Still Not Your Pity Party!

Thursday 2 October 

8:00 – 10:00 pm

The Playhouse 

£10

BSL

Cabaret performance 

Derry-Londonderry

Still Not Your Pity Party!

Following on from Bounce 2024, Foyle Pride is back with ‘Still Not Your Pity Party!’ This encore continues its unapologetic, eclectic collaboration with queer, d/Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent spoken word artists from the North West.

Fighting to reframe the labels of ‘inspiring’ or ‘brave’. Exhausted by sad looks relating to the disability. Tired of dealing with an ableist society’s pity. Enraged, they came together to celebrate their unapologetic eclectic brilliance under the watchful guidance of their MQ (Mummy Queer) Mel Bradley. The lineup includes Isaac Quinn, Devin Kane, Alex Cregan, Blathín Gillen – among others!

Accessibility at The Playhouse

You can find more information about accessibility at Bounce Arts Festival venues on the Venue Accessibility page.

Making an Access Request

You can also request other accommodations. You can see some examples below.

You can request these in different ways:

We require two weeks’ notice to organise a British or Irish Sign Language interpreter, or an audio describer, for an event. Our funds are limited, and some accommodations take time to organise. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can do our best to meet your requests.

(W)right Now

Thursday 2 October 

2:00 – 3:00 pm

The Playhouse 

£5

Writing workshop 

Derry-Londonderry

(W)right Now

(W)right Now is a writing workshop for writers of fiction, poetry, drama. It is an opportunity to reflect on writing interests, to practise craft, to sharpen critical modes of address, and explore where identities intersect.

Dave Duggan lives in Derry, where he writes in English and in Irish. His latest book is Journeywork: A Creative Life (Nerve Centre, 2024), a collection of essays described as ‘luminous’ in The Irish Times. His work for film and television includes the Oscar-nominated Dance Lexie Dance (Raw Nerve Productions, 1996).

Accessibility at The Playhouse

You can find more information about accessibility at Bounce Arts Festival venues on the Venue Accessibility page.

Making an Access Request

You can also request other accommodations. You can see some examples below.

You can request these in different ways:

We require two weeks’ notice to organise a British or Irish Sign Language interpreter, or an audio describer, for an event. Our funds are limited, and some accommodations take time to organise. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can do our best to meet your requests.

Re-collections by Justine Scoltock

Thursday 2 – Saturday 4 October 

Thursday and Friday

10:00 am – 5:30 pm

Saturday 9:00 am – 3:30 pm

The Playhouse 

Exhibition 

Derry-Londonderry

Re-collections by Justine Scoltock

Re-collections is a series of mixed media pieces. It combines elements of vintage photography, advertising, and street ephemera with ink, acrylic, and paper—creating a tension between beauty and decay.

A key element of this exhibition is the exploration of intersectionality—how multiple, interconnected layers of identity, including gender, religion, class, and ability, create unique, overlapping experiences.

Re-collections is an invitation to reflect on what we choose to show the world and what we keep hidden beneath the surface. It is a visual dialogue between the past and present, between the polished exterior and the raw, unfinished story that lies underneath.

Accessibility at The Playhouse

You can find more information about accessibility at Bounce Arts Festival venues on the Venue Accessibility page.

Making an Access Request

You can also request other accommodations. You can see some examples below.

You can request these in different ways:

We require two weeks’ notice to organise a British or Irish Sign Language interpreter, or an audio describer, for an event. Our funds are limited, and some accommodations take time to organise. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can do our best to meet your requests.

Not Just BS Breakfast Symposium

Thursday 2 October 

10:30 am – 12:30 pm

The Playhouse 

£5

BSL

Creative networking and panel event

Derry-Londonderry

Not Just BS (Breakfast Symposium)

Not Just BS is a disabled-led networking, discussion and performance forum for artists and activists developed around this year’s festival theme ‘Not Just…’ on the importance of disability representation, diversity, and intersectionality in the arts sector.

