WHY are we so scared of the faith communities in the city? Why are we afraid of including them in any arts-based activity?
Some years ago I started out on a journey around the city as a non-church attender to see for myself what was happening in contemporary Belfast churches. Prior to this, having been on a cross-community programme when the ceasefires happened, I spent over 13 years setting up and running cross-community, cross-border development programmes at interfaces in Belfast, helping to move people into full- or part-time work, education or self-employment. My aim was to help people along the peace journey.
The journey around the city took me to places and spaces that few even know exist and – contrary to what the mostly secular media would have you believe and their focus on the external violence that happened because of sectarianism and religion – I found communities literally filled with light, holding the city together in a kind of connected grid. There were many times that I was about to stop, particularly at the beginning, but the artist in me forced me to keep going, using that creative impulse that has keep artists awake and creating well beyond what should be humanly possible to most mortals.
This odyssey around the city has informed my artistic practice, be it taking over a deconsecrated church on the Newtownards Road and curating an exhibition which transforms people's perceptions or working with Adjunct Professor Suellen Semekoiski of the School of Art Institute Chicago on a performative walking meditation that contributed to the Four Corners Festival being started. I found the religious communites around the city to be receptive and interested in welcoming people into their spaces for something other than worship, be it mosque, temple, chapel, meeting house or church. All shades and denominations.
When the Belfast 2024 call-out for projects went live there seemed an opportunity for the thousands of people in the city who are on an active faith journey, be it weekly or daily, to participate in something that is supposed to be a celebration of our people and our place, as we look to the years ahead.
Okay, you guessed it – my faith-based idea was rejected. So maybe Belfast City Council expects there to be no faith communities in the future. That includes all the people in Knock Presbyterian on Christmas Eve, filled to the rafters with a 10-piece Orchestra, a 40-piece choir and an intergenerational congregation; or the the second service of the day in Clonard Monastery on New Year's Day, which was full of people wanting to start their year off on a positive note. Or what about the Muslims in the city who have just moved into their new mosque?
It's a pity that the city does not have the confidence to treat its faith communities with the same respect that other cities of the world do, or confidently run an arts-based citywide faith event. It's a pity these voters and ratepayers are being ignored and no-one seems to care. Maybe Belfast City Council hopes no-one will notice.
So as Belfast 2024 rolls out, consider this missing artistic happening, and as the secular world rejoices that this is the case and artificial intelligence tries to take over many aspects of our lives, ask where is the support for the life of the spirit?
On a positive note there is a lovely part-funded opportunity open at the moment for schools who would like to have a professional writer/poet come in and visit them or have a writer in residence. Both Arts Councils, North and South, support it and it's run by Éigse ÉIreann. It's always oversubscribed so apply now. Full details on www.poetryireland,ie/education/
