🧡☕🧡 Catalyst Cafe 🧡☕🧡

artist = opportunity finder + technician + researcher + accountant + warm-blooded (gotta keep warm) + writer + speaker + social media manager + graphic designer + multi-tasker + more…

As part of the NI Mental Health Arts Festival we hosted Catalyst Cafe - a space to grab a cup of tea, have a chat, and take some time out from studio/work/life. Catalyst Cafe aimed to debunk the romantic myth of the artist's life through fun and light hearted events - offering support and community for artists and creatives alike in navigating the precarity of sustaining an artistic practice today.

Let’s huddle and sing/dance/laugh/cry about being an artist.

Thurs 11th 7-9pm 🧀
Wine + Cheese Night courtesy of Mike’s Fancy Cheese
Shout out to the wonderful team at Mike's Fancy Cheese (@wheresthatjoebuck ) for supporting the arts with cheese!

Fri 12th 1-2pm 🌱
"Help, my plants keep dying!" with Mark Cousins (@marks_markers1998 )
A workshop on how to care for them, how they care for you, how to make baby plants, and take one home with you! <3

Sat 13th 8pm-late 🎤
Catalyst (Eurovision) Karaoke
A night of the best music in Europe (we streamed Eurovision live)! Dress up (highly) recommended but not mandatory. Time to sing (and dance) your heart out! BYOB

Tues 16th 10am-12:30pm 🥐
Breakfast Club and Gallery Crawl
Maybe you have a bowl of cereal, maybe you make pancakes, maybe you have a slice of toast on the go, maybe you have none, or maybe, this time, you have breakfast with us and explore artist run spaces in the city centre <3

Wed 17th 7-9pm 🖍️
Drink n’ Draw with Creative Beans ( @creativebeanscollective)
We were delighted to have Creative Beans at Catalyst Cafe to host their monthly Drink n’ Draw!

Fri 19th 7-9pm 📜
Poetry Night with Soup Ink ( @soupinkcoop )
A night of poetry readings hosted by Soup Ink on the theme of ‘myyyyyyyyyths’. There was also an opportunity for audience members to share some readings at the end of the night. It was a beautiful night of wordssssss! BYOB

Outside of these events, Catalyst Cafe ran as (surprise surprise) a cafe! Please come and enjoy our space - have lunch, read a book, write, research, sing, use our toilets, water our plants, have a biscuit…

Catalyst Cafe ran from the 11th - 19th of May 2023.