In Belfast’s Market community, a photography project is using the power of art to address the deep-rooted issues of trauma, mental health, and substance abuse.
A People’s Tapestry, a joint effort between Queen’s Communities and Place (QCAP), Market Development Association (MDA), and residents, has culminated in an exhibition highlighting the community’s resilience and determination.
Lucy Flynn (17), one of the young participants, spoke about the emotional impact of the sessions: “It was just building up week by week. And building your confidence slowly but surely. And at the very end, we just had so much trust in each other. Yeah. It just grew everyone’s confidence.”
She added: “I just think that it’s good that we’ve started, that all the people in the Market are starting to go to these groups. And that you’re starting to raise more of an awareness that these groups are happening. And they’re a positive thing for the Market. Instead of it being scary that we’re going to be talking about all these bad things. And that can seem daunting to some people.”
Another participant Molly O’Reilly, shared the story behind her chosen photographs: “I had picked a photo of my uncle, two brothers. me and my sister. Because it just meant so much to me that these are actually the people who got me through so much, helped me and I’ve just spent my whole life with them really.”
She continued: “My other photo was of my mummy, and it was because we had lost her over a year and a half ago. And it was the trauma and the grief that our family has been through after we had lost my mummy. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t nice. And going out with our group and talking about it and actually having people to speak to about the grief that I was feeling. It was heart-warming to be honest.”
The exhibition, featuring interwoven photographs and narratives, chronicles the origins, evolution, and challenges of the Market community.
Participants, ranging from teenagers to adults, attended workshops facilitated by Matt Faris of Funky Buddha Productions, where they shared their experiences through photography, storytelling, and poetry.
Áine Brady, the Community Innovation Practitioner from QCAP and Chairwoman of the MDA, emphasised the significance of the project: “I think art rather than providing a distraction actually allows people to confront their issues, but in a way that’s very safe and is at their own pace and tempo and that’s very much what we’ve seen happening in our group.
“It also allows for voices that normally wouldn’t be heard to be elevated. For example you would very rarely hear working class voices in arts buildings and theatre spaces and exhibition spaces.”
“The voices of Market residents are central here for the next couple of weeks via this exhibition so I think art has really allowed to elevate our people’s voices.”
The project is part of a wider initiative to address the growing substance use problem in the area.
Queen’s University Belfast is one of five UK universities awarded the Community Innovation Practitioner pilot, supporting collaboration between academia and local communities to tackle shared challenges.
Dr Karen McGuigan, QCAP’s Community Health and Wellbeing Lead, highlighted the importance of arts-based methods in facilitating conversations that traditional scientific methods may not: “We’ve been very clear in terms of the use of the arts-based methods and what they can bring to communities and how that opens conversations that maybe traditional scientific methods don’t.
“In this there’s a framework there from which everything has developed and I think us being able to reflect the creative aspects within that has been really important.”
“There’s a good bit of learning not just for communities and that can be shared but also for academic audiences and policymakers beyond that as well.”
