A COMMUNITY-led collaborative arts project in the Sailortown area of North Belfast has created a new triptych which reflects the history of the area, the connection it has to sea-faring and the community spirit which ties them together.

The triptych, now hangs on the walls of Stella Maris, a short term accommodation service run by DePaul, who engage with long-term entrenched street drinkers. 

This project is a collaboration between Stella Maris residents, Sailortown Regeneration Women’s Group and young people from New Lodge Arts, who have worked with Eleanor Wheeler, an architectural ceramicist and sculptor, to create the triptych, as well as a number of smaller art pieces.

The format of the work deliberately references windows and specifically the main window in St Joseph’s Church, now used as a community hub, which is the main feature in the central panel incorporating a compass rose and a ships wheel.

The images in the triptych use sea-related images, including gulls, a message in a bottle, light buoy and life preserver, to symbolise notion of hope, help and moving forward to a positive future.

The smaller ceramic pieces are being hung in St Joseph's Church, Stella Maris and Sailortown Regeneration office.

The groups were keen to tie the new artwork with the previous mosaic of St Brendan crossing the Atlantic, which had been damaged and had to be removed.

The maritime theme in the new artwork reflects this and the theme of the new artwork is about hope and safe harbour in a maritime area, which could be viewed as a reflection of Stella Maris.

Terry McKeown, Project Manager, at Sailortown Regeneration, said “Sailortown Regeneration was delighted to work with Stella Maris on their new mural.

"Our older residents and young people had the opportunity to assist in its design, brilliantly facilitated by Eleanor.  

"Stella Maris has a long history in Sailortown of caring for those at sea. We look forward to accompanying them on their current journey supporting those who are trying to find their way home.”

Catherine McGarrell, Project Group Manager at Stella Maris, Depaul, added: "This mural collaboration has been a really positive experience for each of our service users in Stella Maris. It has given them a sense of belonging within the Sailortown community and has shown them that the community is a safe place to be.

"The experience of homelessness can be disenfranchising, but this project has helped to break down the visible and invisible barriers that people who are homeless face and has given community members an opportunity to get to know them as individuals.

"A lot of our service users are highly skilled or educated but have fallen on hard times and it really brought it home that any one of us could find ourselves in their situation.

"When people have a stake in their community, great things can happen. Our focus now is on strengthening these relationships and solidarity within the Sailortown community.”

Loma Wilson from Radius Housing said: “Sailortown has a strong sense of community and pride in its history, which is why this project has been so inspiring and so successful.

"It is particularly important for Radius and Depaul, that the residents of Stella Maris have been so involved in this work and have created their own pieces which bring their experience into the project.

"The wonderful triptych will now hang in Stella Maris, reminding everyone about the history of the area and the community spirit which Sailortown is famous for.

"This is a really important example of partnership work which will strengthen the local community, and everyone involved should be commended, in particular Eleanor, whose artist vision has led this.”