Kindred Ash

Gwen Stevenson brings Kindred Ash to Digital Arts Studios in Belfast city centre from 29 October to 7 November, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival. It's an immersive, interactive installation that looks at the decline of Ireland's native ash trees, and it's the kind of piece where you don't just stand and watch — the images and environments respond in real time to your presence as you move through it.

Stevenson is an Irish visual artist based in the border region and working across the island. Her background is a bit of a mix: fine art, engineering, computer modelling, and organisational behaviour. She's studied generative art, virtual production, and media systems in Berlin, Belfast, and Dublin, and holds qualifications from Ulster University, Trinity College Dublin, the University of London, and IADT Dublin. That technical side comes through here, with the piece built around interactive digital media, projection, and immersive technologies. It's a digital way of looking at a very physical, ecological loss.

She's also worked in healthcare settings, youth programmes, and with communities affected by the legacy of conflict in Ireland. In 2026, she was awarded the Arts Council of Northern Ireland China Artist Residency at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Kindred Ash is presented as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival, and it runs from 29 October through to 7 November, with the installation opening at 12:00 pm.