In this workshop, two renowned artists will discuss the role of the arts in divided communities. Pádraig Ó Tuama works in Northern Ireland, where communities were defined by division and violence until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Lorna Hill works in Buffalo, which remains among the most segregated cities in the US, both by race and income. In both places, communities continue to grapple with belonging and identity in the midst of competing narratives around neighborhood change and economic development.

Pádraig and Lorna have both used the arts to bridge divides and bring people together, creating sources and spaces of belonging in the midst of conflict or exclusion. This workshop will be a dialogue about their work and how the arts can move communities beyond the limits of public discourse to more deeply essential conversations and connections.

Poet and theologian Padraig Ó Tuama centers his work around themes of language, power, and conflict resolution. This year, he finished a five-year term as community leader of Corrymeela, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. For more than fifty years, Corrymeela has worked alongside fractured communities and groups to address relational, societal, structural and power dynamics.

Actress, director, and teacher Lorna Hill is the founder and Executive Director of Ujima Company, Inc., the oldest professional repertory theatre company in Western New York. Ujima, which “uses theatre to build the beloved community,” is dedicated to the preservation, perpetuation and performance of African American theatre by providing working opportunities for established artists and training experience for aspiring artists.