2022 marked 25 years since the Good Friday / Belfast Agreement, in reaction to this in 2023 the Festival presented a newly commissioned body of work by renowned Northern Irish photographer Hannah Starkey. Principled and Revolutionary: Northern Ireland’s Peace Women honours and celebrates the women who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. An iteration of the exhibition will be on show as part of a major exhibition on activist feminist practice at the South London Gallery in collaboration with the V&A, launching in March 2024 to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Starkey’s artwork aims to ignite a conversation about the impact and importance of women’s leadership, not just here in Belfast, but globally. The 21 portraits in the exhibition highlight some of the many women who have been pivotal to peace building and community activism in this country through their work in both the political, cultural and social spheres. Through exploring these, too often untold, stories, we hope to shine a light on the legacies and impact of women's activism here in Belfast and to inspire younger generations of women to make their voices heard.

In 2022 the festival commissioned Swiss-based French graffiti artist Saype’s to bring his worldwide Beyond Walls Project and extend its symbolic human links to Northern Ireland. The gigantic, biodegradable lawn fresco of intertwined hands was displayed at the Stormont Estate. The artwork is extended over an area of 45 by 240 metres. Created using pigments made of charcoal and chalk, the artwork will fade away with the growth of the grass. The hands of people from Belfast are the photographic base of the artworks, advocating solidarity, dialogue and friendship beyond geographical and societal constraints.