2020 Header

Belfast International Arts Festival returned for our 58th edition from Monday 12 October to Sunday 1 November 2020 with a programme of inspirational events that responded creatively to the pandemic.

2020 was an extraordinary year. We worked with artists and partners to reformat and develop our programme for digital broadcast to deliver three weeks of online programming celebrating the very best in contemporary arts and culture from these islands and internationally. The programme featured an extended Talks & Ideas strand; theatre, dance and music performances reimagined for a digital audience; and developmental initiatives for artists from across the island. The 2020 edition continued to explore contemporary matters of interest to our audiences such as gender equality, multi-culturalism, representation, the climate crisis, and democracy.

Did you know you can catch-up on demand on 18 events from the most recent festival edition? There’s fascinating talks with new and established names in the worlds of fiction, non-fiction and poetry; reflections on Northern Ireland’s recent past; and work by leading Northern Ireland artists. You can catch-up on #BIAF20 on our YouTube channel.

Go to BIAF YouTube channel

What's On

Lemonade Stand

Lemonade Stand

International group exhibition
Date
17 September - 31 January 2021
Time
Tues-Sat, 11am-4pm
Visual Arts
Free
Singing The Agreement No Logos

Singing Struggle and Agreement

Spark Opera in conjunction with Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics and Slugger O’Toole
Date
Anytime from 14 October
Time
7.30pm
Music
IN-visible ID-entities 2
Irish Premiere, NI Premiere
Free
Macbeth Web

Macbeth

Big Telly Theatre Company
Date
14 October - 17 October 2020
Time
7.00pm (Wednesday - Saturday) | 9.30pm (Friday & Saturday only)
Theatre & Dance
IN-visible ID-entities 2
World Premiere
027 Tea Covee

139th RUA Annual Exhibition

Royal Ulster Academy of Arts
Date
16 October - 31 January 2021
Time
available online anytime
Visual Arts
Free
DOING IT. Photographer Ana Viotti. Image of the earth taken from space, displayed as stage backdrop. In middle foreground, a man dressed in a maroon coloured hoodie looks at the large image of the earth. in the bottom left and right corners, a laptop displays the same image. The laptop sits on a desk, along with a white chair

DOING IT

Pedro Penim / Teatro Praga
Date
Now available to watch again until 1 Nov
Time
available online
Theatre & Dance
UK & Ireland Premiere
Free
Maconie
BIAF and Westival present

Stuart Maconie

The Nanny State Made Me
Date
Now available to watch again
Time
available online
Talks & Ideas
IN-visible ID-entities 2
Free
Nazirkevin
BIAF and Westival present

Kevin Maxwell and Nazir Afzal

Law, Race and Equality
Date
Now available to watch again
Time
available online
Talks & Ideas
IN-visible ID-entities 2
Free
Patrickfryne
BIAF and Westival present

Patrick Freyne

OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea
Date
Now available to watch again
Time
available online
Talks & Ideas
IN-visible ID-entities 2
Free
Blame Game Web

Blame Game

Kundle Cru presented by Crying Out Loud
Date
24 October - 31 October 2020
6:00pm
Outdoor
IN-visible ID-entities 2
UK & Ireland Premiere
Free