In recent years there has been some incredibly exciting research that has helped push forward and change policy across multiple sectors. This panel will feature artists, academics and agitators who are using existing institutional frameworks through feminist practice to gather information, share knowledge and ultimately affect positive change.

Speaker Bios:

Emma Campbell (Host) is a Research Associate in Social Studies at Ulster University on the cross-border HEA-funded North/South Reproductive Citizenship project (2022-Present). Her PhD was on utilising art, primarily photography and performance, as a sexy & magical tool for abortion rights along with Alliance for Choice of whom she is a co-convenor and a member of Array Collective. Her practice is embedded in queer & feminist art and activism. Previously focusing on the issues raised by the lack of abortion access on the island of Ireland and attitudes fostered by colonialism and deep religious conservatism, she makes work that is image-based (photography and collage), participatory, performance-enhanced and active in affecting change.Emma is also on the Board of Directors for Outburst Queer Arts and HereNI.

Dr Claire Pierson joined the University of Liverpool as a Lecturer in Politics in September 2017, having previously worked in Manchester Metropolitan University and Ulster University. Her research focuses on the UN women, peace and security agenda, conflict transformation and reproductive rights and activism. She is currently a co-investigator on a project: ‘Tackling Girls and Young Women’s Reproductive Health through a Reproductive Justice Framework in the Philippines and South Africa’ and a unique research project funded by a coalition of Irish trade unions addressing ‘Abortion as a workplace issue on the island of Ireland’. Claire is co-founder of the Reproductive Health Law and Policy Advisory Group. She has published in journals including The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Parliamentary Affairs, The International Feminist Journal of Politics and Nationalism and Ethnic Studies.

Dr Jamie J. Hagen is a Lecturer in International Relations at Queen’s University Belfast where she is founding co-director of the Centre for Gender in Politics. Her work sits at the intersection of gender, security studies and queer theory. Jamie brings a feminist, anti-racist approach to her work, bridging gaps between academic, policy and activist spaces. She is lead researcher on a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2022-2023) focusing on improving engagement with lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women in Women, Peace and Security Programming. The project is in collaboration with Christian Aid UK and Colombia Diversa, a leading LGBTQ rights group in Colombia. She has published in journals including International Affairs, Peace Review and Critical Studies on Security. She is co-editor of the forthcoming edited volume Queer Conflict Research: New Approaches to the Study of Political Violence (BUP).

Featuring speakers from across a range of backgrounds, disciplines and organisations, this panel focuses on the importance of allyship and working across difference, as well as the opportunities, challenges and future for activism in Northern Ireland.

Speaker Bios:

Danielle Roberts (Host) is the Senior Policy and Development Officer for ‘Here NI’, a charity which supports and empowers lesbian and bisexual women and their families and Chair of Reclaim the Agenda. For the past few years Danielle has been working on a PhD project at Ulster University researching barriers to Protestant Unionist Loyalist women’s political participation and has published on feminist activism in times of crisis and solidarity between pro-choice and LGBTQ+ movements. She is involved in feminist activism with Belfast Feminist Network and Alliance for Choice, and co-organiser of the annual Reclaim the Night Belfast march against street harassment and gender-based violence.

Sipho Sibanda is a community activist and leader in Northern Ireland. She is Deputy Chair for BME Women’s Network and has previously worked with Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR) to support people seeking refuge in Northern Ireland. She is currently the Volunteer Chair of ‘Refugees Welcome NI’, which accommodates destitute asylum seekers with people who have spare rooms in their home, helping to build social relations, as well as meeting other needs. She works with the Simon Community helping homeless people experiencing substance abuse challenges and is a Social Policy student at Ulster University. She completed a Fellowship with SCI focusing on lifting the voices of young migrant people in Northern Ireland, giving them space to voice their fears and share their experiences in a safe and non-judgmental space.

Emma Jane Dorian is from Rape Crisis Northern Ireland; a non-governmental organisation & support service, that supports anyone impacted by sexual trauma in adulthood. Within a framework of equality & human rights, the organisation’s purpose is to provide support to victims/survivors; their families, friends, & the wider community. Before beginning her role at RCNI, Emma Jane studied Criminology & Criminal Justice MA at Queens, where she was particularly interested in the treatment of survivors throughout the criminal justice process, the support services available for victims in NI & what a ‘victim focussed’ alternative might look like- this combined with her extensive grass roots campaigning experience, gives Emma Jane a first-hand insight into the need for a societal shift when it comes to dealing with sexual violence.

Elfie Seymore is a human rights activist and grassroots community organiser who lives and works in Belfast. She has been involved with various campaigns in Belfast and in Athens, for migrant and refugee rights, environmental justice and access to housing. Elfie is currently the organiser for the ‘Kind Economy’ campaign at Participation and the Practice of Rights and is a founding member of Anaka Women’s Collective.

Join Anaka Collective over lunch for a rolling presentation of their work and a chance to informally chat to the artists involved.

