Putting art at the heart of community with 150ft of creative panels

A shared community space in Belfast has been transformed with the installation of two large art panels, which have been developed by participants from across the Ravenhill area. The Creative Community Art Project is part of Belfast City Council’s PEACE IV Project, which is financed through the European Union and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for this project has been provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department for Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

The delivery of the project has also been supported by Radius as part of the NI Executive Together: Building a United Community Strategy, which map the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society. The project aimed to bring adults and children together to participate in a shared programme over six months with 30 tenants and their children from the Radius shared development.

Local Artist Dee Craig at Belfast Mural Arts was commissioned by Peace IV to develop the artwork with participants from across the local communities and it included a residential, artwork workshops and engagement in activities and events to bring people together to create, though a co-design approach, a lasting piece of artwork for the communities to enjoy. The art panels have been unveiled at a special event at Global Crescent in the Ravenhill area where the panels are located.

The panels reflect a safe and shared community, that division does not restrict the life opportunities of individuals, that all areas are open and accessible to everyone, and cultural expression and diversity can strengthen the local community.

The artwork in Cantrell Close measures 35ft, while the Global Crescent installation is 120ft and the images depict the range of diversity and culture that all share the same space within the neighbourhood. Cantrell Close artwork panels promotes the importance of Unity and Global Crescent promotes the theme of Community; bright and colourful they are an array of different individuals, cultural flowers and symbols all interacting to make up a beautiful scene. 

The Global Crescent shared housing development is supported by the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Radius continues to work in partnership with the local Advisory Group stakeholders, and with residents to develop each scheme’s Good Relations Plan. Almost £11million was invested in total in the schemes development and associated five-year Good Relations Plan.  

Speaking at the unveiling of the panels, Sharon Traynor from Radius Housing said “We are delighted to see the result of six months of design work by the tenants of Global Crescent and Cantrell Close unveiled today. Any community art project is a big undertaking, but when it is more than 150ft of art panels it is particularly challenging. This is the latest in a series of projects that the tenants here have been involved in as a shared community and these projects are very much led by the tenants and their children.

“The panels are really spectacular, and all the tenants and children who helped create them can be proud of the positive, lasting mark they have left on this community.”

Dee Craig commented; “My role in the Creative Community Art Project was to facilitate and deliver a creative art programme with a diverse range of participants from the Shared Housing Development on Ravenhill Road. The focus was as equally on the process as it was the end product, and this project provided a platform where the community could work together to create a large piece of artwork that interprets who they are, the community they live in and their own individual identity. Just as importantly it reflects diversity, difference, acceptance and embraces other cultures, which was the key to making this project such a success’

Radius Housing currently has 11 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland.

The Global Crescent Good Relations Plan includes ‘Bridging’ events which are delivered to the wider community to encourage a range of good relations outcomes which include Health and Wellbeing, Education and Training.