In exhibitions and audio tours the living stories of residents from the Shankill area are heard. 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. 

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 different forms, such as an audio tour, an audio exhibition and a performance, as a space for reflection and coming together. 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.

The stories are currently on tour and heard in exhibitions and audio tours, to reflect and build on empathy. The stories have been to Belfast (NI), Derry (NI), Castlerock (NI) and Arnhem (NL).

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"

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