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Collapse The Box

Collapse The Box hosts in-depth conversations with visual artists and arts professionals at Belfast’s annual Royal Ulster Academy exhibition. Host Noelle McAlinden meets painters, ceramicists, photographers and curators at the Ulster Museum to discuss their work, influences and careers.

The series features established figures like photo collage artist Seán Hillen (who reflects on his Asperger’s diagnosis and award-winning documentary Tomorrow is Saturday), RUA lecturer Dougal McKenzie on figurative painting’s relevance, and Belfast International Arts Festival director Richard Wakely on partnerships and access. Emerging voices include ceramics artist Denise McAuley, 2025 Irish News Prize winner for Best Newcomer, and AE Russell Prize recipient Kate Beagan.

Guests range from art historian Dr. Éimear O’Connor (National Museum of Ireland) to prize-winning artists discussing everything from materiality and memory to disability and representation. Recorded mainly during 2025–2026, the series offers a snapshot of contemporary practice in Ireland – why artists make what they make, and why it still matters.

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Collapse the Box: Lise McGreevy

A conversation with Lise McGreevy about her exhibition, feminism and liberation.
Show added:
20/05/2022

Collapse the Box: Paula McFetridge, Part 2

Part 2 of a conversation with Paula McFetridge, Artistic Director of Kabosh Theatre Company.
Show added:
20/05/2022

Collapse the Box: Paula McFetridge, Part 1

Part 1 of a conversation with Paula McFetridge, Artistic Director of Kabosh Theatre Company.
Show added:
20/05/2022

Collapse The Box: Neal Greig

Neal Greig was born in Belfast in 1965. He studied BA Hons in Fine Art at Edinburgh College of Art, and in 2018 he was elected to the Royal Ulster Academy. Neal often enjoys to paint outdoors, especially on the west coast of Ireland.
Show added:
06/05/2022

Collapse The Box: Robert McClay

Painter Robert McClay talks about his determination to overcome the effects of a brain tumor and pursue his passion for painting resulting in his first one man exhibition.
Show added:
04/03/2022

Collapse The Box: Karen Daye-Hutchinson

Karen Daye-Hutchinson studied Fine Art at both Belfast and Manchester. Specialising in hybrid printmaking, book art and sculpture; her work reflects an interest in habitat, architecture and literature.
Show added:
04/03/2022

Collapse The Box: Colin Watson

Connor McKernan talks to painter Colin Watson about his life and career.
Show added:
22/02/2022

Collapse The Box: Cara Murphy

Cara Murphy is an acclaimed contemporary silversmith, based in Northern Ireland.
Show added:
22/02/2022

Collapse the Box: John Brian Vallely at 80

At the retrospective exhibition ‘Vallely @ 80’ in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh, renowned artist John B Vallely discusses his six decades of work.
Show added:
22/02/2022

Collapse The Box: Angela Hackett

Award winning artist, Angela Hackett, discusses her work with Connor McKernan. Angela specialises in painting, varying from figuration to abstraction.
Show added:
16/01/2022

Collapse The Box: Willie Drennan

The multi talented Willie Drennan, musician, composer, storyteller, poet and writer talks about his life in County Antrim, traveling across Europe and North America and the different cultures he has experienced that influence his music.
Show added:
01/08/2021

Collapse The Box: Rosie McGurran

Rosie McGurran talks about painting during lockdown and her visits to Inishlacken, the Island of the west coast of Galway that has inspired her work throughout the years.
Show added:
17/06/2021
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