Crescent Arts Centre

* * * Freelance Opportunity * * *

The Crescent is seeking a Freelance Festival Administrator to provide administrative support for the delivery of The Crescent Arts Centre's 15th running from 5-12 June 2025.

For more information about what you'd be doing and what we're looking for --> bit.ly/BBF25Admin

The Crescent's Autumn Term starts on Monday 🥳🥳🥳

There are a few spaces available on some courses & workshops; take a peek at the programme --> CrescentArts.org

Here's a taste of Autumn Activity:
- Pop Dance🕺 Learn dance routines to pop music from the 80s, 90s and 00
- African Drumming🪘Great for physical healing!
- Experimental Sculpture 🤲 Get hands on and creative using a variety of materials
- Guitar 🎸 Learn to play your favourite songs this Autumn
- Start Writing Your Novel 📝

We can't wait to see you next week 😍

On 17 October, the Crescent Arts Centre will host BBC Radio 4 's Any Questions?

visits a different part of the UK every week with a panel of 4 speakers who answer questions from the audience, providing people with the opportunity to challenge politicians, policy makers, writers, and thinkers.

Tickets are limited so early booking is recommended!

bit.ly/TCAnyQOct24

This week sees the install of our ‘Made in The Crescent’ Exhibition which features the works of students from our Summer intensive courses 🤩👩‍🎨🎨🖼️😍👨‍🎨

Coinciding with the start of our Autumn term, pop in next week to see these works in our cafe area.

There's still time to sign up to join a course or worksop this Autumn. Take a peek --> CrescentArts.org

You will also find work from our Artist in Residence Vasiliki Stasinaki. Keep an eye out for Vasiliki around the building as she develops the work, and looks for opportunities for you to get involved!

Not long to go until our the next in our series for Stripped Down at The Crescent curated by the talented Donal Scullion.

September's edition will include the amazing CHERYM and rising stars Monday’s Child.

CHERYM are a three-piece pop punk rock band with some seriously infectious songwriting credentials. Having toured this Summer, playing some massive festivals in Europe, they have relentless enthusiasm and boundless energy, and we can't wait to see them Strip Down their music at The Crescent.

For more details --> https://bit.ly/TCSDSep24

Stripped Down: CHERYM | Monday's Child We are excited to announce the first gig in the Second Series of Stripped Down at The Crescent. This Autumn as we welcome to the C...

Our Autumn programme of courses and workshops is online and available to book 🤩🤩🤩

Take a peek at the programme --> CrescentArts.org

Running for 12-weeks, between September - December 2024, you will find a mixture of long and short courses alongside a great range of workshops.

Why not join us to make, do and create this Autumn at The Crescent 🧑‍🎨🥁🪡👋🏻🎻🎬🩰📝💃🏻🎨🎸

If you have been about The Crescent these last couple of weeks, you might have spotted some artwork popping up on windows and walls about the building.

Meet Vasiliki Stasinaki, Artist in Residence at The Crescent.

We asked Vasiliki to share a little more about the Residency:
“My idea for the residency was about how myself, as an artist that works across disciplines, can spend creative time within a building/organisation/body, such as The Crescent, that offers spaces and opportunities across disciplines and ages. I wanted the residency to be unpressurised by the idea of an end result, but rather focus on experimentation and the element of surprise and chance. Instead of pre-planning and designing every aspect of my engagement with the building, the space, the people, I decided to lead this residency following my instinct and my needs for every day that would be spent in The Crescent.

My very first full week in, I decided to engage with the brick/stone work of the building, which is a very strong feature of its architecture. I thought about how the structure of the bricks holds everything together, over the years, holding both physically and metaphorically. I decided to use the technique of monoprinting. After I repeatedly traced lots of different textures from the stonework of the building, I translated these textures into unique monoprints, and that is what you see dispersed around the building. This kind of monoprints will keep popping up around the building for the coming weeks. I am also considering the element of surprise and spontaneity, by allowing the prints appear in a random and playful way around the building.”

We can’t wait to watch this journey evolve 🤩🤩🤩🤩

Coming up this weekend at The Crescent, we are excited to welcome the folks from the Belfast Guitar Festival for a 3-day takeover of The Cube.

Featuring incredible artists the line-up across the 3 day’s includes John Tracey Music String Ninjas David Browne Murray Gary Lutton and Cormac Neeson to name but a few 🎸🤩🎸🤩🎸

Join us to celebrate the rich musical talent that Belfast has to offer 👏👏👏👏

For more details --> crescentarts.org/events/Music-and-Drama/Belfast-Guitar-Festival

Our Autumn Term of Course and Workshops is now online and available to book 🤩🤩🤩

Running between 9 September - 7 December, join us for Creative Activity 💃🏻🎸🧑‍🎨 Explore the programme now --> https://crescentarts.org/

Today we are also joining over 200 culture and heritage organisations around the UK to celebrate the social impact that the arts play, as part of the campaign. At The Crescent our activities, including our programme of courses and workshops, enables people to learn new skills and meet new people. Why not come along and try something new this Autumn?📝🩰🎤🎨🎭🥁

⭐️ Reminder ⭐️
⭐️Coordinator Open Day ⭐️
⭐️ Tonight ⭐️
⭐️ 4.30 - 6.30pm ⭐️

As part of our recruitment process for the post of Coordinator we have an Open Session between 4.30 - 6.30pm this evening (Thursday 25 July).

