Authors: Addie Ressler
Mentors: Jacob R. Hickman
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Since the conflict named “the Troubles”, infrastructure and symbolic imagery have been used to divide areas within Northern Ireland and mark territory between Loyalist and Republican communities. While the larger community in Belfast is still held by these physically and socially enforced boundaries, the art community actively defies these restrictive borders by renting, renovating, and then transforming buildings and spaces within segregated areas. In this paper, I analyze the unique and incomparable role that artists can play in pushing against the sectarian attitudes that persist within Belfast. Their success is dependent, in part, on the spaces they occupy and the use of those spaces. I argue that because artists infuse their studios and buildings with metaphysical meaning, artist collectives are able to provide neutral spaces where individuals from the opposing communities can come in contact with one another. Ultimately, members of the art community in Belfast strive to produce a commune-like entity that can act as a microcosm for an ideal Belfast.