Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Belfast - Re-imagining the City // Radio 4 Choice podcast

Each week's Radio 4 Choice podcast is like dipping your hand into a goodie bag and pulling out a prize. This week's gem was an unusual documentary about Belfast by artist Bill Drummond. It's still available to download for another couple of days.

At times it feels like Drummond lives in an alternative universe, describing a different city than the Belfast we know. (As a man who burnt a million pounds and called it art, this may be the proof that he does indeed live in an alternative universe!) Yet it's full of wit and made me smile on the drive home last night after a very long day.

"When artist Bill Drummond discovered Belfast wasn't twinned with anywhere he made a sign and put it up under the city's welcome notice. It said 'Belfast: Twinned with Your Wildest Dreams'. In this programme, Bill shares his vision of the city: his memories of glamorous 1930s cinemas with glittering curtains, of spontaneous creative happenings and a landscape where the smell of the mountain heather seeps down to the city centre. With a range of urban guides, Bill offers a tour of Belfast unlike any you've heard before."

On the ArtsExtra blog last month, Marie-Louise Muir described her night out with Drummond which you'll hear near the end of the programme.

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