In 2023, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Amanda Dunsmore created a unique and a powerful artistic iteration of AGREEMENT, which journeyed into communities across Northern Ireland, fostering dialogue and civic reflection. The artwork was launched as a three-screen modular presentation (each screen measuring 3 x 4 meters), at the Ulster University in Belfast. This immersive LED setup was specially designed for the GFA/25 community tour, symbolizing a conceptual and physical central space for gathering and reflection. Through its innovative presentation, AGREEMENT invited audiences to engage with the legacy of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland in a meaningful way, and was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In 2024, the Mitchell Art Gallery hosted an online conversation with Bryonie and Gemma of quarto Collective, who discuss AGREEMENT in the context of colonial legacies. Diverse communities were invited to explore the meaning of the Good Friday Agreement, and agreement more broadly, and to host the artwork in a location of their choice. They designed and facilitated the community engagement process, exploring its context, outcomes, and the role that art can play in divided societies.
The 3-screen artwork was hosted by The Women of Clonduff and Rathfriland Regeneration, Rathfriland, 8th–9th June; The Community Relations Forum, Glengormley, 5th–6th September; IgnYte Young Leaders (aged 25 and under), Derry-Londonderry, 13th–14th October; Omagh Pride, LGBTQIA+ community group, Omagh, 18th–19th November; and ImageNation, Indian Community, Belfast, 25th–26th November, 2023.
The artwork, beyond the physical objects of the screens, is the process by which quarto and the artist Amanda and all of us engage with those communities...the very act and artistic and political choice, to want to host it, without any sense of tension. Cian Smyth, Cultural Producer, Ulster Presents.
It's been fascinating just watching people as they come into the space and there are a myriad of different reactions...there have been some very, very deeply emotional and impactful individual experiences. Gemma Reid, quarto collective, 2023.