What are the key principles regarding this project?
We did write a series of guiding principles for the project and they are as follows:
Making complex information, visual and tangible
The idea of creating a map which would allow people to locate their own alleyway, and from there, raise some questions about the alleyways in terms of how they might be looked after.
We also came up with some design concepts because as we walked through alleyways with the people we were meeting, issues would arise. Often the approach to problems which emerge with the alleyways is to put a gate, a barrier, to the alleyways, which is actually very expensive. They cost the city millions of pounds.
We wondered if there was an alternative approach that might be looked at. We came up with a series of design concepts that might be cheaper and better have more impact than these big security gates.
Inspiring people to take action to use overlooked and taken for granted spaces and to think about using them in new ways.
Throughout our research and through a Belfast 2024 commission, we have been doing lots of creative programming and we have been sharing information inspiring stories as well.
Making connections between people aiming to resist boundaries and binaries.
This is about seeing the little gems in the everyday. We think that perhaps people didn’t see the potential in the alleyways and through our project we are aiming to change that.
Practising cross disciplines in original, multi-layered and provocative ways with a diverse range of people
We have worked this way before on a Peace Wall project. Community leaders suggested that we have a meeting on each side of the wall. We didn’t want to hold these separate events, rather we were looking to give people the same sort of experience and the same amount of time to express their thoughts.
Instead, we used a little yellow, vintage, campervan to drive around the area. We used that as our shared space and everyone who lived around that Peace Wall could come to the campervan. We felt that the conversations we had using that approach were much more productive, much broader and diverse, than if we had called a public meeting at a local community centre. They were much more intimate and really felt like people were interacting as neighbours.
And that leads us to another principle,
Unearthing and highlighting the value and stories of everyday lives and places.
So, those are our guiding principles.
What about themes?
Initially we didn’t call this a project, rather we called it an investigation because we didn’t have a brief. We really were just trying to uncover useful information. When the commissioning process for Belfast 2024 came along, in 2023, we had to approach things differently.
We had to develop a framework, a creative programme, and we had that for the beginning of this year, but we did keep it really open so we could react to the people we were meeting and the things we were learning.
We had a programme built around the seasons, but we didn’t know what the events would be, and that, I think, caused the Belfast City Council a bit of concern. We felt that you can’t just helicopter in to these spaces and organise events. You need to talk to people, see what is possible, and wait to be invited in..
To follow up on the work of Amberlea Neely see the links below
