Shankill by the Sea

Hidden in the changing rooms, under the slide and among the swimmers, stories are heard about the lives of men from the Shankill. Living stories told by locals and represented by other local voices. Living stories of young people who used to roam the streets and become youth workers, of mothers who carefully raise their sons, of men who come from difficulties during the troubles and changes themselves, of those who help the neighborhood and its men. 

How have men changed in recent years?

"I recently saw a father going to the pool with his children.
I wouldn't have seen that 20 years ago"

During a three-month residency in Belfast Northern Ireland, I investigated the lives and identities of the British men in the Shankill. The Shankill area was a focal point during the troubles and many men were involved in this. I talked with the community about what life is like now, and reflected with them according to my method on their personal stories and experiences. The stories were recorded by the community and this also evoked reflection as empathy and recognition. The sharing and recording of stories became a work of art and pedagogy itself, the conversation worked on empathy for oneself and for the other, the aim of my work.

The shared and recorded stories were also part of creating a human lived narrative through narrative inquiry. The living stories were presented to the community in the performance Shankill by the Sea, with live music and performance, as a space for reflection and coming together. In the local swimming pool headphones were installed, hidden in the changing room and under the slide, so that the community could hear the stories. This created a collective and larger reflective conversation piece.

The process and the performance was a contribution to empathetic conflict transformation within the troubled and post-conflict zone that is Belfast and within the discourse of unambiguous masculinities. The stories are currently on tour and are heard in other contexts and sites as an audio exhibition. The research will be continued in Belfast next year.

Direction: Lukas Schmidt
Music composition: Conor Pelan
Stories: Local people from the Shankill
Voices: Local people from the Shankill
Location managing: Gareth Millar
Collaborating partners: Ines Sauer, Darren Ferguson, Sara Mulder, Sarah Lawrence, Joseph Duran
Collaborating partners: The Spectrum Centre, Lower Old Park Community Centre, Act Initiative, Northern Ireland Alternatives, Beyond Skin, Black Mountain Community Centre, Nerve Centre, North Belfast Centre of Mission, Shankill Leisure Centre, Cliftonville Community Centre, Impact Training