Community Building
Visual art workshops are perfect for bringing people together through shared, creative activity.
Linen Biennale Outreach Programme
Initiated by R-Space Gallery Lisburn and funded by the Heritage Lottery for Northern Ireland this project engaged ten groups from different parts of NI in creating a linen wallhanging inspired by Toile de Jouy. The popularity of Toile de Jouy has endured for more than 250 years. Literally it means cloth from the town of Jouy near Versailles in France , but it has come to mean a single-colour print usually of a historic pastoral scene on a white background. Lesser known is the fact that the printing technique was invented by Francis Nixon and Theophilus Thompson in Ireland during 1872.
The ten groups created their own printed designs onto linen. Using the pastoral patterns established by Nixon and made famous at Jouy, participants created a contemporary image incorporating mythology, animals or the contemporary use of rural and city green spaces. They were introduced to the intaglio process of drypoint and in keeping with the techniques employed in the mid 19th century, they will also apply colour with watercolour. One example of each participant's design was retained for inclusion in a large-scale wall hanging in which individual prints will be stitched together. This piece will be displayed in community spaces near where each participant group is based. Participants included Armagh Men’s Shed, Resurgam Trust Pain Management Group, International Women North Down and Ards, Bangor Art Projects, Mourneview Ladies Craft Group, Belvoir Community Hub, Top of the Rock Health and Wellbeing group plus AMH groups in Belfast, Craigavon and Lisburn.
Self-Identity Project
Young people attending Hillhall Youth Club participated in a 6 week programme exploring self-identity through illustration, patterns, logos and card construction leading to a large-scale collaborative poster.
Built Heritage Project
School pupils in Lurgan created transparent drawings of historical buildings in their town. These were then transformed into linen tea towels referencing the impact the linen industry had on the built environment.
Aurora Fun Day 2018
500 primary school aged pupils from across the Ards and North Down travelled to the Aurora Aquatic & Leisure Complex, Bangor for three hours of fun sampling different activities. One activity involved drawing images of endangered animals onto fabric squares to create large wallhangings. Arts Creative were very happy to be involved in this special, summer event. Thanks to Ards and North Down Borough Council Community Development Team for all their hard work making this happen.
