26/06/2009
President of Ireland, Mary McAleese unveiled a collection of new public artwork depicting Ardoyne’s rich cultural heritage in north Belfast today.
The President was joined by Noirin McKinney, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and members of the local community to celebrate the completion of one ceramic and three painted murals, located at Brompton Park, Ardoyne Avenue and Estorial Park.
The new artworks, one of which features a representation of Ireland’s historic ‘Flight of the Earls’, replace four political murals.
Through the Arts Council’s Re-imaging Communities Programme the project in Ardoyne was awarded £30,520. Ardoyne Association worked with professional artists, Danny Devenney and Micheal Doherty, along with ceramicist Clare McComish, together with members of the local community, to deliver the ‘Ardoyne Re-imaging Project’.
The Arts Council’s Noirin McKinney commented: “The arts make an important contribution to building a positive future for Northern Ireland by helping to create the conditions for a healthy civic society to flourish.
“The Arts Council’s Re-imaging Communities programme has taken a sustained approach to community regeneration, helping to unlock the creative potential of local people at a neighbourhood level.
“Here in Ardoyne, we can clearly see the benefits of this arts-led approach, where local residents and groups, working with professional artists, have developed the confidence to transform their area into a much more welcoming environment for locals, visitors and, significantly, for future business investment.”
Public meetings, between Ardoyne Association and Ardoyne Community Centre, resulted in agreement that the political murals should be replaced, to reflect the changed times. Talking about their experiences, Eilish McKenna, Community Development Worker, Ardoyne Association, said: “ All four artworks have provided great networking opportunities, where many people who hadn’t been involved in art before participated and learned a lot. The murals have transformed dark and dreary corners and an created oasis of colours that adds to the area’s changing face. It also reflects the vibrancy of the area’s young people, promoting their sense of belonging and remembering local people who contributed so much in the past.”
Artist Clare McComish described how she worked with members of the local community to create one of the murals: “In my design I wanted to give an optimistic projection of the young people and their future. From a distance the image is a simple triptych design of three young smiling faces, but venture closer and you see the individual hand made tiles, produced by the local children during workshops last summer. It was imperative for this particular project that the children had direct involvement with the creation of the piece. It gives the young people a sense of ownership, achievement and social inclusion when they see the work installed. They also had the opportunity to learn new skills in clay and art in public.”
