University of Atypical for Arts and Disability

21/03/2026

16 to 22 March is Sign Language Week!
This week celebrates the Deaf community as ‘United in Sign’ by a shared language and identity. It also pushes back against the marginalisation of sign languages, and promotes access to signed languages as a matter of rights.
At University of Atypical we recently held Deaf Awareness workshops with Paula Clarke and John Carberry, and our current Introduction to BSL class with Paula Clarke finishes at the end of this month.
Keep checking our social media for similar opportunities to learn about Deaf culture and sign language.

20/03/2026

Reminder!
The applications for Bank of Ideas is closing on Monday 23 March 5:00pm.
https://yoursay.belfastcity.gov.uk/bank-of-ideas-2026
Culture Belfast Belfast City Council

The Bank of Ideas is reopening for 2026! This is a way for the people of Belfast to propose and collectively decide on local creative projects for our city. This year, ideas should connect to the Fleadh Cheoil theme of 'Celebrating Together'. The deadline for applications is Monday 23 March 2026 at 5:00 pm so there is still plenty of time to submit an idea!

If you are d/Deaf, disabled, or neurodivergent and would like support with your application, contact us at University of Atypical by phone on 028 9023 9450 or by email at access@universityofatypical.org.

There will be Idea Generating and Information Sessions all across the city for anyone who wants to know more. There will be a BSL and ISL-interpreted session in the Ledger Studio from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Wednesday 4 March.

If you would like information about the Bank of Ideas in BSL, ISL or Easy Read, you can find that on the Bank of Ideas website (link in bio). You can also find the application form, and the link to book yourself into an information session.

Good luck with your ideas!

https://buff.ly/jy7Q4Ym

Belfast City Council Culture Belfast

19/03/2026

Join us next Thursday afternoon when Paul Moore will talk about his current exhibition ‘Intangible Bodies’ in the Atypical Gallery. Paul Moore is an interdisciplinary artist based in Belfast working across film, sound, installation, and performance. His practice explores embodiment, endurance, and neurodivergent perception through immersive and time-based works. His practice continues to evolve at the intersection of technology, perception, and disability culture translating lived, embodied experience into reflective and affective environments.

Thursday 26 March
Atypical Gallery
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm

19/03/2026

The next two panelists joining us at our upcoming Creative Networking are Soso Ní Cheallaigh and Linda Fearon, both well known to Atypical.

Soso Ní Cheallaigh is a Derry/Belfast-based writer, performer, and maker creating bold, disability-led work across theatre, film, poetry, essays, and visual art in both English and Irish. A former Theatre & Dance NI Invest Artist and Tinderbox Incubate Artist, Soso premiered their debut dance-theatre work Variations for Two Disabled Bodies at Project Arts Centre with collaborator Bobbi Byrne as part of Dublin Fringe Festival 2025, where it received the inaugural COISCÉIM Dance Theatre Award. A graduate of Inclusive Dance Cork, they may not call themselves a dancer, but they are currently performing in a dance production.

Linda Fearon is a disabled contemporary dancer and performer from Armagh. Her practice is rooted in lived experience, access, and embodiment, challenging traditional ideas of ability in dance. Through her work, she explores identity, space, and power while expanding how contemporary dance understands and values disabled bodies. She trained with Luminous Soul and has worked with companies including CandoCo, Open Arts, and Croí Glan Integrated Dance. Linda is also a former board member of the Arts and Disability Forum.

Join us for an informal networking event with Helen Hall, Linda Fearon, Paula Clarke and Soso ni Cheallaigh.

Tuesday 24 March 2026
11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Ledger Studio, 109–113 Royal Avenue, Belfast

Free event. Booking essential.
BSL and Audio description included.

Book via the link https://buff.ly/cKVmXov

or contact Sheena at sheena@universityofatypical.org







Theatre and Dance NI Arts Council of Northern Ireland Culture Belfast Open Arts

18/03/2026

Introducing two of the panelists joining us at our upcoming Creative Networking Event exploring dance, theatre and disability.

