Exhibition celebrates signing of agreement

Lise McGreevy (second row, centre) celebrates the Ulster Scots and Irish cultures at the evening launch of Phase II of her PEACE AND RECONCILE project at Stormonts Long Gallery; with (front l-r) composer Marie Therese, MLA Chris Lyttle, Cllr John Blair and Chair of Engineering Irelands NI Region, Robert Eadie and guests and performers.

The project celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

South Antrim Alliance MLA, David Ford, his party colleague Cllr John Blair and UUP representative, Cllr Jim Montgomery were among the guests at the evening of art, music, poetry, song and dance which launched

Phase II of Lise’s PEACE AND RECONCILE art programme, Abandoned; Not Forgotten? exhibition at Stormont’s Long Gallery.

Abandoned; Not Forgotten? has dates for exhibition throughout Northern Ireland and Ireland until May 2018; including Antrim and Newtownabbey Council’s The Flax Gallery in the summer, and the Oriel Gallery, Clandeboye House, Antrim next year.

Lise said: “With plans underway to also hopefully take the project to mainland UK and the United States; my main aim for 2018 is to take Abandoned; Not Forgotten? to the four countries which helped to bring peace to our shores during this iconic anniversary year - Northern Ireland, Ireland, Britain and the USA.”

She added: “The other artists who have been working with me on this phase of the project, composer Marie Therese Davis, poet Jim Johnston and film maker Paul Whittaker and I would also like to thank all of the performers who have helped us promote the great Irish and Ulster Scots cultures during our launch events to date and those planned for the future.”

The exhibition will be hosted at the Long Gallery for two weeks before going to Dublin, where it has been sponsored by Dublin City Council. A special event to mark the exhibition will take place in Belfast City Hall on April 13.