Hell or high water II opened on the 24th July 2023 at the Market Place Theatre Gallery, Armagh as part of the John Hewitt International Summer School, and continued until the 2nd of September 2023.

As with the previous paintings in this series, the work in this new exhibition Hell or high water III uses recycled coffee bean sacks as an oil paint surface. The paint is applied in raw gestures with impasto and drawn elements. The texture of the support forms an integral part of the painting surface, with Vikkie’s characteristic use of dark and light contrasts. The title of the exhibition signifies perseverance and persistence in the face of challenges and the paintings touch on decolonial concerns such as the climate crisis, deforestation, the destruction of biodiversity, the historic displacement of people, and the legacy of racial and sectarian violence. Elements of the compositions in Vikkie Patterson’s ongoing Hell or high water series were initially captured using photography before being reimagined on canvas. Formal characteristics of the coffee bean sackcloth she paints on, such as the text and the texture, emphasise thematic links to globalisation and colonisation, and look at the West through a critical lens, depicting introspective, anthropomorphic land- and streetscapes in portrait format.

About the Artist:

Vikkie Patterson is a painter and is also currently a PhD researcher at Ulster University Belfast School of Art. Her practice-based PhD examines disembodiment and decoloniality in the painting and present-day literature of Northern Ireland. Her research and practice have been informed by her degree from Trinity College Dublin in French and Germanic Studies, and time spent living in the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe.
Her work has been exhibited internationally. It is held in collections at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, the African and Caribbean Support Organisation Northern Ireland headquarters in Belfast, and at the Kanu Nayak Art Foundation in Mumbai, India. A touring exhibition with the Drawing Box Collective forms part of the National Irish Visual Art Library in Dublin. Her work also forms part of private collections in Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, North America and Australia. Patterson is a previous recipient of the Deaf and Disabled Artist Support Fund awarded by University of Atypical.

Exhibition dates: 14 January – 21 February 2025

Late Night Art: Thursday 6 February 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Artist talk:
Friday 13 February 1.30pm (TBC)
British Sign Language interpretation.
All welcome.

Some of the work is the development of ongoing practice and for others the award has facilitated new and innovative projects.

We look forward to welcoming visitors to our open sessions on Tuesday 3 December to learn more about University of Atypical, what we do, the artists that we work with and the pathways they take.

The d/Deaf and Disabled Artists Support Fund is a dedicated annual arts development initiative that enables and supports d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists across a full range of art and craft forms to develop their professional practice. The award provides important funding for artists to produce new, high-quality work; receive training, coaching, mentoring; or buying time. Our 2024 DDASF awardees have produced research, or work, in many forms including script writing, new music, visual arts, sound art and textiles.

Exhibition Dates: Thursday 7 November – Friday 20 December 2024

Late Night Art openings

Thursday 7 November from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Thursday 5 December from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Brian Connolly was an Associate Lecturer in Fine Art, Sculpture, in the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University, Belfast, between 1995 and August 2022. He is a multi-media artist who has created artworks that often relate to place or context and which reflect key socio-political issues of the day. He employs a wide range of artistic processes, including performance art, public sculpture, installation art, art workshops and a range of collaborative projects.

Connolly has created solo performances, collaborative and group performances, interactive public performances, durational works as part of his performance art practice. He has performed & exhibited in diverse contexts throughout Europe, in North America and Asia.

In the early 1990’s Connolly developed a genre of performance art called ‘Install-action’, This uses performance action within complex spatial arrangements in order to generate installational spaces.

Since the mid 1990’s, he has created a series of international ‘Market Stall Performances. In these performances he directly interacts with the public by trying to sell a series of surreal, satirical, political and funny objects and engages them in a range interactive processes.

He has initiated and curated national and international events and projects, and has been involved with artist-run organisations throughout Ireland, including: Bbeyond, The Sculptors Society of Ireland, Visual Artists Ireland, Circa and Flaxart. He was a co-founder of Bbeyond and held the chair position on a number of occasions since 2001. He established and ran the annual Belfast International Festival of Performance Art from 2013 – 2022, with events held in Ulster University and inside and outside Belfast.

