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a public programme of workshops and events in collaboration with Catalyst Arts, Ponyhawke and Sound Advice in February and March 2025. Propagate is a public programme of workshops and events, in the Catalyst Arts gallery, off-site and online, organised by Catalyst Arts. Collaboration, textile workshops, music, dance and conversation are the thematic seeds of this year’s programme. This cross-disciplinary approach will result in a unique sharing of knowledge, as the workshops explore and play with the development of Belfast’s nightlife, club culture and DIY music and cultural events, creating a platform for dissemination. The Propagate programme allows for a collective, creative exchange and cultivates new ways of working within artistic practices.
Inspired by various transitory club-spaces and club-communities in Ireland, with a specific focus on the six counties, “YOU WOULDN’T CLOSE A CLUB AT 3AM” aims to investigate the past, present and the imagined future of club-culture in Northern Ireland. Clubbing culture in Belfast (& the North) has historically been very DIY (& often artist-run) - created out of necessity and built entirely from the ground up, carved out of whatever spaces people could find; a backroom, a basement, an old warehouse, a forrest, a gallery, or a pub after hours. Nights were stitched together with borrowed sound systems, hand-drawn flyers and word of mouth.
But the turbulent nature of licensing laws, venue closures and the restrictive 3am closure time has meant that club-spaces often do not have the same longevity or freedom as those in nearby countries. For example, in England, the Netherlands, and Germany, clubs can stay open well into the early hours of the morning - sometimes until 6 or 7am. With a climate so hostile to club-culture, some spaces have even sacrificed alcohol licenses with a shift towards BYOB policies - these loopholes have allowed spaces to stay open later, but not with their own risks and complexities. Despite these challenges, the DIY (artist-run) spirit continues to thrive in Northern Ireland. While many of these club-spaces may no longer exist, their impact can still be seen. These fleeting spaces, though short-lived remain alive in stories, memories and energies that linger.
Sponsored By Rí-Rá Irish Lager.
Image: Samar Nezamabad and Emma Quinn.
Panel at Sound Advice, Belfast
February 28, 2025Moderated by Yeo Magazine’s Saul Duffin, the panel discussion featured contributions from Marion Hawkes (Sound Advice & Ponyhawke), Holly Lester (Free The Night), Timmy Stewart (The Night Institute), Peter Gibney (Harbour Music Society, Plain Sailing) and Andrew Moore (Plain Sailing). Conversations centred around the lack of opportunities for club-nights and late night cultural events in Belfast, the barriers that stand in the way and what may cause this, as well as the origins of Belfast subcultural club-culture, and how we may collectively go forward/what might the imagined future of club-culture in Belfast resemble.
Image: Samar Nezamabad.
Workshop at Catalyst Arts
March 01, 2025Facilitated by Reuben Brown at Catalyst Arts, “Propagate / You Wouldn’t Close A Club At 3AM” also hosted a DIY spray-paint t-shirt workshop. The workshop was conceptualised by Reuben Brown and was inspired by the same community-driven energy that has shaped club-culture in Northern Ireland. Spray-painting stencil t-shirts has long been a tool of resistance and self-expression, especially within queer and POC communities, particularly in the contexts of protest. Using stencils created both by Reuben Brown and through an open-submission open-call, incredibly unique t-shirts were created whilst embracing the DIY ethos that has defined Northern Irish nightlife culture. The workshop was accompanied by music from Matcha and Twentyfourevan, with drinks generously provided by Rí-Rá Irish Lager.