Both artists are long-time collaborators with Atypical and bring distinct perspectives shaped by their lived experience and creative practice.
Paula Clarke is a Deaf writer, actor and theatre and media maker from Armagh. She is the founder and Deaf Artistic Director of TEAL VISUAL LTD, championing access and inclusion for Deaf and disabled artists and audiences. Paula also works internationally as a Deaf artist consultant and collaborates with organisations including the National Theatre in London.
Helen Hall is a dance artist whose work explores how we experience and interact with the world. As someone with partial sight, she is interested in the margins of perception and telling untold stories through choreography. Her work has been presented at festivals including Bounce Arts festival, Belfast International Arts Festival, Belfast Children’s Festival and Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.

Join us for an informal networking event with Helen Hall, Linda Fearon, Paula Clarke and Soso ni Cheallaigh.

Tuesday 24 March 2026
11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Ledger Studio, 109–113 Royal Avenue, Belfast
Free event. Booking essential.

BSL and Audio description included.
Book via this link https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/university-of-atypical/creative-networking-event-dance-theatre-and-performance/e-emeoeq
or contact Sheena at sheena@universityofatypical.org

13/03/2026

The office and Atypical Gallery will be closed on Tuesday 17 March and will re-open on Wednesday 18 March.

12/03/2026

The Green Open Call opens today, Thursday 12 March.

University of Atypical invites visual artists to apply for an exciting Green Open Call Opportunity, for a solo exhibition in the Atypical Gallery, Belfast. The Atypical Gallery is the only gallery on this island solely dedicated to the promotion of artists who are d/Deaf, disabled or neurodivergent.

This call is open to visual artists who identify as d/Deaf, disabled, or neurodivergent. The exhibition will take place in the Atypical Gallery from Nov - Dec 2026

Deadline for submissions is Thursday 30 April at 4:00pm.

For more information and to apply follow the link below
https://buff.ly/vQA1sXo

06/03/2026

here are still a few places on our first Deaf Awareness workshop in Lisburn.
It’s led by the amazing Paula Clarke. Paula is a broadcaster, teacher, and recently received huge praise for her performance in Richard III and the Lyric Theatre. Her workshops are not to be missed!

When: Thursday 12 March from 2:00 until 5:00 pm.
Where: ISLAND Arts Centre, The Island, Lisburn, BT27 4RL.
You can register using this link https://forms.gle/r8MPj2D9LajHRZkQ9

You can also email jonathan@universityofatypical.org or phone 028 9023 9450.

05/03/2026

Belfast City Centre will once again host a St Patrick’s Day Parade on 17 March 2026, from 1:15 - 3:00 pm

The parade is an exciting and colourful procession, full of music, with dancers, circus performers, bands, youth and community groups and large-scale props.

The Parade will be audio described again this year by NI Sightlines

It takes about 1 and a half hours to pass through the city centre. The audio description group will be outside 2 Royal Avenue, in a safe space away from the public crowds, but still part of the atmosphere on the streets. There will be a large screen so that others can view the parade.

05/03/2026

Deadline approaching!
The Atypical Generation Fund closes on Tuesday 10 March 2026 at 4:00 pm
£1,000 grants for D/deaf, disabled & neurodivergent artists in Northern Ireland.
This programme (formerly known as the D/deaf & Disabled Artists Support Fund) supports 20 artists to develop their creative practice in any art form, including music, visual arts, writing, theatre, craft, circus, and more.

Funding can be used for materials, space hire, mentoring, training, or time to focus on your work. We especially welcome applications from learning disabled artists.

You can find more information and get the application form on the grant page of our website.
https://buff.ly/O42RdBN

The Atypical Generation Fund is supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

04/03/2026

Intangible Bodies by Paul Moore opens at Atypical Gallery on Thursday 5 March as part of Late Night Art, 6:00–9:00 pm, and runs until 28 April 2026.

Intangible Bodies is a projection-mapped audio-visual installation that transforms the gallery into an interface, a space where perception, attention and internal sensation become spatial, immersive and collectively experienced.

Artistic Director Edel Murphy presents this exhibition in response to the Digital Exhibition Open Call. Through digital technology, Moore explores themes and attitudes surrounding disability in a deeply sensory and thought-provoking way.

Late Night Art Belfast

04/03/2026

We still have a few places on our free Deaf Awareness workshop with Paula Clarke.
The workshop is this Thursday 5 March from 2:00 until 5:00 pm, at the Ledger Studio, 109-113 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1FF.

Paula is an incredibly engaging and informative facilitator, whose sessions are not to be missed!
You can register using the registration form. https://buff.ly/TJDjdVV

You can also email jonathan@universityofatypical.org or phone 028 9023 9450.