VIEW, Issue three, 2012


Website: viewdigital.org


Page 22 Waiting to draw


Artwork at Flax Street, north Belfast, which was inspired by the Drawing Down The Walls project


Draw Down The Walls, a cross relations inter- face initiative, was set up in 2009 to work with young people who had never previously engaged in traditional or existing conflict transformation processes. The project uses video, photography and bill-


A


boards to explore and examine relationships be- tween communities and the interface walls which separate them. Breandan Clarke, who is involved with the proj-


ect, said: “We have put in a new application for funding to Belfast City Council. The money is purely for project delivery. It does not cover salaries.


ment. We would have to look elsewhere if we don’t get it. The various community partners behind


“This issue is a real crisis point for us at the mo- Commitment: Breandan Clarke


north Belfast interface arts group is facing an anxious wait to see if its application for funding will be extended for another year.


Drawing Down The Walls, including groups from Ardoyne and the Shankill, have all got their their own funding uncertainities. We are committed to this project, but our capacity to do the work is ob- viously tenative at the moment. “Drawing Down The Walls is one of the


strongest colloborative initiatives stemming from the North Belfast Interface Network. We have given a commitment that if this funding application fails we will try to find a new funding stream from elsewhere. “The project was developed initially as a summer


intervention programme. Fourteen of the most prolific offenders engaged in interface violence in Ardoyne took part in a photography project, which explored their sense of place and identity. “The young people really enjoyed the experience and had a lot of editorial control over the project. “Our mission statement for Drawing Down The Walls is to try an imagine a city without barriers. A


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25