This year’s festival is moving online where we are creating a dedicated virtual space to share, celebrate, remember, explore, provoke and promote the arts for human rights. Join us as we bring together artists, activists, citizens, families, communities and all those interested in using the arts to celebrate and promote human rights and equality for all.

The theme of this year’s festival is Voices of Hope, Courage and Resilience celebrating human rights and linking the arts to civil society, active citizenship and politics through a series of inter-disciplinary performances, film screenings, documentaries, theatre, music, dance, visual and digital art, poetry, literature, historical memory, discussions and arts-based workshops, featuring Irish and international artists and guest speakers celebrating and promoting dignity and respect for all people equally.

The festival is presented by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders in partnership with Amnesty International Ireland, Fighting Words, Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and Trócaire. Creative partners include John Scott Dance, Poetry Ireland, dlr Mill Theatre, Dundrum, TheatreMaker.ie, Company SJ and Trinity College Dublin.

The artistic curator for the festival is Mary Moynihan, Artistic Director, Smashing Times and the human rights curator is Tara Madden, Front Line Defenders. Over ten days the festival brings audiences a mix of artworks that include the very best performances, vibrant dance acts, live music, visual art exhibitions and family fun combined with stimulating discussion and debate.

An assortment of workshops in performance, music, and song-writing are available for all ages as a part of this unique and vibrant festival of culture, arts and equality. The festival is a collaborative partnership showcasing world-class programming and presenting new and diverse artists and acts, with something for everyone to enjoy. Join us for a celebration of the arts and human rights – a festival not to be missed. The festival will bear witness and remember the past, explore the present and celebrate the future linked to equality and rights for all, highlighting the role artists can play in a new society.