegal Man (2007) – which has a special connection to Titanic Belfast as the sitter was Pat Doherty, the visitor attraction’s Chairman. As part of the exhibition, Titanic Belfast has crafted a recreation of Freud’s Kensington studio, offering an intimate glimpse into the space he worked that became a living artwork itself with his iconic bundles of rags, collected to clean his brushes – a testament to his obsessive devotion to his craft. Lucian Freud’s Etchings: A Creative Collaboration is a free, non-ticketed exhibition running until Tuesday 30th September in the Andrews Gallery on Level 2 of Titanic Belfast. For further information go to www.titanicbelfast.com