A member of the Doyle Youth Club walking past the new ceramic panels.
The Short Strand community is a small Nationalist group in the largely Unionist area of East Belfast. The community continues to be divided by one of the first peacelines to be erected in Northern Ireland.
However, rather than ignore it, the Short Strand community has chosen to bring it to life through Belfast City Council’s involvement in the Re-imaging Communities Programme.
Bernie McConnell, Senior Development Officer with Short Strand Community Forum explains: “When we decided to consider getting involved in the Re-imaging Programme, we felt that murals were a thing of the past and that it was time to do something different. We realised that this was an opportunity to perhaps soften attitudes to and perceptions of the peaceline - a small but significant first step towards the long-term goal of a society where such physical barriers are no longer needed.”
The ideas for the artwork were developed through a series of workshops with local residents of all ages and backgrounds, including particularly those local residents whose homes overlook the peaceline - and who now overlook a brand new series of ceramic panels.
The ceramic panels were developed by artist Tom Agnew who drew on the idea of the Strand as a beach, bringing a little bit of the seaside to Inner City Belfast.
Since the artwork was unveiled, there has been no vandalism and in fact the move has been welcomed by the wider community in East Belfast. Bernie says: “The people living most closely to the peaceline must be the ones to decide when it comes down but projects such as this can start to soften some of the mental barriers to their removal. We’re hoping now to continue our re-imaging work, perhaps introducing clear glass blocks into the peaceline, allowing each side to begin to see into the other’s world.”
