Northern Exposure: Belfast Book Festival launch 2026 programme
21 April 2026
The programme for The Crescent's 16th edition of the Belfast Book Festival (BBF26) is now live and will take place 4–11 June 2026 .
The Crescent Honours Dance Pioneer Helen Lewis with Legacy Celebration & New Bursaries
20 January 2026
The Crescent Arts Centre will host a special event on Saturday 24 January to honour dancer, choreographer and teacher, Helen Lewis ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Tuesday 27 January. The event will also spotlight The Crescent’s new Helen Lewis Bursaries , small flexible grants designed to support and develop dance talent in Northern Ireland.
The Crescent are saying ThanksToYou as part of National Lottery Open Week 2025
14 February 2025
From 15 - 23 March it’s National Lottery Open Week.
As as recipient of National Lottery Funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, The Crescent are saying #ThanksToYou for the support of players.
The Crescent are saying ThanksToYou as part of National Lottery Open Week 2024
07 February 2025
From 15 - 23 March it’s National Lottery Open Week.
As as recipient of National Lottery Funding through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, The Crescent are saying #ThanksToYou for the support of players.
Artist in Residence: Vasiliki Stasinaki
04 November 2024
You might spot around The Crescent some artwork popping up on windows and walls about the building. Meet Vasiliki Stasinaki , Artist in Residence at The Crescent.
The Crescent welcomes Sarah Grimes for a 9-day Artist in Residency
11 September 2024
Improvised Music Company and The Crescent Arts Centre are delighted to share that the interdisciplinary drummer Sarah Grimes as their musician in residence for the 2024 NAVIGATOR residency programme.
Submission window now open for the Young Writer Delegates programme
15 March 2024
Young writers aged 18-26 are invited to apply for an extraordinary opportunity to attend and contribute to Belfast Book Festival 2024 as an Irish Writers Centre Young Writer Delegate.
The Crescent Cafe & Hospitality; Request for Expressions of Interest
01 February 2024
The Crescent is looking for a new cafe and hospitality provider.
If this feels like an opportunity for you then please do get in touch with us for an informal conversation/a walk around the space: Email us recruitment@crescentarts.org or call 07801 473 767
The Crescent welcomes Izumi Kimura for a 10-day Artist in Residency
11 September 2023
Improvised Music Company and The Crescent Arts Centre are delighted to announce outstanding pianist and composer Izumi Kimura as their first musician in residence for the 2023 Navigator residency programme.
Stripped Down at The Crescent
10 August 2023
Activity at The Crescent is a collaborative endeavour.
Each year, we work with a pool of Freelancers to inform and shape our programmes. We're delighted to reveal a new series of events, curated by our Music Associate 2023/24, Donal Scullion .
The Crescent Arts Youth Theatre from Belfast selected to perform new play at National Theatre
22 May 2023
The Crescent Arts Youth Theatre has been selected to perform a new play on the Dorfman Theatre stage at the National Theatre as part of the 2023 Connections Festival from 20-24 June .
Navigator Residency Programme 2023
27 March 2023
The Crescent is excited to partner with Improvised Music Company’s Navigator Music Residency programme 2023.
Tinderbox making new work at The Crescent
18 July 2022
We are excited that Crescent Hub organisation, Tinderbox Theatre Company , is making their latest play Birds of Passage in the Half Light , written by award-winning playwright Kat Woods , at The Crescent over the next 4 weeks.
Art Work: Employment and Skills Initiative
10 May 2022
Many Arts Organisations recently secured funding for entry-level positions within their organisations which are funded by ‘ Art Work ’; an Employment and Skills Initiative for the Arts Sector, supported by the Department of Communities through Future Screens NI.
The Belfast Book Festival 2021 programme has been released!
13 May 2021
Belfast Book Festival makes a welcome return from 10 - 13 June with an online programme of live events for book lovers, covering everything from love and politics to Cinderella as a zombie!
A Statement from the Arts Collaboration Network
27 January 2021
More than 100 arts organisations and individuals took part last week in an online meeting of artists, freelancers, venues and festivals from every part of the arts and culture sector organised by the Arts Collaboration Network (ACN) and the sector calls for urgent and immediate action from NI Executive.
The latest statement from the Arts Collaboration Network
10 December 2020
The Crescent is part of the Arts Collaboration Network (ACN) - a collective of sector support and other organisations working in arts and culture in NI. The ACN has been meeting for about 3 years, but recently more often to assess the impact of Covid-19 on the arts sector.
The 11th Edition of Poetry Jukebox is here
17 October 2020
The Crescent is delighted to announce the return of Poetry Jukebox. In the spirit of internationalism, cross-border collaboration and a commitment to the people of Belfast and diaspora, we join an exciting range of partners celebrating some of our richest shared cultural heritage: literature.
The Crescent seeks to appoint a new Chairperson
22 July 2020
The Crescent Arts Centre has served the population of the city and beyond with a broad range of arts and cultural activities for over forty years and we are looking for a new Chair.
MairtÃn Crawford Awards go international with record entries
29 June 2020
Just three years since they were founded, the Belfast Book Festival Mairtín Crawford Awards for Poetry and Short Story have gone international, attracting entries from countries including the US, Finland and New Zealand for this year’s competition.
