Recorded at the Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition in the Ulster Museum, this interview features Noelle McAlinden talking with Richard Wakely, Director and CEO of the Belfast International Arts Festival. He reflects on standout works by Denise McAuley and Alison Lowry, praising their engagement with vulnerability, displacement and global concerns. Wakely also discusses the RUA’s role in showcasing contemporary practice, the importance of partnership, access and funding, and reflects on his final festival year, reaffirming the arts as vital to wellbeing, learning and civic life.