A series of essays has been commissioned to cover the relevant art forms and related topics. These will be published in pamphlet form during 2008, eventually forming a suite of eleven. They will also eventually be accessible on the web-based Troubles Archive.
These critical essays have been commissioned from the following writers, all of whom have considerable expertise in their chosen topics:
Visual Art: Curator and writer Declan Long is on the Visual Culture staff of the National College of Art and Design and teaches in the area of contemporary art and cultural theory. He wrote the accompanying essay for Ghost Story, a new film by Willie Doherty premiered at the 52nd Venice Biennale.
Prose: Acclaimed critic, writer and anthologist Patricia Craig regularly contributes to the Independent, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement and The New Statesman. She is the editor of The Rattle of the North and The Ulster Anthology.
Poetry: Poet and teacher Frank Ormsby edited The Honest Ulsterman from 1969 to 1989, Poets from the North of Ireland and A Rage form Order: Poetry of the Northern Irish Troubles.
Drama: Writer, producer and freelance arts consultant Imelda Foley is the author of The Girls in the Big Picture, a study of gender in contemporary Ulster theatre. She has researched all aspects of theatrical practice in Northern Ireland and draws on a broad range of experience of dramatic arts.
Traditional Music: Historian, sociologist and fiddle player Dr. Martin Dowling is on the staff of the Department of Music and Sonic Arts at Queen’s University. His research currently centres on Irish music and identity.
Popular Music: Broadcaster and writer Stuart Bailey has followed the Northern Irish popular music scene for many years and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of pop, punk and other contemporary forms.
Film and Television: Academic, author and editor Martin McLoone is professor of Media and cultural identity, Irish cinema, and television drama at the University of Ulster. He has written several books about his research interests which include Irish cinema, broadcasting, television drama and the media and cultural identity.
Architecture: Award-winning architect Ciaran Mackle has a special interest in architecture and the built environment in its wider social and historical context. He is a past president of the RUSA and frequent contributor of reviews, editorials and essays to various publications, journals and conferences.
Three further essays have been commissioned which provide a more generalized view of the artistic response to the Troubles:
John Gray will write on the response of arts organisations and institutions to the challenge of 'the Troubles'. He will explore passive and active avoidance whether reflecting innate institutional conservatism or more deliberate censorship, and an emerging breaking of taboos leading to a more authentic engagement with the conflict.
Ciaran Carson has been approached to write an essay providing an internal overview of the Arts generally in the context of the Troubles.
Feargal Keane has been asked to write about the art of the Troubles in a global context, placing Northern Ireland on the international stage in terms of conflict and its effect on arts and culture.
