Capturing the community with creative ceramic artwork

Capturing the community with creative ceramic artwork

Press Release - 10th September 2021

A new ceramic art work which captures the impact of Covid on the community has been unveiled at Desercreat Hall. The work, which as been undertaken by the Desertcreatives group, has brought families, individuals and groups to together to add individual pieces to the work to create a bigger ceramic piece of art.

The project has been supported by Radius Housing as part of their good relations work in the Cookstown area. Radius is a leading social housing provider, managing more than 13,000 homes across Northern Ireland, including Burnvale Crescent, a shared housing development in Cookstown, This project is supported through the NI Executive Together: Building a United Community Strategy, which reflects the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society. 

Desertcreatives are a small team of visionary types based at Desertcreat just outside Cookstown. Their aim is to use creativity to host events for the whole community. Using creative arts such as music and drama and other forms including photography, sewing and crafting they aim to bring people together for fun, learning and personal development.

This project targeted families, individuals and groups from all backgrounds across the Cookstown area, who had been in isolation due to Covid 19 restrictions. It allowed people who would not normally come together to do so in a safe environment. The 45 participants got the opportunity to create a circle of ceramic, designed and glazed which represented some of their experiences during periods of lockdown due to Covid-19.

Speaking at the unveiling, Geraldine Dougan from Radius Housing said “We are delighted to unveil this wonderful piece of ceramic art, which has been carefully created by local people. The Covid lockdown was a very difficult time for everyone in the community, and it was important that there were positive, creative outlets for people, which is why Desertcreatives started this community ceramic project. Allowing local people, families and groups to get creative and tell their story or share their feelings about lockdown, then bringing them together to make this wonderful piece is the perfect way to reflect the importance of a close, collaborative community.

“At Radius we aim to help communities grow and thrive, and projects like this show the real strength that communities have when they come together. I hope that people get the chance to see this piece of art and perhaps it will inspire them to do something creative.”

Heather McIvor, Chairperson of Desertcreatives added “We would like to say a huge thank you to Radius Housing for helping us fund this project.

The final work really reflects our community coming together during such a difficult time, and it is a great that the outcome has been something so beautiful.”

This project is supported through the NI Executive Together: Building a United Community Strategy, which reflects the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society.  Burnvale Crescent in Cookstown is also supported by the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Radius currently has 9 shared housing developments across Northern Ireland.

ENDS

Further information:

Brendan Scott

MW Advocate

brendan.scott@mwadvocate.com

07834422923