LAUNCH: 'The Night Journal'

LAUNCH: Saturday 3 October 2026, 7–9pm

The Night Journal is an exhibition considering constructed realities of the night by four, intergenerational artists working in Northern Ireland. These four vantage points feature new and existing work including print, drawing, installation, film and a new text by Michaela Razafima Nash.Written from the perspective of an insomnia-driven walk, the journal encounters the different artists’ worlds in a haze of sodium lit grit and fantasy.

Aisling O'Beirn’s Secondhand Nightscapes are a series of framed drawings of the night sky chronicled every month for a year. Because urban light pollution obscures the view, O'Beirn reconstructs what should be visible, pulling in references to how humans look to the stars to construct meaning—from maritime navigation to astrology, feeling our scale, and seeing through time via light-years.

Wilhelmina Peace brings a surrealist approach to her printing and drawing. Dreamscapes bubble up across the walls, playing with scale, symbolism, memory, internal processing, folded time, and hints of mysticism.

As well as the journal, Michaela Razafima Nash shares gif works documenting a bout of insomnia and a distorted half-waking state connected to living with chronic illness. The slides aim to collapse the delineation of day and night, a blurring when energy levels no longer neatly follow the accepted circadian rhythm.

The exhibition concludes with Brutal Discotèque by Reuben Brown. This new installation and film explores queer club culture and how a city's residual urban space, such as the space under a motorway flyover, can be activated at night to become an improvised dance floor in lieu of built infrastructure.

ENDS

Centre for Contemporary Art Derry~Londonderry

10–12 Artillery Street, Derry~Londonderry, BT48 6RG, Northern Ireland

+44(0)2871 373538 | ccadld.org | [email protected]

Opening times: Tuesday–Saturday noon–6pm. Free admission

About CCA Derry~Londonderry:
The Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) is a publicly funded space within the historic city walls of Derry~Londonderry. CCA creates opportunities for audiences to experience ambitious, experimental and engaging art and for emerging artists to develop successful careers. CCA fosters a wide range of artistic, curatorial and critical practices through five programme streams: research and production, exhibition- making, public programmes, publishing and residencies.

CCA was a Finalist in Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021, the largest museum prize in the world. CCA was recognised for its resilience and adaptability throughout the pandemic, and their continued effort to support audiences and artists including creating paid opportunities for artists and freelancers when they needed it most.

CCA is a member of Plus Tate: Plus Tate is a network, which comprises 35 cultural institutions – including the Tate galleries – that have strong artistic vision, a focus on contemporary art, outstanding public programming and a commitment to local community engagement through art. Plus Tate aims to support the development of the visual arts across the UK.

For media enquiries:
Vanessa Marsh, Marketing Coordinator for CCA Derry~Londonderry 10-12 Artillery Street, Derry~Londonderry, BT48 6RG, Northern Ireland
[email protected] | +44(0)2871 373538 | @CCADLD