NA IRENE FITZGERALD CHRONICLES KA EVOLUTION OF BELFAST'S QUEEN STREET STUDIOS NO KA EHA KANAKA.
I ka Mei 1981, ka Art & Research Exchange (ARE) ma Belfast, i hoʻokumu ʻia i ka makahiki 1978 e Christopher Coppock lāua ʻo Anne Carlisle (ʻo ia hoʻi ka mea nāna i hoʻokumu i ka makasina kiʻi CIRCA), kono i ke kaiāulu noʻeau ma Northern Ireland e kūkākūkā i ka hoʻokumu ʻana i kahi hui kiʻi.1 I kēia manawa, ʻaʻohe mea hoʻolako studio a mea hoʻolako mea hana kiʻi ma Belfast, ʻaʻohe hiki ke kiʻi hale kiʻi maoli no nā mea hana kiʻi ʻole i hoʻokumu ʻia, a me ke kākoʻo liʻiliʻi no nā haumāna puka. Ma luna o hoʻokahi haneli mau mea pena i pane aku i ke kono, e alakaʻi ana i ka hoʻokumu ʻana i ka Artists' Collective of Northern Ireland.
ʻO ia ka hopena o nā kamaʻilio ʻana i loko o ka hui, i kālele i ka manaʻo o ka poʻe i ka pono o nā keʻena hana kiʻi, a ua hoʻohiki kekahi pūʻulu liʻiliʻi iā lākou iho e kau inoa i kahi hoʻolimalima. Ua alakaʻi ʻo Damien Coyle i ka ʻimi ʻana i ke kahua, a i ka makahiki 1984, ua wehe ʻia nā studio ma ka papahele ʻehā o kahi hale paʻi kahiko ma Queen Street, i kākoʻo ʻia e kahi haʻawina mai ka Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI).
I kēia lā, hana ʻo Queen Street Studios (QSS) ma Bloomfield Avenue ma East Belfast, e mālama ana i kona inoa kumu. Hāʻawi mākou i 47 mau lumi hale paʻa ponoʻī, mai ka 147 a 744 sq. ft., me nā kukui kūlohelohe maikaʻi loa, nā puka aniani pālua, a me ka hoʻomehana uila.2 Hāʻawi kahi bursary makahiki i nā lako studio manuahi no kahi puka kula ʻo Belfast School of Art. Hoʻohui ʻia, hiki ke hoʻolimalima ʻia ka nui o ka waiho ʻana, a loaʻa iā mākou kahi hale hana kaiaulu a me nā lako no ka hoʻohana ʻana o ka lālā.
Hoʻoponopono pū ʻo QSS i ʻelua mau kikowaena hale kiʻi, e hōʻike mua ana i nā mea pena kiʻi mua a me ka waena o ka hana i koho ʻia ma o nā kelepona wehe a i ʻole ma o ka hui ʻana. I ka makahiki i hala ua hoʻokipa mākou i nā hōʻikeʻike 22 akā ua hoʻihoʻi i nā hōʻike he 13 i kēia makahiki e hoʻohālikelike maikaʻi me kā mākou limahana limahana. I kēia manawa, hōʻike ʻo Gallery 01 i ka hōʻike hoʻokahi a Eimear Nic Roibeaird, 'E ʻimi i ka ʻĀina Pono/ Tabhair ar ais an Oíche Aréir,' aʻo ka Gallery 02 he hōʻike pūʻulu, 'He aha kā mākou makemake?' cured e Olivier Cornet, e kamaʻilio ana i nā kumuhana geopolitical a me nā hana a Jill Gibbon, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Tom Molloy, a me ka mea pena kiʻi QSS Gail Ritchie. Hoʻomau nā hōʻikeʻike ʻelua a hiki i ka lā 5 Kepakemapa.
