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WWI Exhibition

North Belfast Young People explore the impact of the Great War
Fourteen young people from North Belfast embarked on increasing their knowledge of the Great War to mark the centenary via study trips to London, Belgium and France.  Funding secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund enabled New Lodge Arts and New Lodge Youth Centre, both projects to Ashton Community Trust, to explore the local and international contexts within which the war was fought, how it affected their local area and the realities of life for those involved in the war. 

During their study trip, the young people visited battlefields, war memorials, graveyards, museums and monuments gaining an insight into the devastation and destruction of the War which resulted in the death of over 16 million people and left 20 million wounded, ranking it among the deadliest conflicts in human history.

Anne Delaney, Arts Programme & Operations Manager at New Lodge Arts, says: ‘We are delighted to receive financial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Children in Need for this project.  The young people have gained an understanding of the Great War and benefited greatly from the experience of visiting battlefields, graveyards and memorials. We hope that this project goes on to inspire others in developing their own response to historical anniversaries.’

One participant from North Belfast described the project as "Overall an outstanding experience, I have been given the opportunity to be shown a range of new facts that I had never came across in my experience with the topic of history, generally a heartfelt trip seeing how many soldiers risked their lives and fought for their country, such an amazing experience that I am glad I was able to be a part of.’

Mark Glover, Member of the Heritage Lottery Fund NI Committee was on hand to offer their congratulations on the project work and exhibition “We were delighted to fund this engaging project which enabled the young people to explore the realities of the First World War and its impacts both at home and abroad. It’s great to see them share what they uncovered via their exhibition and mural. HLF established the First World War: then and now programme so everyone could have the chance to discover more about the war and mark the Centenary.”

Paddy Sloan, National Head of BBC Children in Need NI, has been a great supporter of New Lodge Arts for many years and was delighted to attend the exhibition ‘It’s ambitious to take young people abroad – there are a lot of new experiences to absorb, different food, accommodation, travel, language and culture. It is impressive that the young people from New Lodge Arts, with the support of their creative and committed staff team, enjoyed the opportunity and got a sense of the enormity of the Great War and its impact on young people like themselves.’

The group have worked with local Photographer Kelly Morris and artist Ed Reynolds to create an exhibition detailing their learning of the Great War.  The photographic exhibition and mural was on displayed in the Duncairn Art Centre from 26th – 28th January 2015 and in the Culture Shop, Ashton Centre from 2nd – 20th February 2015.

News Date: 
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - 12:30pm

Contact Details

New Lodge Arts Ashton Centre 5 Churchill Street Belfast, BT15 2BP 028 9074 2255 anne.delaney@ashtoncentre.com 

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