Re-imaging communities

They’re vivid, political and highly visible – the murals adorning gable ends and walls around Northern Ireland are a marking of territory and a declaration of culture and allegiance. They feature on many a bus or taxi-tour of Belfast, part of the emerging visitor economy. But the powers that be say that any overtly sectarian symbol, violent or not, is off-putting and retrograde, and a project – involving a partnership with local grassroots groups and selected artists, as well as both the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Community Relations bodies – is underway to “re-image” communities.