Programme Highlights:

  • Music from Colm Herron, a disabled musician from Derry who released his debut album ‘Bottles in the Rain’ in 2023.
  • Divergently Together’: talk by Alan Burns. Alan is a neurodivergent, environmental and audiovisual artist, curator and festival maker producing interactive, socially engaged and site-specific projects. Their highly collaborative practice focuses on disability, climate emergency and a just society.
  • Abby Oliveira: Spoken word artist Abby will present a 10 minute excerpt of the play she is currently writing with funding she received from the Deaf Disabled Artist Support Fund through University of Atypical.
Panel chaired by Mel Bradley. Mel is a multidisciplinary neurodivergent artist, activist, writer, and performer with a strong history of working with diverse cultural backgrounds and challenging perceptions of the queer disabled female voice.

Panellists:
  • Alan Burns is a neurodivergent, environmental and audiovisual artist from Disrupt Arts Festival in Ireland.
  • Soso Ní Cheallaigh is a multidisciplinary maker from Derry. Their work spans poetry, essay, theatre, visual art, and film through both the English and Irish language.
  • Dave Duggan lives in Derry, where he writes in English and in Irish. He works in theatre, film and writes novels and essays.
  • Justine Scoltock was born and raised in Derry, where she works across visual art, film, and interactive media, Justine is also a committed community facilitator who supports underrepresented voices to tell their stories.
  • Catherine Hemelryk is a curator and is Director of Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry~Londonderry. She describes herself as a dyslexic, queer, cis woman who is passionate about widening inclusion in sports, culture, and activism.
  • Edel Murphy, is CEO and Artistic Director of University of Atypical, and a disabled, queer, Donegalian, Gaeilgeoir who has worked across the arts sector in Northern Ireland.
Tea, coffee, and refreshments from 10:15 am.

Accessibility at The Playhouse

You can find more information about accessibility at Bounce Arts Festival venues on the Venue Accessibility page.

Making an Access Request

You can also request other accommodations. You can see some examples below.

You can request these in different ways:

We require two weeks’ notice to organise a British or Irish Sign Language interpreter, or an audio describer, for an event. Our funds are limited, and some accommodations take time to organise. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can do our best to meet your requests.

Not

Thursday 2 October

10:30 am – 12:30 pm

The Playhouse

£5

BSL / ISL

Creative networking and panel event

Derry - Londonderry

Not Just BS (Breakfast Symposium)

Not Just BS is a disabled-led networking, discussion and performance forum for artists and activists developed around this year’s festival theme ‘Not Just…’ on the importance of disability representation, diversity, and intersectionality in the arts sector.


Not Just BS is a disabled-led networking, discussion and performance forum for artists and activists developed around this year’s festival theme ‘Not Just…’ on the importance of disability representation, diversity, and intersectionality in the arts sector.

Venue Accessibility

You can find more information about accessibility at Bounce Arts Festival venues on the Venue Accessibility page.

Making an Access Request

You can also request other accommodations. You can see some examples below.

You can request these in different ways:

We require two weeks’ notice to organise a British or Irish Sign Language interpreter, or an audio describer, for an event. Our funds are limited, and some accommodations take time to organise. Please give us as much notice as possible so we can do our best to meet your requests.

Connecting Artists Collective – Group Exhibition

Connecting Artists Programme & Collective: This national annual initiative pairs artists who are neurodivergent or have an intellectual disability with mentors and nurtures their creative development and visibility. The programme leads to an exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Once participants completethe programme they can join the

Connecting Artists Collective, a platform for continued support and artistic growth.
The collective facilitates artistic expression, skill-sharing, and collaboration. It has held notable exhibitions including at the prestigious Royal Hibernian Academy.
Exhibiting artists: Evan McLoughlin, Rachel Connell, Pamela Kavanagh, Martin Carolan, Marta Soltysek, John Heavey, Claudia Williams, Bearnard Durnin, Ava Lawlor, Amy Begley, Alan Tarpey, Thomas Higgins, Brian Kennedy, David Singleton, Michael Hade, Matthew Sexton, Jennifer Humphreys, Peter Kehoe, Sarah McNulty, Rachel Coen, Jenny Stafford, Kristin Reynado Suniega and Tomás Malone.

Cover image: Bouquet from Beyond, Claudia Williams


For more information visit: www.connectionsartscentre.ie

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