Community Arts Partnership is delighted to invite you to an unconference on its Red Brick Belfast project, and on the potential it reveals for community-led regeneration of our built heritage.
Date and time: Thursday 23rd March from 10am to 2pm.
Venue: The ARC.
AGENDA:
- 10:00: Tea/coffee
- 10:30: Welcome and scene setting (Conor Shields, CAP Chief Executive)
- 10:45: Word from Red Brick Belfast Project Funders (Heritage Lottery Fund)
- 11:00: Short film by Joanne Barnett (CAP videographer)
- 11:10: Red Brick Belfast & Greater Village Regeneration Trust’s ambitions (Melissa Lynas, Greater Village Regeneration Trust project partner)
- 11:30: Contributions from special guests and panel discussion (John Carden from Homebaked and 2Up2Down, and Martin Newman from Giroscope)
- 13:00: Working lunch.
CONTRIBUTIONS:
Greater Village Regeneration Trust
GVRT is an urban regeneration charity based in the Village area of South Belfast. It delivers a comprehensive range of inter-related programmes that seek to improve the quality of life for local residents. Its primary remit is to address housing unfitness, while dealing with educational under-achievement, worklessness, lack of community space, health and well-being concerns and improving community cohesion through the eradication of racial tensions and sectarian interface issues.
Homebaked grew out of the project, 2Up 2Down, initiated and supported by Liverpool Biennial and artist Jeanne van Heeswijk and aims to support the local community to “take matters into our own hands” regarding the future of its neighbourhood.
After over 2 years of community engagement, Homebaked Community Land Trust was established in April 2012, with the aim of refurbishing the bakery building to provide workspace for social enterprise and affordable housing.
Inspired by CLTs in Boston, East London, and Cumbria, it is run by a board of volunteers, including people from the local area and professionals from the fields of law, architecture, accountancy and housing.
Giroscope was conceived in the mid-1980s by a group of students and young unemployed people who decided to take direct action to resolve their own housing situation. Giroscope bought and renovated a dilapidated old stables and yard in the heart of west Hull to create the Arthur Street Social Enterprise Park.
Maintaining the pledge to help others in housing need, Giroscope continued to purchase properties in the West Hull area and in 2007 it became a Registered Charity owning over 40 residential properties and 9 business, retail and trading premises. In 2013 Giroscope purchased and began to renovate a disused workshop and yard space in order to develop a second social enterprise park. It also undertook to renovate a further 10 houses.
In 2009 it began working with HMP Everthorpe, helping ex-offenders rehabilitate into society by providing them with volunteer/training opportunities.
Please RSVP Gabri Gomez at gabri@capartscentre.com.
