Busy August for Cultural Bridge participants

1st August 2023

In a few days Sheena, DU Dance (NI) Community Engagement Artist, our partners at Beyond Skin and a group of excited young people will head to Leipzig, Germany for the Cultural Bridge project.

The new phase of the project will support these young people to build a global network, feel more connected to the global community and experience art as a medium for creative, cultural, and political expression.  The intention is that the participants will create awareness and advocacy productions about the environmental issues all their communities face, while developing vital skills and confidence that will invigorate them to continue activism and make an impact on their communities.

In 2023, with help of new funding, two areas of the VILLA will take part in the project; VILLA Engagement & Politics will remain heavily involved bringing experience in youth exchange and political education and participation to the project and the VILLA “Jugendkulturkeller” (Youth culture cellar) has a focus on youth work with theatre and electronic music.  Philipp Niese from VILLA Leipzig explains what the development of the partnership means: “This will enable us to give our young participants even greater opportunities to promote exchange between Belfast and Leipzig, and thus make a creative contribution to combating climate change.”

After the week in Germany, the group travels together to Belfast to continue the project.  They will work on a series of outdoor performances around Belfast city centre on Thursday 17th August and meet with Maurice Macartney who is a musician with Beyond Skin and has been an active member of the Green Party since 2013.  Maurice will talk about the impact of climate change on Northern Ireland specifically.

Watch this space and our social media posts to hear how the project goes and meet the young people who are involved.