A new large-scale installation by artist Joe Caslin is opening at Riddel’s Warehouse in Belfast, placing the experiences of young people at the centre of a multi-layered cultural project.
Titled Outpouring, the work has been co-created with over 120 young people from across the city. Developed through a six-month cross-community engagement programme, the project invited participants to respond to a direct question about what wider society needs to hear from them.
For organisations working in visitor experiences, museums, public art, heritage interpretation and community engagement, Outpouring offers a strong example of how participatory practice can shape cultural content with social purpose.
Riddel’s Warehouse Used As A Platform For Public Art
The installation is located inside Riddel’s Warehouse, a historic four-storey building in central Belfast. Caslin’s central artwork spans the height of the atrium and uses the large scale, monochrome pencil style for which he is widely known.
The work is supported on both sides by visual art and written contributions from young people. Their responses address themes including identity, belonging, pressure, concern, community, Northern Ireland, and hope.
Caslin has used biodegradable materials for the main artwork, allowing the building to host a visually prominent project without leaving a permanent physical mark. For heritage operators and cultural producers, this approach shows how temporary interventions can activate historic spaces while respecting their fabric.
Digital Interpretation Adds Further Layers
Outpouring also includes a specially developed augmented reality app, allowing audiences to access digital content connected to the artwork and the young people’s contributions.
The app gives added context to the creative responses and invites reflection through interactive features. For experience designers and cultural technologists, the project highlights the value of digital interpretation when it is tied closely to human stories, rather than used as an isolated technical feature.
Archive film plays a further role in the installation. Material from Northern Ireland Now: Contemporary Collecting and Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive appears throughout the experience, linking current youth perspectives with wider records of community life in Belfast.
An archive cinema space also presents contemporary film gathered from local communities, creating a dialogue between lived experience, recorded memory and new creative work.
Cross-Sector Collaboration With Social Value
The project brings together art, heritage, film archive, youth engagement and digital practice. Nerve Centre has supported the community and heritage dimensions, while Northern Ireland Screen has contributed archive expertise and film material.
Caslin has described the project as a way to give young people greater control over how they are seen and understood. Nerve Centre has positioned the work as a platform for honest discussion about identity, pressure and belonging. Northern Ireland Screen has highlighted its role in showing how archive material can be presented through new forms of public engagement.
Outpouring is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Reconciliation Fund and by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland through a Digital Evolution Award, with support from the BFI.
For the visitor experience sector, the project underlines the growing importance of co-creation, ethical engagement, digital access and place-sensitive production in cultural programming. It also demonstrates how heritage spaces can support contemporary public art while giving communities a stronger role in shaping the stories being told.
