A NEW work to reflect the north's emergence from the conflict of the Troubles is being planned in collaboration with one of Ireland's best-known street artists.
Joe Caslin, who painted a famous mural in Dublin ahead of the Republic's 2015 referendum on same-sex marriage, will deliver a new work in a yet-to-be-confirmed location in the north in collaboration with Derry's Nerve Centre.
The Derry arts centre has been awarded funding for the project by the UK's Imperial War Museum under its IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund, which involves artists across the UK creating works referencing the "heritage of conflict".
The fund is partly financed by royalities from the 2018 movie, They Shall Not Grow Old, by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, which featured restored footage from the First World War.
Read more: Murals in Belfast and Northern Ireland: An explainer
The Nerve Centre is now seeking young people aged between 18 and 25 to collaborate with Mr Caslin to help the Co Roscommon artist on a "major new piece of outdoor art".
The work will be unveiled in a "prominent location" and will utilize smartphone augmented reality technology to bring it to life.
Previous prominent works by Mr Caslin include murals highlighting issues including mental health, such as one painted in 2017 at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks in Dublin.
In 2021 he painted a mural on the side of Belfast's Ulster Museum as part of a project on cultural identity.
The Nerve Centre's Niall Kerr said: “It’s exciting to work with Joe Caslin on a new initiative that will explore the changing face of Northern Ireland 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, and examine the future for all of its people."
Young people interested in registering for the new project can do so online at www.nervecentre.org.