Ma ka lā 26 Kepakemapa, e hoʻolauna ʻo QSS i kāna papahana lā hānau 40th me 'We are QSS at 40,' kahi hōʻikeʻike nui i mālama ʻia e Eamonn Maxwell e holo ana a hiki i ka lā 12 Dekemaba. ʻAʻole i manaʻo ʻia kēia hōʻike e hoʻolauleʻa ai i nā makahiki he 40 i hala o QSS akā ke ʻimi nei e hoʻomaopopo i ka nui o nā mea pena kiʻi nui i kōkua i ka hoʻokumu ʻana i ka hui a e hōʻike i ke kālena nui i loaʻa i nā lālā o kēia manawa. Ua ʻōlelo ʻo Maxwell: “E lilo ia i hōʻike eclectic me kahi hang ʻokoʻa, akā he mea hoihoi loa ia iaʻu ma ke ʻano he curator. No County Antrim, maikaʻi ke hana pū me nā mea pena kiʻi e noho ana a hana kokoke i koʻu wahi i puka mai ai. ʻO ka hoʻolilo ʻana i ka manawa ma QSS i nā mahina i hala iho nei, e hālāwai me nā mea pena kiʻi a me ka noʻonoʻo ʻana i nā wahi hōʻikeʻike. E hōʻike ana ka hōʻikeʻike i nā hanana komo, e like me Open Studios (26 ʻOkakopa), nā kamaʻilio mea pena, nā haʻawina, nā kipa kula, a me nā manawa hoʻomohala ʻoihana. E hoʻopaʻa ʻia kahi hōʻike waihona waihona i ka ulu ʻana o QSS ma luna o ʻehā mau makahiki, e hoʻokomo i nā kiʻi, nā pepa, nā mea mōʻaukala a me nā mea hou aku.
Hoʻomalu ʻia ʻo QSS e kahi Papa Luna Hoʻokele manawaleʻa, i kākoʻo ʻia e ʻelua mau limahana manawaleʻa (Kakauolelo Papa a me ka Luna Hoʻokele a me ka Luna Hoʻomohala) a me kahi mea aʻoaʻo media digital freelance. Hālāwai ka papa i kēlā me kēia pule ʻeono a loaʻa iā ʻehā mau mea pena kiʻi studio a me ʻehā mau lālā o waho me ka loea i ka hoʻokele, kānāwai, a me ke kālā. Hoʻohana mākou i ka Papahana Papa Hoʻolike o Arts & Business NI no ka ʻimi ʻana i nā kahu mālama ʻole, a hiki i nā mea pena ke koho i nā lālā studio i ka papa. Mālama kēia ʻōnaehana hoʻomalu i ka noho mau ʻana o QSS i alakaʻi ʻia me ka pōmaikaʻi mai nā ʻike a me nā ʻike loea.
Ma ka makahiki 2024/25, e uku ʻia kā mākou mau hana e ka ACNI's Annual Funding Program (£32,014) a me BCC's Cultural Multi Annual Grant (2024-2026, £10,000 no ka makahiki). E kōkua kēia mau kahawai kālā i ka uhi ʻana i kā mākou mau koina hana koʻikoʻi. ʻOiai ʻo kēia mau kākoʻo, paʻakikī ka loaʻa ʻana o ke kālā no nā wahi i hoʻopaʻa ʻole ʻia e like me QSS. He mea koʻikoʻi ka hoʻolauna ʻana o Belfast City Council's Artist Studios Organizational Grant ma 2022 a ua kōkua mai ia iā mākou e hoʻopuka i nā papahana kikoʻī studio a e hoʻololi i kā mākou kumu kālā. No ka laʻana, kākoʻo maikaʻi ʻia kā mākou 40th Birthday Program e ka BCC's Arts & Heritage award a me ka Esmé Mitchell Trust.
ʻOiai ua puni mākou no 40 mau makahiki, mau ka maopopo ʻole o ka noho ʻana. Ua noi hou mai nei na mea nona ka hale o keia manawa e hooulu hou i ka pūnaewele i loko o na hale a oiai he hiki ke hoonuiia ka hoolimalima no ka manawa pokole (e pau ana ko makou hoolimalima o keia manawa ma ka la 31 o Malaki 2025), he mea hiki ole ke hoololi ia. Ua laha keia hihia; Ua hōʻike ʻo Jane Morrow's PhD thesis i ke ʻano kūlohelohe o nā hale hoʻolimalima studio ma Belfast, me nā hui āpau he 17 āna i kūkākūkā ai me ka loaʻa ʻana o nā ʻaelike hoʻolimalima ma lalo o ʻekolu mau makahiki ma 2019.3 I ka makahiki 2022, ua pani ʻia nā hui studio ʻelua. Ua ʻike ʻia kahi loiloi hou he hoʻokahi wale nō hui i hoʻopaʻa i kahi hoʻolimalima o ka lōʻihi loa, a he nui ka poʻe e hana ana i nā ʻaelike o kēlā me kēia mahina. Hoʻopilikia kēia paʻa ʻole i ka hoʻolālā ʻana i ka wā e hiki mai ana a loaʻa nā kumukūʻai hoʻoneʻe nui, ʻo ia nā mea kaumaha nui no kā mākou ʻāpana.
