WHY BELFAST?
A limited-edition photo-book about why we come & why we stay
A limited-edition photo-book about why we come & why we stay
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This photo-book (in the form of a collection of postcards) is a collaborative art and story project facilitated by Emily DeDakis, Maia Brown and Twy Miller —three women originally from the U.S. thinking about and asking others to think about the question all newcomers to the city get at least once: Why Belfast?
We set up shop in Common Grounds Cafe (in the Holyland area of South Belfast) for two nights in November 2010, and posed the question to dozens of Belfast people – locals and natives, immigrants, asylum seekers and visitors. What is it about this place that keeps you here or makes you want to leave? What do you love and hate? What would you remember if you moved? People wrote and spoke their reflections, and we took portraits of everyone who was involved. This postcard-book marries the images and texts made on those evenings. __________________________________________________________________________________
We're donating all proceeds from book and postcard sales to the Northern Ireland Community of Refugees and Asylum Seekers (NICRAS) and the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM). Photo-books and individual postcards are available at No Alibis Bookstore and the Ormeau Baths Gallery.
THANKS TO: everyone who sat for portraits and told their stories; Lia Shimada; David Timlin; Friendship Club; Common Grounds Cafe; City Church; ArtsExtra; Helena Macormac; Moira McComb; David Torrans at No Alibis Bookstore; Ciara Hickey at Ormeau Baths Gallery; Tammy Moore at Culture NI & the staff at the Black Box for supporting this independent project.
Questions? Ideas? Write to whybelfast@gmail.com.
© Why Belfast 2011
