Art in the East Side Project
An artistic exploration of the physical, visual & cultural expression of East Belfast
9 Billboard sites across East Belfast during October 2010
Media coverage for Art on the East Side Project in The Guardian Newspaper Wednesday 3 November 2010
Billboard art shows east Belfast in new light (Link to online article)
Background
This was an exciting project that provided an opportunity for participating artists to be part of a high profile exhibition and public art programme that was part of Belfast Festival at Queen’s 2010 programme. This gave valuable exposure to audiences at a local, national and international level and expose their work to the business community of East Belfast. To add legacy to the project for the artist, limited edition posters of the billboard artwork were made for the exhibition that launched the project. High quality digital prints were available for sale. The remaining copies are available from the individual artists - contact the studio for details.
East Belfast
The project had a strong link with the cultural regeneration of the area and aligned with the local neighbourhood plan. It involved working in partnership with the East Belfast Partnership Board and the Connswater Green Way Project and was judged to have had a positive impact in terms of local cultural tourism.
Concept
Art on the East Side was a public art programme run by Creative Exchange. It was our key event of the 2010 and formed part of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s programme. It brought an outdoor gallery of images to arterial routes in East Belfast in high profile areas such as the intersection at Albertbridge Rd, the Short Strand, Connswater Shopping Centre, the Lower Newtownards Rd, all of which are close to our studios. There were four core elements to the programme:
- 9 Billboard sites across East Belfast during October/November 2010
- A tour which was part of the Late Night Art Programme
- Posters of the billboards for exhibition purposes
- A high profile launch of the project in the City East Business Centre
The themes that the artists explored were:
- Physical – landmarks, Icons, architecture, streets, river etc
- Visual – scenery, maps, places, shared spaces etc
- Cultural – people, political, social, artistic, diversity etc
The Billboards were at the following locations:
- Ray Duncan: Corner of Mountpottinger Rd/Albertbridge Rd
- George Robb: 165 Newtownards Rd
- Ben Allen: 390 Newtownards Rd
- Colin Davis: 418 Newtownards Rd
- Lesley Cherry: 246 Newtownnards Rd
- Deirdre Robb: 222 Newtownards Rd
- Laura McGuire: 89 Upper Newtownards Rd
- Katie Blue: 26 Upper Newtownards Rd
- Ian Fleming: 254 Newtownards Rd