trans was an annual, non-commercial arts festival held in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, linked with the Urban Arts Academy and organised by the Belfast

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

. Over a four-week period it hosted a programme of gigs, free seminars, courses, exhibitions and broadcasts its own radio station.

Ideology

trans stated a list of ideologies and beliefs: * Investing in new technologies, new trends, new art forms and new artists. * Providing training in career paths which the current system does not. * Encouraging debate outside traditional politics * Demonstrate that Urban Arts should not be confined to Youth Culture *To bring the world to Belfast, and Belfast to the worldFormer trans Web site, About trans
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History

The festival was originally set up in 2006, to complement the Urban Arts Academy. Its usual running dates are between the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

's Orangefest and the West Belfast Feile an Phobail. Throughout its five-year history, the festival was popular not only with the Urban Arts Academy students, but with music and arts lovers from all walks of life, and regularly attracts international artists and audience members. In 2010 and 2011, the festival ran a spin-off winter festival Base, which was an international street art and music festival which in 2011 was headlined by Sleigh Bells and Ghostpoet.

Signature events

trans consists of signature events alongside its main events, two of which are the "Money Back Guarantee" and "The Lap-off" Money-Back Guarantee is about breaking down the barrier between artist and performer, The festival organisers offer your money back at the end of the show, giving the audience a chance to pay each performer depending on how entertaining they were. The Lap off Consists of eight laptop musicians battling it out in a competition based on their performance using electronic sampling and essentially the use of computers in music.

Departure of organisers

{{Unreferenced section, date=March 2015 After various charges of conflicts of interest in March 2011, the staff left. The Waterfront Hall announced it would be rebuilding with a view to concentrating on conference business.

External links

2012 archive of discontinued trans site

Notes

Recurring events established in 2006 County Antrim Arts festivals in Northern Ireland Summer events in Northern Ireland Festivals in Belfast