Blog | Cultural Bridge

On 30 September 2026, artists, activists, policymakers, human rights researchers and social change practitioners came together at the MAC in Belfast for Bearing Witness in Turbulent Times – The Urgency of Socially Engaged Art and Community Practice.

Supported by Cultural Bridge, the symposium brought together a rich programme of talks, panel discussions, creative interventions and opportunities for collective reflection, exploring how artists and communities can work together to respond to some of today's most pressing social challenges.

The event also provided an opportunity to celebrate the impact of international artistic partnerships, including two projects supported by Cultural Bridge that are using creative practice to explore identity, belonging, reconciliation and social change.

The role of art in defending fundamental values

The symposium opened with an inspiring keynote address from Philippe Sands KC, international human rights lawyer and award-winning author.

Drawing on his experience of international law and his research and writing, Sands explored the increasingly important relationship between law, literature and culture in the pursuit of justice.

He reflected on how storytelling and creative expression can help illuminate experiences of injustice, preserve collective memory and contribute to accountability.

Speaking to an audience of artists and socially engaged practitioners, he emphasised the importance of their work in defending fundamental values through creative expression, rooted in mutual care, community and a shared commitment to justice.

His address set the tone for a day that demonstrated how art can do more than bear witness to the challenges facing society: it can create spaces for collective action, solidarity and meaningful change.

Creativity, collective action and reconciliation

Throughout the symposium, speakers and artists explored how creative practice can respond to complex social and political challenges, particularly within the context of Northern Ireland.

A panel discussion, Bearing Witness, Taking Collective Action, brought together campaigners from Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) to examine how lived experience can be transformed into collective action, addressing issues including housing injustice, racism, migration and the right to belong.

Creative interventions offered further opportunities to explore these themes through participation and collaboration. These included a collective vocal experience led by Belfast-based HIVE Choir and a presentation from artist Evelyn Broderick and Housing Action Now, exploring how artistic collaboration can build solidarity across communities affected by housing inequality.

The programme also featured Socially Engaged Art and the Public Practice of Reconciliation, a cross-border initiative bringing together eight artists from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Through collaborative experimentation and the development of public art projects, the artists are exploring new approaches to reconciliation, grounded in the lived experiences of communities and the complexities of place, identity and belonging.

Together, these contributions highlighted the important role of socially engaged art in opening up conversations, challenging established narratives and creating opportunities for communities to shape their own futures.

Cultural Bridge in action: Connecting communities across borders

Since its launch in 2021, Cultural Bridge has supported artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany, encouraging organisations to exchange ideas, develop new approaches and build lasting relationships through socially engaged creative practice.

The symposium offered an opportunity to reflect on this work, with contributions from two of the seven Cultural Bridge partnerships supported in Northern Ireland.

Weaving the Present, Shaping the Future: Belfast and Berlin

One of the afternoon's highlights was a screening of Weaving the Present, Shaping the Future, a film made with artist Khaled Barakeh, developed in collaboration with Anaka Women's Collective and Participation and the Practice of Rights.

The work was commissioned through a 2023–2025 Cultural Bridge partnership between the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) in Belfast and coculture in Berlin.

Bringing together artistic practice, community participation and shared experiences, the project demonstrates how international collaboration can create space for storytelling, connection and collective expression.

It is a powerful example of how socially engaged art can bring different voices and perspectives together, while responding to issues that resonate across communities and national borders. Watch the film:

Dance Ability Bridge: Exploring identity, inclusion and belonging

'For us it is also about being able to connect with others and articulating our collective role in shaping a better world and in advancing the equality of all within it. It is about having integrity in what we do, having the confidence to not only bear witness but to make ourselves heard and seen and it is about remembering that just because others take up more air time it does not mean that they have better or even more appropriate answers to our challenges.'

Dylan Quinn, Artistic Director of Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre, based in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, also contributed to the symposium with a presentation entitled The Border Defines This Space.

His reflections explored how the physical, cultural and political borders that shape Northern Ireland continue to influence identity, artistic expression and the confidence of communities to tell their own stories.

Drawing on the company's work in a rural setting, Dylan highlighted the importance of developing shared cultural confidence and using performance to explore complex social issues, encourage dialogue and challenge divisions.

This approach can be seen in Anything to Declare, a 2024 project that commissioned four artists from Derry to create five distinct works exploring the impact of the north–south border. Through performance and creative expression, the project invited audiences to reflect on the border's social, cultural, political, emotional and geographical significance.

Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre is now building on its commitment to socially engaged practice through Dance Ability Bridge, a 2025–2026 Cultural Bridge partnership with unperform in Bremen, Germany.

The partnership offers an opportunity for international exchange and collaboration, connecting artists and organisations working across different cultural and geographical contexts.

Building connections in turbulent times

A recurring theme throughout the symposium was the importance of connection: between artists and communities, between creative practice and activism, and across the borders that can divide us.

From Philippe Sands' reflections on justice and hope to the experiences shared by artists working directly with communities, the day offered a powerful reminder that creativity can play an essential role in responding to uncertainty, inequality and division.

For Cultural Bridge, these conversations reinforce the value of supporting long-term international partnerships that enable artists and organisations to learn from one another, explore difficult questions and develop new ways of working together.

As the examples from Belfast, Berlin, Enniskillen and Bremen demonstrate, socially engaged artistic collaboration can create opportunities for dialogue and understanding that extend far beyond individual projects.