Smashing Times takes up residency at the Pumphouse during Dublin Arts & Human Rights Festival

Dublin Port Company are delighted to announce Smashing Times will be taking up residency at the Pumphouse as part of the Arts and Community Engagement Programme.

“In a world where human rights continue to be under attack, Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival sets out to celebrate the people who have stood up for them around the world and throughout history, and highlight the role artists can play in promoting a more just society.”

– Kevin Courtney, Irish Times

Smashing Times are thrilled to announce that the programme for the fifth annual Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival has been launched. Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders, alongside a range of partners, present the international Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival from 13 to 22 October, 2023.

The festival features exciting and innovative events that promote equality, human rights, and diversity through the arts. It takes place in Dublin, Kerry, Donegal, and Cork, with artists and speakers in attendance from Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. The aim of the festival is to showcase and highlight the extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, past and present, and the role of the arts and artists in promoting human rights today.

Find out more

Please find more information on the events taking place in the Pumphouse during the festival below:

Eternal Rebels Changemakers Exhibition

The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, 13 October – 22 October, 2023, @10am – 6pm, Mon – Sun

A multidisciplinary exhibition by artists Mary Moynihan, Amna Walayat, and Hina Khan. The exhibition features visual art, film, photography, and poetry, and is a visual and poetic reflection on the stories of changemakers in Irish history from the Decade of Centenaries to today. Changemaker stories include Eva Gore-Booth, poet and trade unionist; Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, feminist, pacifist, and one of Ireland’s foremost suffragettes; and James Connolly, Irish revolutionary and trade union leader. The exhibition takes place daily in The Pumphouse, Dublin Port for the entire duration of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (13-22 October), from 10am-6pm. No booking necessary.

States of Independence: Live Multidisciplinary Performance

The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22 October, 2023 @ 7:30pm – 9pm

This multidisciplinary performance by Mary Moynihan, Féilim James, and Michael McCabe, is inspired by stories of changemaker activists and artists from the Decade of Centenaries, combining theatre, film screenings, poetry, film projections, and live music. A key part of the performance is the premiere of the play Sole Flower, Spidered Soul by up-and-coming writer Féilim James, inspired by the life stories of Lucia Joyce, a dancer, and her father, the writer James Joyce. This event takes place in The Pumphouse, Dublin Port on 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22 October, 2023, at 7:30pm.

Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival Launch: In Solidarity – An International Celebration of Arts and Rights
The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, 13 October, 2023 @ 6pm – 9pm

Launch of the 2023 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival and the flagship Eternal Rebels Exhibition, followed by a premiere performance of States of Independence, taking place on Friday 13 October, 2023, 6pm, at the Pumphouse, Dublin Port. Guest speakers are Olive Moore, Interim Director, Front Line Defenders; Mary Moynihan, writer, poet, theatre and film-maker, and Artistic Director of Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality, with guest artist performances.

An Afternoon with the Changemaker: Theatre in Palm Festival Within a Festival

The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, 15 October, 2023 @ 2pm – 5pm

This event features a talk, workshop, and live performances hosted by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and presented by a range of creative arts organisations from the European project Theatre in Palm. Come along to The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, at 2pm on 15 October.

An Evening with the Changemaker: Theatre in Palm Festival Within a Festival

The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, 15 October, 2023 @ 7pm – 10pm

With two live performances and a post-show panel discussion, An Evening with the Changemaker: Theatre in Palm Festival within a Festival is hosted by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and presented by creative arts organisations from the European project Theatre in Palm. Join us at The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, at 7pm on 15 October.

Voices From Ukraine: War, Film, and Human Rights

The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, October 17, 2023 @ 7pm – 9pm

A panel discussion with the organisers of Docudays UA, a Ukrainian International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, on presenting a festival while at war. Tribute will be paid to Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who spoke passionately at the 2022 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival about bringing the war in Ukraine to a close, but who sadly passed away earlier this year as a result of a missile strike in Ukraine. This event occurs in The Pumphouse, Dublin Port, on October 17 at 7pm.