Postcards Reveal Youngsters' View Of Belfast

Belfast is to say 'Hello' to the world through the medium of picture postcards such as its many visitors love to send across the globe.
There's a new multi-media exhibition underway called 'Hello from Belfast' at the Waterfront Hall (with several examples pictured here) which is hosting 16 art pieces that reflect some well-known Belfast locations through the eyes of female students.
The artists, aged from 13 to 17, have worked on it by using creative technology; taking pictures, painting with texture, composing collages and putting it all together with specialised Photoshop software.
The exhibition also gives access to the webpage of the project, Hello From Belfast, which is available by clicking www.hellofrombelfast.co.uk
The online platform exhibits their artworks in an online gallery. Each postcard includes a few lines about what each historical place is about and why it is worth visiting.
Another interesting resource is the audiovisual records in which the students tell the audience about their everyday life-style, which aim to overcome old Belfast stereotypes.
"It underlines the part young people can play in developing new cultural identities in a post conflict Northern Ireland," says the flyer on the project.
But, overall, it constitutes a useful tool to promote tourism through education.
The work on the web has been done in partnership with the Belfast Computer Club House.
The design is the work of Eileen Kelly, a student at the University of Ulster who has been hailed for her work at the univerity's Magee Campus.
These metaphorical postcards and the instructive website are the result of a cross-community cultural project coordinated by Johanna Bartley, Lecturer in Multimedia Design in the School of Creative Arts of the University of Ulster.
The pupils involved come from the Hazelwood Integrated College and St Louise's Comprehensive School. They have worked together on the initiative since last September.
The exhibition, at Belfast's Waterfront Hall, runs until 12th of June.
Words and images by Ada Cruz Tienda.
(AC/BMcC)