The Awards are aimed at writers working towards their first full collection of poetry, short stories, or a novel. The 2020 Awards attracted a record number of entries, with 441 submissions for the Poetry Award and 324 entries for the Short Story Award.
The Crescent remembers “a saint of poetry†with the MairtÃn Crawford Awards
22 April 2020
The Crescent Arts Centre is celebrating the life and work of the man who poet Michael Longley called “a saint of poetry” with the launch of the Mairtín Crawford Awards for Poetry and Short Story 2020.
Passing of Crescent Board Member, Gerry Hughes
07 January 2020
It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Crescent Board Member, Gerry Hughes, on 29 December 2019.
The Crescent seeks to appoint new Board members
26 June 2019
We are seeking applications from forward thinking individuals to become a Board member of Crescent Arts Centre, with the appropriate skills and experience to help shape our development and contribute to our strategy for future success.
New Chief Executive Announcement
05 June 2019
The Crescent Arts Centre is delighted to announce the appointment of Sophie Hayles to the post of Chief Executive and she will take up the role at the end of July 2019.
Belfast Book Festival set to cherish and champion international and local writers
22 May 2019
The 9th Belfast Book Festival gets underway on Friday 7 June and offers a diverse collection of over 80 authors, readings, ‘in conversation’ events and theatrical performances.
The Crescent's latest community project has been launched
16 April 2019
Following The Crescent ’s recent funding award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Public Health Agency we are delighted to announce our latest project Art For Thought.
BBC Arts present #DancePassion at The Crescent
05 April 2019
On Friday 5th April, The Crescent was delighted to host BBC Arts for #DancePassion in our Helen Lewis Dance Studio .
The Crescent is hiring a new Chief Executive
06 March 2019
The Crescent seeks to appoint a Chief Executive to lead and manage the organisation through the next exciting period of its development.
The Crescent Youth Theatre explore the chaos that is growing up and being part of the universe.
27 February 2019
As part of The National Theatre’s Connections Festival 2019, The Crescent Youth Theatre presents Chaos. Running from the 16 th – 17 th March at The Crescent, Chaos was written for the Connections Festival by Laura Lomas, is directed by Andrea Grimason and is produced and presented by a group of young actors, who know very well the frantic and chaotic mess that life can be.
A New Moon Rises As Legendary Night Returns To The Crescent
23 November 2018
It’s that time of year when nostalgia rules and that’s exactly what’s coming up at The Crescent.
If you were lucky enough to have experienced the epic parties in The Crescent Gym during the 90s and early 00s then you are in for a treat. Even if you didn’t you are still in for a treat. Get ready as, on Saturday 8 th December, The Crescent will take a trip down memory lane, take back the Crescent Gym and give it a reboot for the first ever The Crescent Moon Club.
The Man Who Fell to Pieces puts mental health centre stage at The Crescent
02 October 2018
With overwhelming responses from audiences NI theatre company Tinderbox is back with the hugely successful The Man Who Fell to Pieces at The Crescent 16 th - 27 th October. Premiered as part of EdgeFest at The MAC in collaboration with Prime Cut Productions in February, The Man Who Fell to Pieces explores the stigma of mental health in Northern Ireland.
The Crescent Youth Theatre is on the lookout for new members!
11 September 2018
Do you want to learn exciting new theatre?
Do you want to learn new skills and meet new people?
Are you aged between 14 and 19?
If the answer is YES then The Crescent Youth Theatre Company is for you!
The 8th Belfast Book Festival returns!
22 May 2018
From 6 th – 16 th June the 8 th annual Belfast Book Festival, supported by Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council, will open the world of books to everyone. For 11 days venues across the city including The Crescent will come alive with unique and diverse events featuring high profile authors as well as events exploring a range of interests and themes.
Check out this years programme by visiting BelfastBookFestival.com
Chris Packham’s Bioblitz Campaign is Coming to The Crescent
17 April 2018
TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is to come to The Crescent , as part of the first independent audit of its kind in the UK involving Citizen Science. His goal is to highlight the extent to which the nation’s species are under threat.
Cometh the hour, cometh Imagine: Imagining New Ideas on Politics and Culture
26 February 2018
If ever the world needed a festival of free spirits, of imagination and ideas, and of reason , it is now. And where is that festival to be found? Here, in Belfast, during 12-18 March.
A Brush with Nature: Contemporary Chinese Painting Exhibition
26 February 2018
People in Northern Ireland are in for a treat when they come to see this amazing exhibition of contemporary Chinese painting in the Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast during the Chinese New Year fortnight (16-28 February). Over 50 beautiful paintings are on display, exquisitely mounted on Chinese silk brocade as hanging scrolls or in traditional frames.
expect the unexpected as the wireless mystery theatre presents tales of the unexpected
26 October 2017
Tales of the Unexpected was essential Sunday night viewing throughout the 80s and Wireless Mystery Theatre – Ireland's Masters of Suspense – will bring the series to life, live on stage. Featuring a wholly radiophonic score, in tribute to Ron Grainer, the author and the original theme, and his work as part of the BBC's experimental Radiophonic Workshop, join Roald Dahl for four of the most twisted and twisty tales from the series.
lots of laughs to be had with belfast comedy festival at the crescent
13 October 2017
This week we are delighted to play host to the Belfast Comedy Festival. Running from 2-8 October in 20 venues across the city, the festival is Belfast’s only dedicated comedy arts festival and features a host of established and emerging comic performers.
