creating new worlds
AT WHEELWORKS, WE ARE:
Creating New Worlds — by combining the arts and digital technology in our Workshops, Programmes and Projects:
The arts — Music / Photography / Arts and crafts / Dance / Drama / Creative writing / Visual art
Digital technology — Animation / Digital art / Virtual reality / Augmented reality / Motion capture / Movie Special Effects / Game Design / App development / Digital music / Photography
Creating New Worlds — with the unique and innovative artworks our artists and participants produce from their individual and collective imaginations.
Creating New Worlds — through the positive impacts we’re having on our participants, who are often socially disadvantaged children and young people aged 4 – 25 from across Northern Ireland.
Creating New Worlds — by making industry standard technology accessible to young people in communities across Northern Ireland, broadening their horizons in terms of potential career paths.
Creating New Worlds — with our volunteering programme, which enables young people to
join our Programmes and Projects as participants,
upskill to become peer mentors,
then assist WheelWorks artists with facilitating projects and
return to their communities to share their new skills.
WheelWOrks
OUR STORY
The WheelWorks story began in 1995 with our founder Gavin O’Connor, who was then working as a Play Development Officer in the childcare department of Voluntary Services Belfast (currently Volunteer Now).
Gavin’s job involved working with community organisations to organise training in play development and to create playgrounds and multi-purpose sports areas.
Gavin quickly realised that while there was some sports provision in Greater Belfast, outside of summer schemes, there was very little opportunity for professional artists to work directly with children and young people in community settings. He took that knowledge and combined it with his experience as a Play Development Officer working with the mobile play service to create an innovative new idea — the first mobile youth arts resource in Northern Ireland!
WheelWorks’ first major success was to secure funding for an initial project which delivered a dedicated week long summer arts intervention in six communities in Belfast. This was followed by the Flying Horse Estate in Downpatrick where arts activity was used as a suicide prevention method for young people. This demonstrated the versatility of the arts, which could be used to explore and experiment while also addressing community, social, personal and health issues.
To bring his idea of a purpose built mobile arts vehicle which could combine traditional and digital art forms to life, Gavin travelled to Bristol and worked with the National Playbus Association and WH Bence and Yeats, one of the best coach builders in the world.
From there, the ArtCart was born. WheelWorks stepped out from under the wing of Voluntary Services Belfast and became independent in 2000. Since then, the organisation has been internationally recognised and won numerous awards for its work with young people.