''The Vacuum'' is a free newspaper published in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

by the arts organisation Factotum. Each issue is themed and contains critical commentary about the city and broader cultural issues. The paper is distributed in bars, cafés and other public spaces. It 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 FRSL (born 1961) is a writer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, best known as a novelist. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Early life Patterson was born in Belfast, where he attended Methodist Col ...

, Colin Graham,

Leontia Flynn Leontia Flynn is a poet and writer from Northern Ireland. Life and work Leontia Flynn was born in Downpatrick, Co Down and grew up between Dundrum and Newcastle, Co Down. She attended Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch and afterwards be ...

, Stephen Mullan, Daniel Jewesbury, John Morrow, Richard Kirkland,

Newton Emerson Newton Emerson (born 1969) is a political commentator from Portadown in Northern Ireland, and now lives in Belfast. He described himself as a ' liberal unionist' in 2001. He contributes to both the ''Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish News'' as wel ...

, Roy Foster and the artists Duncan Ross and David Haughey.

2004 controversy

In June 2004 the two issues themed 'God' and 'Satan' were published simultaneously. Based on one complaint from a member of the public, some Belfast City councillors (

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

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, citywide '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 The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

. 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 intermittently. At least two recent issues (on the 'English' and 'Spin'Information about the Century of Spin exhibition at Belfast Exposed
) have coincided with exhibitions organised by the publishers in the photography gallery

Belfast Exposed Belfast Exposed is a photography gallery in Belfast, established in 1983. It was Northern Ireland's first dedicated photographic gallery and in 2018 Sean O'Hagan in ''The Guardian'' described it as "the key independent space for contemporary pho ...

. Both this gallery and the offices of ''The Vacuum'' are in the

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, ...

. There is a historical precedent for literary satire in the area; in the 19th century, the area was home to a '' Punch''-style satirical magazine, ''

The Northern Whig The Northern Whig is a bar housed in a historical building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is in the Cathedral Quarter, just to the north of the Belfast City Centre. At various times during its history it has been a gentleman's club and a new ...

''.

References

External links

''Vacuum'' HomepageSorry DayIndex on Censorship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vacuum Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Satirical magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2003 Mass media in Belfast