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An event by Catalyst Arts was featured

Applying for postgraduate art programmes at Catalyst Arts

December 4, 2012 from 2pm to 4pm

Amanda Ralph, Programme Director of the MA in Visual Arts Practices will conduct a meet and greet session to discuss applications to postgraduate art programmes. While there will be specific information provided on the MAVIS programme, Amanda will also discuss her own experience of applying to and studying in the United States along with general advice regarding proposals for study at Masters level.The session will include a presentation entitled "You don't do art for no good reason. It costs…See More

Dec 3, 2012

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Catalyst Arts posted an event

Applying for postgraduate art programmes at Catalyst Arts

December 4, 2012 from 2pm to 4pm

Nov 29, 2012

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Catalyst Arts and Barry Mulholland are now friends

Nov 29, 2012

Shelby Woods liked Catalyst Arts's profile

Sep 25, 2012

An event by Catalyst Arts was featured

Divine Creation II: The Second Coming at Block T - Dublin

October 4, 2012 at 6pm to October 11, 2012 at 7pm

Block T (Dublin) & Catalyst Arts (Belfast) present a selection of work from the 2011 Catalyst Arts Members' Show.Preview Opening:Thursday 4th October, 6pm - 9pmExhibition Runs:Friday 5th - Thursday 11th October, 12pm - 7pm----Laura McGowanAideen DoranGerard CarsonDave LorderDeirdre McKennaLorraine MolloyCraig DonaldKeith Winter Ciaran HusseyRob Hilken----BLOCK T aims to transcend the status of being an arts centre, art studios or a blank-canvas function space. While it certainly–and…See More

Sep 19, 2012

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Catalyst Arts posted events

Divine Creation II: The Second Coming
October 4, 2012 at 6pm to October 11, 2012 at 7pm
Behind The Scenes - Catalyst @ The MAC on Culture Night
September 21, 2012 from 10am to 10pm

Sep 19, 2012

JOKFACE liked Catalyst Arts's event Necrospective

Aug 15, 2012

Josephine Mc Cormick liked Catalyst Arts's event Necrospective Discussion

Aug 11, 2012

Catalyst Arts and Caroline McCusker are now friends

Aug 10, 2012

Catalyst Arts commented on Catalyst Arts's event 'Necrospective'

"Thanks Caroline!"

Aug 10, 2012

Caroline McCusker commented on Catalyst Arts's event 'Necrospective'

"Enjoyed the show last night! "

Aug 10, 2012

Caroline McCusker is attending Catalyst Arts's event

Necrospective at Catalyst Arts

August 9, 2012 at 6pm to August 31, 2012 at 5pm

Preview OpeningThursday 9th August6pm - 9pmExhibition runs 10th August - 31st AugustTuesday to Saturday 11am to 5pm--------------Motohiko Odani Takeshi Murata Thomas Johnson Alexis Milne Craig Fisher--------------The show explores the relationship between violence and acting out. Freud’s death drive has been described by Jean Baudrillard as a "nostalgia for a state before the appearance of individuality and sexual differentiation, a state in which we lived before we became mortal and distinct…See More

Aug 10, 2012

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Peter Richards liked Catalyst Arts's event Necrospective

Aug 9, 2012

2 events by Catalyst Arts were featured

Necrospective Discussion
August 11, 2012 from 1pm to 4pm
Necrospective
August 9, 2012 at 6pm to August 31, 2012 at 5pm

Jul 26, 2012

Catalyst Arts posted events

Necrospective Discussion
August 11, 2012 from 1pm to 4pm
Necrospective
August 9, 2012 at 6pm to August 31, 2012 at 5pm

Jul 26, 2012

Catalyst Arts is now friends with Janice Cherry and Amy Brooks

Jul 26, 2012

Profile Information

Are you a representitive of an organisation?: yes

please register your website: www.catalystarts.org.uk

Occupation: Contemporary Art Space

Are you in a studio group? if so which one: ...

Do you want to participate in Change in N Ireland?: Yes

Artist statement/gallery statements/or comments: Catalyst Arts was formed almost two deades ago in response to what was seen as a cultural vacuum. It is Belfast's primary artist-led organisation. In accordance with its constitution it is run by unpaid volunteers, and seeks to adopt a poly-vocal strategy towards the promotion of contemporary art practices by large selection of artists and projects from the widest possible range of disciplines.

Catalyst Arts is always a gallery, but has also been a 24 hour cinema, a recording studio, a publishing house, a skip, a radio station, a jumble sale, a wrestling ring, a sauna, a distillery, an agnostic chapel, a banquet hall, a darts team, a leisure centre and a night club.

Beyond its gallery walls, it has staged exhibitions on billboards, on gable ends, under floor boards, in a clothes shop, in the back of a van, car and a bus, on the airwaves, under the Lagan, in an airport baggage scanner, up a mountain, down the Falls, up the Shankill, over in Lisbon (not in Lisburn), in a helicopter, in an archive, in a museum, and in a haunted house. Working for Catalyst has been likened to handling a hot potato, holding onto the mane of a stampeding lion, a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride, running the gauntlet, a crash course in crisis management and a baptism of fire for those who believe in it enough to take the risk. It has accidentally shut down Stormont, been robbed, beaten and sued, has had to move four times and amazingly, it has survived through the madness of over fifty directors to date.

Now in its teens it has reached the age of reason, is determined to stand up to adversity, conventional perceptions of what contemporary art should be, to socio-political correctness and the ever more stringent policing of freedom of expression.All these are objectives only a (possibly troubled) teenager would be brave enough to tackle. Although chronically under-funded, Catalyst Arts is probably best known for challenging the formal structures of curatorship by realising projects of an experimental nature which break the mould of the artist-audience relationship and confirming art as something to engage in or react to rather than something to "consume". This is underscored by the fact that Catalyst runs the oldest biennial performance art festival in Europe. It also continues to showcase individual and groups of artists selected under the current directorship. During its 16 years of existence Catalyst Arts has hosted over a thousand artists, spanning continents, notoriety and stages in artistic career.

The most important factors about Catalyst are that it is non-profit and a members-based organisation to whom the present committee is responsible to. This means that for ten quid you receive all information of upcoming events or opportunities, you can take part in the annual members show, get reduced rates on paying events, access to equipment such as video camera etc, and can have your say in the annual general meeting. Catalyst Arts is not a clique and welcomes anyone who wishes to get involved by volunteering their help, sending in proposals for exhibitions / projects and most importantly by applying to become a director. A directorship lasts two years only, in order to ensure Catalyst remains vibrant with new energy, never learns from its mistakes and thus completely avoids stagnation.

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Catalyst Arts's Blog

Fiona Larkin 'Wolfs Den'

Posted on March 23, 2012 at 12:15 0 Comments 0 Likes

Please come to Catalyst Arts and borrow a Wolfs Den jacket - the artist asks that you allow her to follow you wherever the jacket takes you . .

See below the times when the jackets can be borrowed - if a time doesn't suit contact Catalyst Arts to arrange an alternative slot …

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(dis)playing the Other

Posted on July 12, 2011 at 14:52 0 Comments 0 Likes

See our event page for full listings, in full set up mode now!

Preview on Thursday 14th July 7-10pm

This exhibition will explore ways in which artists today continue to challenge, subvert, or deconstruct hegemonic notions of heteronormative identity in contemporary visual culture.…