Anaka is a Belfast-based women’s collective, led by women with direct experience of the asylum system. They use their collective skills to educate, advocate for and celebrate each other in the face of an oppressive immigration system. A group of talented artists has emerged from the collective who wish to share their work. A body that spans across cultures, locations, subjects, mediums and issues.

Ailbhe Greaney will join Sarah Allen and Isolde Brielmaier to explore their leadership and directorial roles within the arts. The work of both Allen and Brielmaier allows for a conversation around the impact of such critically engaged practices on photography and issues of representation. The panel will explore the subject of beauty especially with respect to the representation of challenging and underrepresented identities. Taking into consideration both the problem and possibility posed by the rapid acceleration of the medium, the conversation will reflect on the contemporary relevance of photography as a collaborative technology that lives and evolves with us. As part of a conversation around both Allen and Brielmaier’s professional initiatives and institutional roles, the panel will pose questions around photography as an expression of joy, beauty and strength in the representation and propulsion of change. A key question posed by such a discussion relates to ideas of both present and future leadership in the arts, and what such leadership might look like?

Speaker Bios:

Ailbhe Greaney (Host) is an artist and lecturer. One of the founding members of the Belfast School of Art BA (Hons) Photography & Video Degree and MFA Photography Degree. She has previously held positions at The Guggenheim Museum New York, Blind Spot Magazine, Lux Imaging, Here Is New York and SVA. Her work has been exhibited and published both nationally and internationally, within institutions such as Aperture Foundation New York, CCI Paris, EVA International, Format Festival, Golden Thread Gallery Belfast, PhotoIreland, Photo Museum Ireland, SPE, Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool. Her work centres around subjects of Migration, Empathy and The Impossible View.

Sarah Allen is Head of Programme at South London Gallery (SLG) where she leads the programme team on the exhibitions and live programme. At the SLG she has curated or co-curated: Rene Matic, upon this rock (2022), Celine Condorelli After Work (2022) and Lagos, Peckham, Repeat (2023). She has also initiated a partnership exhibition with the V&A on the theme of Activism and Feminisms which will take place at the SLG in 2024. Previously she worked as a curator at Tate Modern curating or co-curating the exhibitions Zanele Muholi (2020), Sophie Taeuber-Arp (2021), Nan Goldin (2019) and Shape of Light (2018). She sits on the Board of Directors of Belfast Photo Festival.

Isolde Brielmaier is the Deputy Director of the New Museum York as well as Guest Curator at the International Center for Photography (ICP) New York. Isolde is also Professor of Critical Studies in Tisch’s Department of Photography, Imaging and Emerging Media at New York University. Throughout her curatorial career, Isolde has collaborated with noted contemporary artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Ellen Gallagher, Leonardo Drew, Richard Mosse, Ivan Navarro, Wangechi Mutu, Bill Viola, Hugo McCloud, Fred Wilson, Tyler Mitchell, and Bharti Kher, to name a few.

Ann Patterson, peace activist and a member of Peace People and Helen Crickard, co-founder of Reclaim the Agenda join Eva Grosman from the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in a conversation about the importance and impact of women’s leadership in Northern Ireland and beyond.

The panel will explore how women provided and continue to provide hope to divided communities in NI and beyond, and how collectively we can create a society with a shared sense of responsibility, opportunity, community and above all a shared sense of humanity, based upon respect for diversity and inclusion.

Speaker Bios:

Eva Grosman (Host) is a co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building and curator of the annual TEDxStormont event in Parliament Buildings, Stormont. Originally from Poland, she co-founded the award-winning Unite Against Hate campaign, challenging all forms of prejudice and hate crime. She was also an independent member of the Policing and Community Safety Partnership in Belfast. As a Head of Programmes at the Northern Ireland Assembly Legislative Strengthening Trust, Eva developed and implemented Politics Plus, a capacity building programme designed to enhance skills and effectiveness of those involved in political and public life in Northern Ireland and beyond. She is an Advisory Board member for The Global Women’s Narratives Project and the Oxford Interfaith Forum. (www.democracyandpeace.org)

Ann Patterson is a renowned peace activist from Northern Ireland and a member of Peace People, which began in 1976 as a protest movement against the on-going violence in Northern Ireland. Patterson travels worldwide to conflict zones to share insight and experience acquired from Ireland’s peace process of overcoming violence through learning, dialogue and cooperation. (www.peacepeople.com)

Helen Crickard is co-founder of Reclaim the Agenda; a coalition of feminist, youth, LGBTQ+ & community organisations. Reclaim campaign for healthcare that meets our needs, a society where women are equally represented as decision makers, affordable, flexible childcare and a world free of violence and sexual abuse, while taking a stand against poverty and all forms of discrimination. Helen was a member of the Women’s Coalition and has spent her career campaigning for women’s rights. (www.reclaimtheagenda.com)