Water: Symbol, Element, Utility?

Remember Twestival? Well, another watery exhibition and fund raising about to spring up in Belfast.

Launching on Monday night (20 April) at 6pm in the Art College Belfast campus of the University of Ulster is an exhibition of over 60 pieces of art all based around the theme of water.

Water: Symbol, Element, Utility? is a collaboration between chaplaincy, students, staff and alumni. From architects to artists, exhibits range from textiles to photography, sculpture to fine art ... and even one piece of performance art.

The time and energy poured into this exhibition is being used to raise money for Tear Fund’s water and sanitation campaign. All of the works on sale, and the artists donating either 50% or 100% of the value to Tear Fund. Miriam Todd, a graduate from the School of Art and now working for Tear Fund, first suggested the idea for the exhibition:

“Water is something we take for granted but it’s still a big issue in many developing countries where 1.1 billion people live without clean water.”

So why not pop along and explore the exhibition and see if you can spot any future Turner Prize winners! Prices for exhibits start at £30.

Speaking at the launch will be David Haley FRSA whose own art explores ecology and social justice.

The exhibition is free, and will be running in the open ground floor area of the York Street building until the 30 April.

Organising the exhibition, Presbyterian Chaplain Cheryl Meban explained

“The diversity of the submissions to the exhibition is amazing, and the generosity of the artists and of the staff who’ve been working on it. Tear Fund inspired the original idea. But caring for the poor and social justice can touch a much wider audience than just Christian students, so we threw it open to everybody.”

Later in the week, local blogger Glenn Jordan is giving an open lecture on the Spirituality of Water as part of the exhibition. Friday 24 April at 12.30pm in Room 82A02 (on the ground floor next to the exhibition).

Update - BBC news covered the exhibition online!