Derry City Council's Arts and Regeneration Project

The Process

The highly original and innovative team Architecture in Tensioned Societies (ARTS) delivered the Arts and Regeneration programme in the Bishop Street and Foyleview area. The traditional expectation of tension within this area would be the interface with the Fountain but the group focused on Bishop Street and Foyleview area and the tension within that area in relation to the physical development of the local shared spaces. The introductory meeting organised with the Local Neighbourhood Renewal Board (TRIAX), where the group were introduced to the area, became heated and the passions and commitment of the local representatives was very evident.

The necessity to work directly with the residents and local users of the area was agreed by all involved. The ARTS group devised a plan to engage local people through a series of interventions in the local area and this included, gazebo days, where the group set up a gazebo in the area offering free tea, coffee and buns to those participating in the process. A photograph was taken, the participants placed a red pin in a photo map of the area to mark where they lived and as many white pins as they liked to mark the routes taken, places visited and areas they most used. They were asked about the spaces they would like to see developed and issues they had with physical aspects of the area which included, rubbish issues, potholes in the road and the local park. The group also went door-to-door recording in digital format the views and aspirations of the residents.

Once gathered the photographs of participants were projected onto a gable wall adjacent to the local park, music was played and the images were on a scale which could be seen from across the river as well as intriguing and drawing in local people. This event allowed for additional engagement with residents and stimulated debate about the use of murals, images and faces, the reading of an image in relation to the context of the site and our pride of place in relation to ownership of shared space. This process was repeated and a second site selected for the projection was a gable wall adjacent to the local community centre.