For Folk Sake Exhibition
Banana Block x Ulster Folk
What if…
we recreated Cluan Place, providing a space where arts, heritage, and culture connect past and future?
Client
National Museums NI
Location
Belfast
Dates
2023
Value
£30,000
‘For Folk Sake’ is a contemporary recreation of a row of terraces in Cluan Place, East Belfast, situated at the nearby cultural venue of Banana Block in Portview Trade Centre. We worked alongside National Museums to create an exhibition & artist residency space, offering opportunities to encounter arts, heritage and stories from the past - all with a banana twist…
“Margaret’s neighbours on Cluan Place were a diverse group of people with a wide range of skills. Their stories showcase just a few of the industries that shaped places like Belfast.”
The House echoes a home in which Margaret Cranston lived with her brother - a shipyard labourer - and her elderly parents in the early 20th Century. Margaret was a dressmaker, one of the skilled textile workers who made mills like Portview possible.
The space was clad entirely in plywood, providing a blank canvas for future interpretation about the home. Externally, timber slats provided a glimpse into the rooms, whilst metal planters and tropical planting was used to reflect the front gardens, while tying in with the overall exotic planting scheme of Banana Block.
