Over the last number of weeks, the Waterworks Park has featured on Channel 4 as part of the Big Art programme.  In 2006 Channel 4 launched Big Art Project.  The idea was for the general public to nominate a space/site within their local community or town and that they would engage in a process of selecting public art to be created with top class artists.

Currently the general public has little or no say in what type of public art they would like to see or more importantly where it will be placed.  Katrina Newell from New Lodge Arts and local resident Claire Kelly have been working within the community over the last number of years encouraging residents to take a different look at art and its arts forms.  Some of their work includes the Diwali and Samhain Festival of Light in the Waterworks, Art in the Park with David Bellamy, ‘Tell Me Your Story’ film project with Holy Family Youth Centre and Westland Community Group and a schools project with Creative Youth Partnerships and four local primary schools.  They have also encouraged larger and more established city wide festivals to use the Waterworks as a venue, reflected last year when over 12,000 people attended the Belfast Children’s Festival in the Waterworks.

Katrina and Claire nominated the Waterworks Park for the Channel 4 Big Art Project in 2006 and were one of seven selected from 1,400 applications. There were many reasons for selecting the Waterworks - not only did they want to continue their work in the park but they also saw it as an opportunity to for North Belfast to appear on Channel 4; to be shown in a positive light and not the usual news items. In Spring 2007 Katrina and Claire set up an advisory group which included local residents, users of the park, City Council Parks Deptartment, Fishermen and the Friends of the Waterworks.  During this time several artists visited the Waterworks Park and submitted their proposals.  There was one clear proposal that the advisory group settled on and it came from Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier.  They proposed ‘Northern Light’.

Waterworks ‘Northern Light’   

‘Northern Light’, by artists Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier, is both a sculptural piece and a new social space.  It will ‘hover’ in the park, raised above the lower pond and in line with the level of the upper pond, creating a sense of ‘suspension’.  ‘Northern Light’ will be accessible and useable by day and at night, when closed, will become a sculptural space, lit from within and glowing; visible across the city.  The interior will offer a 360 degree view of both the city of Belfast and its rural surrounds.  Access to the space will be via stairs and a lift.  ‘Northern Light’ will be accessible and welcoming to all and it is anticipated that the neighbouring communities and users of the park will programme events and activities to happen inside it.   

 Northern Light’ is still a concept and is currently progressing through the design phase of its development. From 2007 until now Katrina and Claire have been actively working in the background with engineers, architects, Council staff and funders in the hope that this idea goes from paper to the park.  Unfortunately the Channel 4 Big Art Project did not come with funding attached and therefore funding has to be raised to see the piece created.  At this stage nothing is concrete but they are very confident.  Once the design is complete and the piece is ready to go through the planning process we will be launching it to the wider public.

Big Art Elsewhere