SONGS OF THE PEOPLE
Traditional & contemporary culture in Northern Ireland
When: 7 December 2015 at 8:00pm
Where: Aether & Echo, Lower Garfield Street, Belfast
In Northern Ireland, cultural identity is a lively topic of debate. What is culture but simply the way we live out our lives? It’s the food we eat, the news we read, the sport we play, the schools we go to, the language we speak, the music we make. We each of us make our own decisions about how to live. Over time, the culture of this island has evolved in countless ways. In 2015, it is an appropriate time to consider how traditional ideas about culture can exist alongside contemporary cultural influences such as the internet and the globalisation of information, the changing role of religion in society, and mass migration.
We can learn much about our past by exploring local art. Songs are a direct expression of culture and the songs we choose to sing are a reflection of who we are. Particularly in the context of folk music, we can learn about a place by listening to the songs being sung by the people.
This event will feature contemporary arrangements of folk songs from the province of Ulster, as performed by singer Dónal Kearney.
Sean-nós singer and composer Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde is renowned across Ireland for his authentic expression of the Donegal singing tradition. Doimnic will speak about his new album, Sona do Cheird, which breathes life into traditional songs that had long fallen silent.
Young people working with the Afro-Caribbean Community SupportOrganisation of Northern Ireland (ACSONI) will perform original songs written about growing up in Belfast. There will also be music by local musicians who have migrated here from places like India, Poland and China.
About the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival
Each year the 10th December is celebrated as Human Rights Day across the world. The date marks the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. Civil society groups across the world use this date as an opportunity to celebrate and mark the importance of human rights globally.
Every year a diverse range of organisations across Northern Ireland have traditionally held events in the week surrounding this date to mark the occasion and highlight different aspects of human rights as they apply locally and internationally. In 2012 a number of these organisations came together to pool those individual events into a programme of activities promoted together for the first time as the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival.
The festival is currently administered by the Human Rights Consortium in collaborationwith organisations from civic society. The distinct events that make up the festival however, are developed and run by organisations and individuals with an interest in the protection and promotion of human rights. The diversity of events and the range of issues covered as part of the festival are reflective of the universal nature of human rights.
Find out more: http://www.nihrf.com/events-background/2015/12/7/songs-of-the-people-traditional-and-contemporary-culture-in-northern-ireland
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