Two murals created by cross-community groups have been unveiled in east Belfast aimed at encouraging curiosity among people about the industrial past of the city.
The ‘parachute cloth’ style murals cover three storeys of the City East building on the Newtownards Road and were created with direction from local artist Dee Craig.
It is part of the ‘Connecting Communities Through Art’ project, the brainchild of the charity and social enterprise, East Belfast Enterprise and Belfast Mural Arts.
The initiative brought people from the area together, including those from the two main traditions and new immigrants in the community, to depict the diversity of living in the east of the city.
Using a US mural method known as the parachute cloth technique, the concept includes artwork of cross-community groups in the Ballymacarrett and Short Strand areas with school children, people living with disabilities, the elderly and ethnic minority groups all contributing.
The mural design was developed during a series of more than 30 workshops in which the groups discussed themes to reflect the lives of those living in east Belfast.
Their designs pay homage to the east’s strong industrial heritage as well as its future potential.
Created by painting directly onto parachute cloth, Belfast Mural Arts are the only artists in Europe that specialise in the technique.
The organisation then installed the artwork on two sides of City East building in a jigsaw-like technique using super strength glue to give it a lifespan of up to 25 years before requiring maintenance.
Jonathan McAlpin from East Belfast Enterprise said: “We occupy an iconic site on Newtownards Road so our vision was to create something iconic that would exude passion and captivate passers by, filling them with pride and inspiration.
“I’m hoping that they will pause and take a moment to appreciate the murals and take time to reflect and aspire as they view the subject matter.”
He added that the murals tell “the true story of modern-day east Belfast, its business heritage, diverse culture, unity and future potential”.
“This mural installation is an artistic reflection of the east Belfast community made while breaking boundaries, building relationships and challenging negative perceptions that lead to division and associated anti-social behaviour in this part of the city,” he said.
“I believe the imagery celebrates and embodies the values that define us and the dreams that unite us.
“Our objective was to celebrate the successes of east Belfast recognising the historic economic achievements from this area while looking to a future that can tap into the latent innovation, talent and entrepreneurship that rests within this community and I believe we have achieved this from the art that is now hanging on the walls of our building at City East.”
