In this episode of ‘My Identity’ Professor Colin Graham (Maynooth) is in conversation with Joy Gerrard and Paul Seawright.

This episode was recorded live, at Belfast Exposed as part of as part of the BIEN programme — an ongoing series of exhibitions and events under the title “British? Irish? Either? Neither?” sponsored by the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression (OICE).

Joy Gerrard lives and works in Belfast. She is known for work that investigates different systems of relations between crowds, architecture and the built environment. Using Japanese ink on paper and canvas Gerrard makes detailed ink works which re-create recent political protests from around the world, including recent work on UK based Brexit demonstrations and political protest in the USA.

Professor Paul Seawright OBE is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Ulster University. He was Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences for five years and previously Head of Belfast School of Art. Paul has an international profile as an artist and researcher. His work is held in many museum collections including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Tate, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, International Centre of Photography New York, Arts Councils of Ireland, England and Northern Ireland, the UK Government Collection and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome.

The My Identity series is hosted by Professor Colin Graham, Maynooth. In this series, Colin is in conversation with a range of people whose ideas, work and life experiences shed light on the topic of identity on the Island of Ireland. My Identity is part of the ARINS project.

About ARINS

Colin Graham is Professor English and formerly Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Maynooth University. His books include Northern Ireland: Thirty Years of Photography, Deconstructing Ireland and Ideologies of Epic. He was editor of The Irish Review from 2004 to 2020. During the Brexit negotiations he created the Twitter account @borderirish and wrote the book I am the Border, so I am, published by HarperCollins.

ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com

ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.

My Identity is hosted by Professor Colin Graham.

Podcast management and production by Dr Susie Deedigan (University of Notre Dame).

With thanks to Conor Patterson and Morgan Blain-Crehan, The Spinner’s Mill, Belfast.