Choice Housing, one of Northern Ireland’s largest housing associations, is collaborating with c21 Theatre Company in a unique community arts project with young pupils from across two schools in Antrim bringing Halloween to life.
The ‘Living Windows’ initiative featured young students from two local schools - Six Mile Integrated Primary and Parkhall Primary who are featuring as living art on shop fronts in the popular Castle Mall. The shop fronts showcase the students in full Halloween fancy dress, with the visuals installed via projectors across several windows offering the chance for people to come along and view the visuals and soundscape.
Pupils from both schools attended a ‘green screen session’ where they filmed content for the project and will include a range of creative imagery and video content.
Choice Housing’s Good Relations Officer, Mark Kent said,
“This is a creative way of showcasing pupils from the local area whilst bringing people together to celebrate Halloween. The c21 Theatre Company has delivered some very creative and exciting initiatives across Northern Ireland, placing local people at the heart of these projects and we are delighted that two local schools were able to get involved.
“This initiative follows on from a range of Good Relations activities that Choice Housing support including a very successful cultural celebration that also took place at Antrim Mall. This project will bring a further buzz to the local area over the Halloween period, with the local community coming to view the installation and being part of a community initiative aimed at bringing people together.”
The event was supported by the Department for Communities (DfC) and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s ‘Housing for All’ Shared Housing Programme. The Programme has its origins in 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. A potential investment of £2.1M will be invested in the Fountain Hill, Antrim shared housing development and associated five-year Good Relations Plan.
Creative Director of c21 Theatre Company, Stephen Kelly is delighted to bring the company's latest installation to Antrim Town:
"It was a real pleasure to work in collaboration with Choice Housing, Arts and Business NI and Castle Mall Shopping Centre to bring our latest installation to Antrim. The community engagement project will involve two local primary schools, Parkhall and Six Mile Integrated, in a unique approach to Halloween. We held green screen sessions with kids from both schools and the resulting content will be projected in a retail unit at Castle Mall during Halloween week. The children wore costumes during the sessions to help create a real spooky outcome. They are very excited to see themselves up in lights.”
Choice Housing plays a key role in the delivery of the ‘Housing for All programme’ – creating communities through diversity and inclusivity. With five shared housing schemes across Northern Ireland, Choice has demonstrated the impact these schemes can have for the benefits of the local communities. For example, the Stiles Way Antrim Good Relations Plan includes ‘Bridging’ events which are delivered to the wider community to encourage a range of good relations outcomes, such as health and wellbeing, and education and training. A joint Advisory group for Antrim is in place and will work in partnership with local stakeholders to deliver the good relations plan.