There's no formal presentation - just pop in. It's a chance to meet the team and to ask any questions you might have about The Crescent and the post.

More about the role:
As Coordinator you will get to know and work across all areas of the business! This role will provide solid administrative experience of all aspects of an arts centre. We are a small team, and as a highly-organised individual who enjoys collaborative working, you will play an important role and represent The Crescent both internally and externally.

For more information about the post: crescentarts.org/about/our-people/join-us

The Crescent's Course and Workshop Summer Term starts next week and there are a couple of spots left - go take a peek at the programme 👀👀👀

Throughout July and August, we are running a mixture of 5-week courses, weeklong courses and day workshops across Dance, Music, Art, Craft, Drama and Writing.

Link in bio for Courses and Workshops running this Summer. Go explore and join us this summer for creative activity 🩰🎨✍️🎭🖌️🧑‍🎨🧘🏽‍♀️🎶

* * * We are recruiting! * * *

The Crescent is looking for a Coordinator to join the team. This 1-year fixed term contract is an ideal first job in the Arts Sector, or a career change opportunity.

As a Coordinator you will get to know and work across all areas of the business! This role will provide solid administrative experience of all aspects of an arts centre. Closing date is 10pm on Sunday 28 July 2024.

For more information about the post —> crescentarts.org/about/our-people/join-us

From the whole Crescent Arts Centre team, thank you once again for joining us for the 2024. For 8 days our beautiful Victorian building was alive with people, words, conversations, warmth and joy, and of course, lots of books.

We invite you to share feedback with us. The more information you provide, the more we know what works well and what we can improve on for you!

As a thank you for completing this survey you will be entered into a draw to win a Parcel of goodies: a Crescent Arts Centre Tote Bag and Bookmark, along with a Belfast Book Festival Notebook and Postcard.

Click here to take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q3K7S33

The Crescent's iconic building through an artist's lens! 📷 😍

This postcard was designed by one of Crescent's very own tutors, Ronan Lee Smyth, whom many of you have met during Late Night Art! :)

Ronan is a Belfast based artist currently completing a practice-based PhD with Belfast School of Art. Initially inspired by archive images of the building, Ronan's ink and pencil drawing reflects his own engagement (and perception) of The Crescent: the vibrant, playful colours and semi-improvised forms that frame the building reflect the Crescent's many creative activities, while the swifts are seen as a metaphor for our own arrivals to The Crescent in search of a space to host, teach, learn and connect.

The Crescent postcards are available from The Crescent Shop newly opened in the foyer: easy to send, easy to frame too 😉 - a quirky way to brighten up space!

Our thanks to the Dormant Accounts Fund Northern Ireland administered by Community Fund for making this possible.

From all of us here at The Crescent, thank you for an amazing ✨ 📚

An incredible host of writers from near and far have joined us throughout the festival ✨ From the amazing Colm Tóibín and Margaret Drabble to the inimitable Marie Howe, every day we have listened, laughed and learnt something new.

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

See you next year? 👀

It's the final day of book fest, and what a day it will be! We've got a busy evening full of events with some wonderful writers, so come and join us for this special last day! 📚

Find tickets and further info here: https://bit.ly/4cfZXbU

💫 Day 7 💫

We still have two more days of amazing events for you! Are you coming to see us tonight? 📚

Find out more about today's events in our bio: https://bit.ly/4ceT76u

✨ Day 6 ✨

There are only three days left of the Belfast Book Festival, we don't want it to end!

Tonight we've gone Agatha Christie mad at 🕵️ Join us to chat about Christie's best-loved detectives with Mark Aldridge, then put your knowledge to the test at 'Agatha Quiztie', hosted by Jan Carson 📚

Find out more here: https://bit.ly/3KCETAB

✨ Day 5 ✨

The Belfast Book Festival continues! Come say hi during the day in our cafe or join us tonight for one of our amazing events ✨

Explore more here: bit.ly/3x9DMoV

✨ Belfast Book Festival Day 4 ✨

Day 4 is here! Come listen to some incredible writers discuss their craft and be inspired 📚 Even if you're not attending an event, soak up the atmosphere in our cafe and communal spaces ⭐️

Learn more here: bit.ly/3XdK41i

✨ Belfast Book Festival Day 3 ✨

How time is flying! We have some lovely children's events happening during the day, then poetry and non-fiction in the evening! Come join us 📚

View today's events here: bit.ly/3KwnOID

✨Children's Events at The Belfast Book Festival ✨

We have lots of lovely events for little ones coming up tomorrow, from lots of face painting and storytelling to chats with our favourite children's authors. See you there! 👋

Find all the details you need here: https://bit.ly/3KwnOID

✨ Belfast Book Festival Day 2 ✨

We had so much fun yesterday, now let's do it all again! 📚 We have a great mix of talks, poetry and fiction events today, come on down and say hi 👋

Tickets: https://bit.ly/4bN5WoB