Ulster Museum
Botanic Gardens, Belfast, BT9 5AB
11 May 2024
Convened by Eva Isherwood-Wallace
Art & Poetry: Ekphrastic Ethics in the Gallery Space brought together poets, painters, essayists, photographers, performance artists (and more) for an afternoon of interdisciplinary conversation and experimentation at the Ulster Museum, Belfast in May 2024. We learnt about the possibilities of ekphrasis, discussed examples from a range of writers, and thought about how to apply this in our work.
Soft Fiction Projects guided us in a collaborative activity, responding to poetry by Anne Carson in collage. This practical exercise created a welcoming and inclusive environment in which artists and writers took turns as beginners, discovering new disciplines and engaging in creative play.
Once we were comfortable with ekphrasis, and each other, we visited the gallery to view Supper at Emmaus and The Taking of Christ by Caravaggio. After a free-writing session, we shared our responses. Artists and writers were drawn to different (and similar) things present in the paintings; each participant offered a unique perspective based on their creative practice, background, and personal experiences.
Following this, we had an open discussion about ekphrasis in light of our findings. We considered ethical questions of inspiration, intellectual property, and giving ‘voice’ to the visual arts. The group imagined possible future collaborative works that might break down perceived barriers between the visual and literary arts. As one participant wrote in their post-event feedback: “It was really refreshing to attend a workshop that engaged both the more analytic and the more intuitive parts of my thinking and practices, rather than treat them as exclusive.”
