As part of Seminar 2, practitioners based in Northern Ireland were invited to consider the assumptions that are brought to intercultural projects and how these become challenged or reinforced in practice. They were also asked to consider the challenges and opportunities for intercultural exchange that emerge in practice. What ideologies are we seeking to reaffirm? What are we seeking to challenge? How is this playing out in the ways that we have now come to ‘manage’ arts and culture?
Draw Down the Walls is a unique project that uses art and language to explore the legacy of interface walls and the impact of segregated living on communities. Using art as a starting point Draw Down the Walls seeks to create debate and discussion within and between communities. Activities include talks and discussions, temporary artworks, workshops, short films and high profile participatory art events that use interface walls as a starting point for creative enquiry. Projects address difficult issues through the arts while challenging perceptions of what art is and what it can do. Any artworks created on or near interface walls are temporary as it is believed that walls should not separate communities in a permanent way. The aim is to create debate and discussion about the walls inside and between different communities bordering the walls.
The presentation, given by Ruth Graham of Golden Thread Gallery is available here.
Draw Down the Walls is a partnership between North Belfast Interface Network, Lower Shankill Community Association and the Golden Thread Gallery with other relevant groups engaging with the project more loosely and at different levels. Members of the partnership will reflect on the project.