Eia nō naʻe, he mea koʻikoʻi ka hoʻolako studio no ka mālama ʻana i ke kālena noʻeau a NI a me ke kākoʻo ʻana i ka ʻoihana ʻike kiʻi ākea. ʻO ka mea nui, 86% o kā mākou mau lālā i aʻo mua ma Belfast School of Art. I ka makahiki 2023-2024, ua hōʻike ʻia ka 62% o kā mākou mea paʻa studio ma ke kūlanakauhale (koe nā kiʻi kiʻi QSS) a me 34% i hōʻike i kā lākou hana ma nā hale kiʻi ʻē aʻe ma Northern Ireland, e hāʻawi ana i nā manawa he nui no ka hana moʻomeheu. Eia kekahi, 18% o nā mea hana kiʻi QSS i hāʻawi i ka hoʻonaʻauao kiʻekiʻe ʻekolu ma Belfast.
I kēia manawa, ke kūkulu nei mākou i kahi hoʻolālā hoʻolālā ʻekolu makahiki, e hilinaʻi ana i ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i kahi wahi kūpono. Ma waena o nā hoʻolālā kūkulu hou ʻana o ko mākou konohiki, ʻo kā mākou mea nui ka hoʻolimalima ʻana i hale i kūpono i ko mākou mau pono, e ʻimi ana i kahi home mau i ka wā lōʻihi. E noʻonoʻo pū mākou i ka hoʻonui ʻana i ka hiki i nā limahana ke kākoʻo maikaʻi i kā mākou mau mea pena kiʻi e hiki i ko lākou hiki piha. No ka noʻonoʻo ʻana i ka hana a ka Artists Collective of Northern Ireland a me ka hoʻokumu ʻana i ka CIRCA Art Magazine, ua kākau ka mea hoʻoponopono ʻo Michaële Cutaya i ka makahiki 2016: "ʻO nā pono o nā mea pena kiʻi, ʻaʻole like ia me ka 1980s: ʻaʻole lākou i nele i ke kālā, e hakakā nei no ka nā wahi hana, a me ka iini no ka hoʻomau mau ʻana i kā lākou hana.4 Kūlana kēia mau ʻōlelo i kēia lā. Eia nō naʻe, ke manaʻolana nei mākou ma ka lā hānau 50, e loaʻa iā mākou kahi moʻolelo ʻē aʻe e haʻi: ʻo kekahi o ka kūpaʻa, ka ulu ʻana, a me ke kākoʻo mau ʻana i ke kaiāulu ʻoihana ikaika ma Belfast.
ʻO Irene Fitzgerald ke Kakauolelo Papa ma Queen Street Studios (QSS) ma Belfast.
queenstreetstudios.net
Notes:
1 ʻO Christopher Coppock 'ARE - Acronyms, Community Arts and Stiff Little Fingers', Loaʻa, Helu 11 (Belfast: Factotum, 2003)
2 Nā mea pena QSS o kēia manawa: Alana Barton, Mollie Browne, Reuben Brown, Gerard Carson, Majella Clancy, Pauline Clancy, Niamh Clarke, Hannah Clegg, Daniel Coleman, Susan Connolly, Amanda Coogan, Mary Cosgrove, Jonathan Conlon, Ian Cumberland, Alacoque Davey, Catherine Davison, Gerry Devlin, Craig Donald, Dan Ferguson, Joy Gerrard, Kathryn Graham, Angela Hackett, Karl Hagan, David Haughey, Ashley B Holmes, Frédéric Huska, Sharon Kelly, Gemma Kirkpatrick, Rachel Lawell, Naomi Litvack, Clement McAleer, Terry McAllister , Mark McGreevy, Meadhbh McIlgorm, Sinead McKeever, Michelle McKeown, Sharon McKeown, Grace McMurray, Tim Millen, Kate O'Neill, Darcy Patterson, Jane Rainey, Claire Ritchie, Gail Ritchie, Yasmine Robinson, Duncan Ross, Anushiya Sundaralingam, Vasiliki , Jennifer Trouton, a me Kwok Tsui.
ʻO nā mea pena kiʻi hui pū: Rebecca Dawson, Clare French, Amy Higgins a me Charlie Scott).
3 ʻO Jane Morrow, 'Ka poʻe paʻakikī, nā wahi, a me nā hoʻomaʻamaʻa: Mapping, mediating, and challenging the instability of artists' studios in Belfast (2018 – 2022)', PhD Thesis (unpublished), University of Ulster, 2022.
4 ʻO Michaële Cutaya, 'ʻO CIRCA ka mea hana kiʻi' Magazine? Mahele I', ʻO CIRCA Art Magazine, 2016 (circaartmagazine.net)
