Conference Proceedings 2010 [pdf] - Art & Design Symposium ...

There is therefore clearly an interesting discussion to be had about how this artistic energy can be harnessed
for the benefit of the entire community and used to dissolve divisions. Historical and other interpretation of the
murals could contribute to a broader understanding that can filter into the political, reconciliation and healing
processes, for example. Finding the right formulas to achieve such goals is a considerable challenge for the
stakeholders concerned.
The Portable Peace Mural Process: Belfast Kids Guernica
The Belfast Kids’ Guernica project exists on a micro level. However, its international connectivity provides it
with an important platform and influence.
The broad narrative of the initiative is documented in the accompanying publication for the Kids’ Guernica
International Exhibition at Florida State University (Anderson, 2010). To recap: Belfast Kids’ Guernica came
about when this writer was invited to a similar exhibition in Athens, in 2007, by Dr Hatto Fischer. A Belfast
painting was proposed. After intensive consultation, Cathal Cauldwell, head of the Art Department in the Little
Flower Girls’ Secondary School, Belfast agreed to facilitate a painting.
Mr Cauldwell got a Year 10 (14 year olds) class to produce the artwork. This writer met the young artists and
briefed them on Kids’ Guernica and other themes. Within weeks the painting was complete. This was in June
2008. Belfast-based photographer, Kevin Cooper has photographed the painting and events linked to it. The
most notable of such events was the first public exhibition of the painting in Belfast’s prestigious Linen Hall
Library. This opened on 21 September 2009 attended by Dr Fischer and Boris Tissot of the Kids’ Guernica
International Committee. Northern Visions Community Television produced a short documentary on this event
(Kids’ Guernica, 2009).
The Kids’ Guernica representatives sampled Belfast’s murals and met non-government organizations (NGOs)
engaged in practical peace work. Kevin Cooper who was also a former trade union representative for
journalists and who is active in human rights activity, facilitated this aspect of the visit. This included a meeting
with Roisin Mc Glone, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Interaction Belfast, which facilitates cross-community
crisis management in flash-point areas (R. Mc Glone, personal communication, December 2009).
In the wake of this intensive briefing process both Kevin Cooper and Roisin Mc Glone spoke about the mural
tradition. The Interaction Belfast CEO saw murals as a “useful barometer” of community opinion. She
expressed concern about moves to superimpose professional art. She feared that such approaches could
bypass people on the ground in what could be seen as an airbrushing exercise.
Kevin Cooper, an equally astute and tough-minded observer, welcomes the more temperate tone of many
murals in what he considers a “transitional period” from conflict to peace. However, in the long-term, he would
prefer to see more conventional civic art flourish. He vehemently opposes the implicit intimidation, even if
subtle and sublime, transmitted by an art form, which has its roots, he asserts, firmly in conflict and division (K
Cooper, personal communication, December, 2009).
Seeking Solution
The peace process and peace building is a work in progress. The Belfast Kids’ Guernica painting provides an
excellent educational tool and template. Academic research has a part to play, particularly by employing
international and comparative perspectives. With events and/or a dedicated conference on the wall mural
tradition, a vast array of crucial issues and questions could be tackled.
N. Ireland’s murals need to be interpreted in a neutral and safe space. The portability employed by Kids’
Guernica can perhaps be applied to view formerly walled images in exhibition? At the very least, murals must
be digitally preserved and archived if and when they are removed. This is a plea from a humble journalistic
and historical perspective, because without proper information and healthy historical memory liberated from
mythology and the effects of conflict, violence can easily be re-ignited. Peace is an ongoing and tedious
process, especially when being consolidated.
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