AS part of Belfast City Council's Transform for Change project, communities in Blacks Road, Suffolk and Lenadoon have come together to create a special artwork on the interface black gates located at Kells Avenue.

The initiative engaged local children and charity Kids Together Belfast in an art competition to generate ideas for artworks to be put onto the black gates situated between the Lidl supermarket on the Stewartstown Road and the Stewartstown Road Regeneration Project.

The competition was hosted at the Stewartstown Road Regeneration Project and local street artist Emic worked closely with communities in the area to develop the final design. 

Representatives from Suffolk Community Forum and Kids Together also collaborated to bring the cross-community project to life.

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Councillor John Kyle, Chair of the council’s Shared City Partnership, said: “The vision for this special artwork was to create a bright, positive and inclusive addition or attraction to the area – improving the look and feel of the existing black gates there too.

“It couldn’t have happened without all the organisations involved working together, through the Transform for Change project. This is what we aim to do in the PEACE IV programme, to bring people together to create positive change.”

Andrea Muldoon from Kids Together added: “Kids Together were very happy to be able to be a part of this cross-community project. The children were very excited about being able to put forward their ideas and see them come to life. The project has transformed the area, giving the old black gates a fresh and vibrant feel.”