'Exchanging Perceptions' exhibition opens in the Waterfront Hall - open to the public until October 24th.
Belfast Interface Project is currently managing delivery of the 'Inner East Outer West' project - a collaborative inter-community relationship-building project involving groups and communities, both young people and adults from both sides of interfaces in inner East Belfast and in the Suffolk and Lenadoon communities in Outer West Belfast.
One element within the larger project has been a photography project - the 'Exchanging Perceptions' project.
In late August and early September 2013 a group of people from both sides of the community came together in each of these areas to photograph the environment that surrounds them and their own and each others interface environments. In the process relationships began to be established and conversations emerged naturally about our environments, our values and our identity. In these conversations were found many examples of our differences and of our similarities.
Within this project, local residents from each of the participating areas - Suffolk, Lenadoon, Inner East Belfast and Short Strand - took part in a series of cross-community photography workshops within their own areas (i.e. workshops in Inner East and in Outer West) using disposable cameras, facilitated by a professional photographer (Steven Wilson).
One aim of the project was to produce an exhibition of photography.
The exhibition opened last night, October 14th, in the concourse of the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
A private viewing for project participants was followed by a public opening of the exhibition, with warm words from OFMDFM Junior Minister Jennifer McCann and also Maire Hendron, Chair of Belfast City Council Good Relations Partnership.
The Exchanging Perceptions exhibition will run until October 24th.