The project began in 2012 as a response to the unique dynamic of the Ormeau Road, its increasingly large population of creative people and its village-like feel. Household initially approached ten households of visual artists with the invitation to open up their homes as a space for public exhibition. After this received an enthusiastic response, the invitation was extended through an open-call to musicians, actors, graphic designers, a tattoo artist, filmmakers, a psychologist, a chef, and other creative people living in the area. As publicity grew around the exhibition, Household began to receive requests to take part from local residents. These events were all included in the programme.

The participating households presented a broad range of works and events. Artists used the opportunity to consider their practice in relation to their home environment and local surroundings and explored the unique dynamic of the private sphere made public. Many artists were drawn to the inherent drama and implied narratives that present themselves in abundance within the domestic space.

The domestic space has a significant, if niche, presence in the ever-expanding sphere of contemporary art discourse. It is most notably discussed in the much-referenced exhibition Chambres D’Amis held in Ghent in 1986, in which residents of 58 privately owned houses hosted work by artists selected by the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst, under the curatorial direction of Jan Hoet. In recent years, it has become more associated with a range of DIY initiatives that aim to challenge conventional exhibition spaces and actively reject the market-driven, hierarchical structures of the art world. However, more than merely providing a convenient solution to exhibiting art in a period of recession, it is one of the most complex and unpredictable environments in which to make and encounter artwork. The rich potential of domestic spaces was what attracted the five Belfast-based artists and curators (Sighle Bhreathnach-Cashell, Eoin Dara, Alissa Kleist, Kim McAleese, and Ciara Hickey) to organise the festivals.

Household Festival in many ways functioned as a platform for the agency for both visitors and participants alike. It invited a neighbourhood community to experience a broad range of contemporary art practices, view work by many local artists, meet their neighbours, and expand and share their knowledge of the local area. With no funding, and only simple agreements drawn up between the artists and organisers, the success of the project essentially hinged on the trust between the visitor, and the resident of the home whose threshold they crossed. Visitors were reminded that they were ‘guests’ in people’s houses rather than anonymous strangers. The goodwill and generosity of everyone involved (including the visitors) were one of the most satisfying and valuable outcomes of the project.

The festival resulted in the formation of the Household collective and encouraged the development of new projects that further explore how people encounter contemporary art in the framework of hospitality and the alternative space.

The Household festivals catered to a community of people keen to invite new audiences to view contemporary work in their homes and neighbourhoods, and sought to challenge and destabilise established notions of public and private space.

The Ormeau Road area of the city became increasingly recognised as a neighbourhood defined by its dynamic resident creative community. However, there were no contemporary gallery spaces around the Ormeau Road in which these practitioners can exhibit, and they remain largely invisible to a general public.

Following the success of Household Festival 2012 , for Household Festival 2013, artists’ houses again became makeshift venues and urban public spaces were temporarily transformed into open platforms, unhindered by the demands and restraints of galleries and institutions. Over a three-day period in August 2013, we invited over 100 creative practitioners (see list below) at more than 50 domestic, public and alternative locations around the Ormeau Road area in South Belfast to present a variety of outputs to visitors and local residents.

To create a cohesive, easily negotiated event, we provided recognisable and consistent branding and an app.