Vacuum newspaper
Encyclopedia
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
by the arts organisation Factotum
Factotum (arts organisation)
Factotum is both an arts organisation and artists' project that was formed in 2001 by Stephen Hackett and Richard West. They publish The Vacuum newspaper, put on exhibitions, publish books and make films. In the past they have also run a choir, staged contemporary dance events and organised talks...
. Each issue is themed and contains critical commentary about the city and broader cultural issues. 15,000 copies of the paper are produced and distributed in bar, cafes and other public spaces. The paper was first published in January 2003.
A Topical Newspaper
Each issue of The Vacuum is centred on a topical theme, around which writers and artists are commissioned to produce articles and illustrations. These themes can be open-ended – such as in the 'Fantasy' issue when contributors were simply asked to describe one of their fantasies – or more specific such as the 'Nostalgia' issue which contained articles on 'Troubles Nostalgia' and 'Marketing Nostalgia'. Most issues contain a range of writing from social commentary, through satire to farce, focused on one area of discussion. Rarely does The Vacuum avoid controversy, no matter what its chosen issue. Some of the past topics have included:
- 'Food and Drink'
- 'Danger'
- 'Prison'
- 'Education'
- 'The End' (in the month it was threatened with closure, see below)
- 'Waste'
- 'Security'
Contributors to The Vacuum have included writers such as Glenn Patterson
Glenn Patterson
Glenn Patterson, born in Belfast in 1961, is a novelist.He attended Methodist College Belfast. He graduated from the University of East Anglia where he studied Creative Writing under Malcolm Bradbury...
, Colin Graham, Leontia Flynn
Leontia Flynn
Leontia Flynn is an Irish poet born in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland. Flynn grew up in Ballyloughlin, south County Down, between the towns of Newcastle and Dundrum, very close to the well known Murlough Nature Reserve...
, Stephen Mullan, Daniel Jewesbury, John Morrow, Richard Kirkland, Newton Emerson
Newton Emerson
Newton Emerson is a political commentator and satirist in Northern Ireland. He describes himself as a 'liberal Unionist'. Despite this, he writes in two Nationalist-leaning newspapers, the Irish edition of the Daily Mirror, and The Irish News...
, Roy Foster
R. F. Foster (historian)
Robert Fitzroy Foster FBA FRHistS FRSL - generally known as Roy Foster - is the Carroll Professor of Irish History at Hertford College, Oxford in the UK.-Background and education:...
and the artists Duncan Ross and David Haughey .
2004 Controversy
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...
funded Factotum) denounced the publication as "filth" that was "encouraging devil worship" at their monthly Council meeting. The Council then withheld an agreed funding allocation of £3,300 until the newspaper apologised to the citizens of Belfast for any offence caused. The Vacuum responded by publishing a special 'Sorry' issue and holding a tongue-in-cheek, city-wide 'Sorry Day' in December 2004.
Following this protest Richard West, one of the paper's editors (along with Stephen Hackett), challenged the Council's demand for an apology in the High Court as a breach of articles 9 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
. In May 2006 the case was lost. The case then went to the Court of Appeal and, as of May 2009, a judgement on this appeal is still awaited.
The Vacuum post controversy
The Vacuum has continued to publish but now comes out bimonthly rather than monthly. At least two recent issues (on the 'English' and 'Spin') have coincided with exhibitions organised by the publishers in the photography gallery Belfast ExposedBelfast Exposed
Belfast Exposed was Northern Ireland's first dedicated photographic gallery. Established in Belfast in 1983, it houses a 20×7 m gallery for the exhibition of contemporary photography, digital archive browsing facilities, a spacious black-and-white photographic darkroom and a digital editing suite...
. Both this gallery and the offices of The Vacuum are in the Cathedral Quarter, Belfast
Cathedral Quarter, Belfast
The Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland is a developing area of the city, roughly situated between Royal Avenue near where the Belfast Central Library building is, and the Dunbar Link in the city centre. From one of its corners, the junction of Royal Avenue, Donegall Street and York...
. There is a historical precedent for literary satire in the area; in the 19th Century, the area was home to a "Punch"
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
style satirical magazine, The Northern Whig.