Organisers were unable to hold the festival’s scheduled events at the traditional start time of July due to the pandemic, and an enhanced programme of events has now been moved online.
The digital programme is set to include discussions about the Black Lives Matter movement, the Spanish Flu and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chief Executive John Crumlish says he is excited for the discussions on topical issues: “That was the idea, that we’d look at it from an Irish perspective.
We’re going to look at how Brexit will impact Northern Ireland, we’re going to look at the state of the UK, we’re going to look at the American election, we’re just really looking at a number of issues that we think are very high on everybody’s radar.
“We’re going to look at how Brexit will impact Northern Ireland, we’re going to look at the state of the UK, we’re going to look at the American election, we’re just really looking at a number of issues that we think are very high on everybody’s radar.”
The festival was launched last night with the modern art piece Mirror Pavilion, an installation with mirrors and an LED screen host to moving artworks for walls.
The piece commissioned by the festival is by John Gerrard, an Irish artist known for his sculptures which usually take the form of digital simulation, and whose work has been featured in both the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate in London.
The festival says the piece “is a response to the escalating climate crisis and fearlessly pushes the boundaries of digital art using simulation. Gerrard has taken digital technology, usually employed by the commercial gaming industry, to create virtual worlds that simulate extremely detailed and authentic landscapes.”
