Be a Part of Art History

Date: Saturday 15 November 2025

Locations: Starting at Ulster University, Belfast School of Art walking to and ending at Alexandra Park, Antrim Rd, Belfast BT15 3BY

Please Note: You can take part in by joining us at points along the way. There are three times you can join this event depending on your level of preparation and availability. See below for more information on what time is appropriate for you to join.

Times: 10:00 am, 11:00 am, and 12:00 pm

To register for the walk please scroll on down below. You can select which time is appropriate for you

Pretext:- to Unity Walk and (G)LOCAL INTERMISSION (P)ART 1 – celebrating the 50th anniversary of performance art in Northern Ireland

Alastair MacLennan’s first public interactions was a workshop involving students from the University of Ulster and Queen’s University, Belfast, as part of the Belfast Fringe Festival in November 1975. The workshop involved MacLennan, along with students, working together in a group action that involved dressing in white lab coats with ‘ART’ written on the back, wearing white Styrofoam masks, and carrying black plastic bags. Dr Slavka Sverakova described this first piece of work as Art March, highlighting two distinct functions: first, a reference to the political marches in NI,  secondly, ‘making art visible to the public outside the art systems’.[1] Sverakova also notes that in a catalogue published by MacLennan in 1980, it is termed as ‘Parade.’[2]

The images of Art March/Parade unexpectedly returned back into focus in October 2006 when the Québec-based multimedia artist Richard Martel returned to Belfast and delivered a performance workshop for Bbeyond as part of Operation Ambassadors. Uncannily, Martel’s performance replicated in many ways similar content to the Art March, including parts of the documentation being recorded almost exactly in the same space on Royal Avenue, in Belfast’s city centre, but separated in time by 31 years[3]. This use of public space as a forum for artistic actions potentially opens up debates on the function of art in society, with ‘open’ being the operative word. When Beuys was asked about his thoughts on aspects of the problematics of raising public awareness during talks at Documenta V, he responded:

    ‘School is universal. That means, on the street when you talk about these things, with people at the grocer’s, the school is at the grocer’s

    at that moment. That means that the educational process not only takes place in schools, but begins when people talk to people about

    these things’.[4]

 Text directly from unpublished research by Brian Patterson, entitled :- Performance Art in Northern Ireland:- 50 years of an inner evolutionary process, within an outer revolutionary context, 1974-2024

[1] Sverakova, S, 1988, Alastair MacLennan -IS NO - 1975-1988, edited by Snoddy Stephen, Pub Arnolfini, Bristol, p18,

[2] Ditto, ‘Parade’ as the title of the work is both acknowledged on p8 and p18.

[3] Bbeyond, utilised this fact, using these two images as the cover to pani No1&2, Patterson and Graham, 2015. The earlier version has a army Saracen tank behind the artists, in Royal Ave, Martel’s march adopts a middle of the road stance, somewhat like the politics at the time.

[4] Mesch, C, and Michely, V. M,(editors) 2007,Joseph Beuys: The Reader, Michigan MIT Press., p195

Unity Walk Details

The Unity Walk is a 45-minute walk through Belfast at a steady, medium pace, ending at Alexandra Park.

Group 1 - New Participants

For those who have NOT attended preparatory workshops

●     Meet at 10:00 am, Saturday 15 November

●     Location: Ulster University, Belfast School of Art, York Street entrance

●     Activity: Preparatory workshop and instructions

Walk Departure

Groups 1 & 2 will depart from the Belfast School of Art together at 11:15 am and participate in a 45-minute Unity Walk to Alexandra Park

Group 3.

For those unable to join the city walk you are welcome to join us to watch or partake in the final walking group performance.

●     Meet at 12:00 pm at the Jubilee Avenue entrance, Alexandra Park,  Antrim Rd, Belfast

Activity: Join Groups 1 & 2 for the open group performance jam - our Performance Monthly - as a participant or a witness.

This is a ‘leave no trace’ performance jam. Participants are invited to come and move, perform, create action with brought or found materials and one another. We ask that you respect the space, yourself and one another by cleaning up after yourself and not endangering yourself or any other participant or witness through your actions.

To learn more about our monthly performances please visit our Performance Monthlies page.

After the group performance

After the performance jam you are invited to return to the Belfast School of Art to take part in a feedback session that will contribute to the exhibition 50 Years of performance Art that will open in the foyer in November. More information about the feedback session to follow.

This event is kindly funded by Belfast City Council

At 4.15pm there is an optional visit  to the Mac for Bbeyond New Commission artist 2021 /2022 Niamh Seana Meehan exhibition in the Sunken Gallery, 'SeaSkin'.

At 5pm there is an optional visit to the Outdoor Market at Belfast City Hall.

Donations: Unity Walk is FREE however if you would like to contribute to Bbeyond ongoing work in live art it would be greatly appreciated.