Local artists recognised in Top 40 Under 40 Awards 2008 |
11/04/2008
The Arts Council would like to congratulate four local artists who have successfully reached the finals of the Belfast Media Group’s Top 40 Under 40 Awards 2008.
Peter Richards, artist, curator and Director of the Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast, Sinéad Morrissey, renowned poet and winner of the 2007 National Poetry Competition, Pearse Elliott, screenwriter and director of several films including the Belfast-based The Mighty Celt, and Tura Arutura, international dancer and choreographer, were acknowledged at the gala award ceremony at the Belfast Harbour Office on Thursday 3rd April. These new awards, hosted by the Belfast Media Group of newspapers, celebrate the accomplishments of this generation of young achievers from across all walks of life.
Roisín McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, said, “Peter Richards, Sinéad Morrissey, Pearse Elliott and Tura Arutura are widely acknowledged as important figures by the arts community in Northern Ireland, and each has a growing international reputation. I’m delighted that their valued contribution to the development of the arts has been appreciated and recognised by the Top 40 Under 40 awards, voted for by the readers of the Belfast Media Group newspapers.”
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Peter Richards has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo and group shows, including Northern Ireland’s first official group presentation at the prestigious Venice Biennale 2005. As an exhibition curator, he has curated shows for Catalyst Arts and Flax Art Studios in Belfast, and the Context Gallery in Derry City. He became Director of Belfast’s Golden Thread Gallery in 2002 and has since realised over 50 exhibitions.
Sinéad Morrissey won this year’s National Poetry Competition, the UK's biggest poetry competition. She has published three collections of poetry: 'There Was Fire in Vancouver' (1996), 'Between Here and There' (2002), and 'The State of the Prisons' (2005). Her awards include the Patrick Kavanagh Award, an Eric Gregory Award, the Rupert and Eithne Strong Award, and the Michael Hartnett Prize for Poetry. She has twice been shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize.
Pearse Elliott has written and directed a number of films, including ‘Man about Dog’ (2004) and ‘The Mighty Celt’ (2005). He wrote the screenplay for ‘Shrooms’ (2006), which was nominated in the ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Film’ categories of the 2008 Irish Film and Television Awards. His directorial debut, ‘The Mighty Celt’, starring Gillian Anderson, Ken Stott and Robert Carlyle, earned Pearse an IFTM nomination for ‘Best Script for Film’ and won an Audience Award for Best Actor.
Tura Arutura is a Northern Ireland-based African dancer and choreographer. He formed the organisation, Artfrique, in Belfast in 1996 in order to develop and promote native arts from Africa, specialising in music, dance, theatre and visual arts. Artfrique supports integrated cultural arts development in Northern Ireland, and is recognised for its unique approach to educational methodology, placing creativity at the core of the learning experience.
