CATHY Carson's 'Becoming Marvellous' at the Black Box as part of the Out to Lunch festival took the audience on a journey from West Belfast through homelessness to eventual recovery. As we sat down to our chicken and potato lunch, Carson – playing a women called Danielle – gripped the audience in a one-woman show. 

"I grew up in Andersonstown – Andytown to those who live there, Beirut to those who didn't" got a large cheer from the audience. She spoke of sitting on the kerb watching  riots then going home to try and see herself on TV.  But for all the violence going on outside her home, she never felt at risk there; indeed, it was when she went home that violence affected her life.

The short play gives little respite while tracing her route from domestic violence to foster care, to the reality of  living on the streets; but her love of English as a subject and the encouragement from an elderly man she began to care for brought her back to hope, education and a changed life. There was hardly time to absorb the details of each stage of her journey, but it opened up a space for the audience to talk about personal experience – be it how to be compassionate to those living on the streets, or reflecting on family memories deeply buried. 

Danielle did become 'Marvellous' as the play progressed and it would be a great show to bring further into the community to open up discussion and offer support to those affected. The Out to Lunch festival is over for another year and it's great to see they have spread out from just being in the Black Box.

Arts and Business NI is a membership network for cultural and commercial businesses, working to build a strong and valued arts sector in Northern Ireland. If you are a business wanting to invest in the arts they can broker relationships and match-fund projects. Each year they have an awards ceremony and it was interesting to hear some of the businesses say that being involved in the arts has brought some of their staff more alive. 

At the Arts and Business Awards at the Lyric another West Belfast partnership was awarded – the Arts and Business NI Choice award. Kabosh/Unite received the award for their play Not On Our Watch about the "incredible workers from Regina Coeli House who trusted the theatre company to tell their stories". Paula McFettridge of Kabosh said she felt incredibly lucky to work with the people involved to bring the story to the stage and she said when Unite connected her they just said: "Come and meet the women – you will want to produce a play about it."

'this is not just to generate work but to be part of the battle'

Louise Mathews wrote the play and Not On Our Watch has already won the Aisling Arts and Culture Award, so we will see if they have any more gongs to pick up.

A Leaders on Arts Boards award went to Open Arts Chair Margaret Mann, who as a registered blind person said she hoped her dedication and commitment to the arts will encourage others to consider the vital work required on the boards of arts organisations and the many opportunities to support the arts in this way.

'I never thought that joining the open arts choir years ago would eventually bring me to becoming  chair of the organisation'

The 4 Corners Festival has started and the Look North Festival is about to be launched, and with this being the 50th anniversary of legendary performance artist Joseph Beuys coming to Belfast and there is to be a special commemoration talk at Ulster University  by one of his collaborators, Robert McDowell of Bbeyond.

It's the first Thursday of the month this week, so all the galleries are staying open for Late Night Art, so if you want to get out and about to see how contemporary art is changing the city it's a good night to go.