Connolly’s work is now part of the National Irish Visual Arts Library. It can be found at https://www.nival.ie/digital/collection/p21086coll20

Residency dates: 3 September – 3 October 2024

Exhibition Dates: 4 –25 October 2024

Late Night Art: Thursday 3 October from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

(Live Performance starting 6.30 pm)

Visitors are welcome to come and go in the gallery at any time during the live performance

Artist talk:

Friday 4 October at 2.00 pm.

British Sign Language interpretation.

All welcome.

Group Exhibition by Connecting Artists Collective

1-28 August 2024.

University of Atypical is delighted to invite you to our latest exhibition of the annual Group Exhibition from Connections Arts Centre, Dublin.

LAUNCH: Thursday 1st August 2024, for Late Night Art Belfast, 5pm – 9pm. Exhibition continues to 28 August 2024.

EXHIBITION TALK: Thursday 1st August at 6pm -BSL interpretation in place

The exhibition launch will include a talk from Miriam Spollen, Founder of the Connection Arts Centre and exhibiting artists.

Exhibiting artists include: Amy Clarke, Alan Tarpey, Clement Yang, David Singleton, Jennifer Humphreys, Jenny Stafford, Mark Buckley, Matthew Sexton, Niamh Eldridge-Barry, Peter Kehoe, Samuel Hilliard, Thomas Higgins, Rachel Coen, Sarah McNulty, Joe Hallam, Tomás Malone, Richard Hickey, Bradley Farrell, Jason Grace, Kristin Reynado Suniega, Michael Hade, Brian Kennedy

The University of Atypical’s principal funder is the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through National Lottery Good Causes funding an through core funding from Belfast City Council and support from Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Image by Joe Hallam entitled The Four Seasons, an image from the Group Exhibition by Creative Connections

Empty House – Solo exhibition by Christine Kernohan

4 June – 24 July 2024

University of Atypical are pleased to invite you to the opening of our 2023 Ulster University Graduation Awardee Solo Exhibition. The exhibition launch will take place for Late Night Art Belfast on Thursday 6 June, 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Christine will give a short artist talk at 7:00 pm which will be accompanied by British Sign Language interpretation.

Christine Kernohan received the 2023 University of Atypical Graduate Award. She is an Irish artist working in mixed media with a focus on textiles. She works with a direct method of weaving. This means that she constructs her own weaving loom and weaves the textile by hand. She also uses circular looms to explore repeating forms and spirals within the body.

Kernohan’s inspiration comes from the relationship between the mother and the child. She creates weaves that are intended to be wall tapestries or wall hangings, that could be draped around the mother-like figure to suggest a motherly protection or the protection of modesty for the child. Kernohan also works on the subject of generational trauma: trauma passed on through the womb across generations. She sees textiles as a way to create a safe environment for herself and others, as she uses her practice to work through her own personal trauma. She sees textiles and other art practices as a beneficial way for individuals to work through their distress. Christine graduated from the Belfast School of Art in 2021 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. She received a Master’s Degree in Fine Art in 2023.

About this exhibition:

Catharsis
‘The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions’
University of Atypical are pleased to host an exhibition of work by artist Scott Ramsey as part of the Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts Festival 2024. The exhibition, entitled ‘Catharsis’, features an eclectic series of Scott Ramsey’s unique boxed assemblages which the curator Noelle McAlinden has described as intricate, precious, complex, ethereal, infinite in meaning and genius in their consideration.

About the Artist:

Scott, in conversation with Noelle McAlinden describes the development of the boxes as a changing process. Sometimes the process starts with an object, then another object that has a relation to the first, sometimes it starts backwards with a ‘kind of wallpaper’. Some of the objects in the boxes are collected items, some are donated. He says it is the boxes that create the sense of order. He is inspired by the artists Hieronymus Bosch, Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali, and Scott describes the works as mini stage sets.
Scott, who lives and works in Fermanagh, is not just a visual artist. He is also an accomplished singer, songwriter, and musician. He has exhibited extensively locally and internationally including at the Royal Ulster Academy. Scott, who is a past pupil of Toni Johnston, has always been curious and highly imaginative with an eye for seeing the precious potential for the extraordinary in ordinary things.

About the curator:

Noelle McAlinden, chair of Northern Ireland Mental Health Arts Festival and curator of this touring exhibition at Strule Art Gallery, Omagh. ‘It is a privilege to be curating and supporting Scott to bring his stunning work to new audiences to enjoy as part of this year’s Mental Health Arts Festival.’