A new arts partnership between Tourism NI and the Arts Council for Northern Ireland has delivered four unique visitor experiences and engaged a wide range of organisations across Northern Ireland's arts and tourism sector.
"Embrace the Place" was a pilot initiative developed following an investment by Tourism NI and an open call for talent in the arts sector to create innovative new content to animate key tourism sites in Northern Ireland.
The four successful projects developed content designed to reflect the heritage of some of Northern Ireland's most iconic visitor destinations.
"All The Things We Are"
DumbWorld and Titanic Foundation's "All The Things We Are" is a piece of audio-visual contemporary art that has been installed at the Riverbox since August and has delivered footfall on Belfast's Maritime Mile.
"A Bellaghy Tale"
Theatre company Kabosh created a theatrical walking tour called "A Bellaghy Tale", which took place across three weekends in September and linked key sites closely related to the life and work of Seamus Heaney in the village of Bellaghy.
"Macha at Navan Fort"
The Armagh Rhymers and Armagh Pipers Club presented a multi-media performance called "Macha at Navan Fort", which featured music by composer Niall Vallely as well as audio-visual displays.
"Folk Park Live!"
Snow Water created "Folk Park Live!", which takes visitors on a musical journey through the stories of those who had to leave Ulster over the course of 300 years. January 2020 will see the launch of a new permanent exhibition, a QR code guided tour of the park, a Folk Park Youtube channel, a Spotify playlist and a piece of vinyl, which will be available at the visitor centre.
"A Whole New Layer Of Emotion"
Tourism NI experience development manager Rosemary Lightbody stated, "This project was a pilot initiative based on a recommendation from our culture and heritage framework which highlighted the huge opportunity of animating and deepening the visitor experience through enhanced collaboration with the arts sector.
"This complements our new brand, 'Embrace a Giant Spirit', as we know from our research that visitors want to engage with the authenticity of the destination and its people, and the best way to deliver an emotional connection is through the arts. All four projects have achieved this and delivered a whole new layer of emotion to the visitor experience and a deeper connection with the place.
"We have a very vibrant arts sector here and I hope this will be just the start of further collaborations with the Arts Council and organisations across Northern Ireland."
"New Life"
Meanwhile, Arts Council of Northern Ireland chief executive Roisin McDonough commented, "Live at the Folk Park is the final instalment of the 'Embrace The Place' programme of events, a new initiative for 2019 in which we are proud to partner with Tourism NI. 'Embrace The Place' has breathed new life into some of Northern Ireland's most scenic locations by re-telling stories of those areas through the arts. Huge congratulations to Snow Water, who now present an incredible line-up of some of the region's top musicians to take visitors to The Ulster American Folk Park on an immersive, thrilling musical journey charting the story of Ulster emigration. I would encourage everyone to go along and enjoy."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
