Celtic myths and legends … will there (shortly) be dragons in Belfast City Hall?

As part of the ongoing work to rebalance the sense of shared space and history at Belfast City Hall, a Celtic-themed stained glass window is being commissioned to “reflect Celtic myths and legends”. The window will be located close to the main reception, and is intended to represent cultural perspectives and promote a “City Hall for all”.

Any budding artists and/or stained glass glaziers might want to check out the tender document. Deadline for submissions is noon on Friday 16 September, with the project due to complete by the end of February 2012.

£22,000 has been set aside (three quarters from the Community Relations Unit at OFMdFM and one quarter from the City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee).

I wonder would this Celtic Dragon Suncatcher stained glass artwork fit the bill? It was advertised (and sold) on Etsy by ‘grassymtarts’ back in February 2009.

It might fall down the evaluation criterion that looks for “evidence of creativity, originality and level of professionalism” though it would be hard to fault that its ‘there be dragons’ motif perfectly meets the “appropriateness of design for the site – sensitivity to context and awareness of practicalities of the site” criterion!

Over recent years, a number of new art works have been installed in the name of the “City Hall for all”.

… stained-glass windows on the subjects of the Irish Famine and the Belfast Dockers’ Strike, as well as a commissioned bust of Mary Ann McCracken (sister of United Irishman, Henry Joy McCracken), have helped to broaden and enrich the historical content in Belfast’s most iconic building.

Maybe Slugger readers could crowdsource a design that would “reflect Celtic myths and legends”? Suggestions in the comments below …

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast)

Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic and political events and conferences. He delivers social media training/coaching; produces podcasts and radio programmes; is a FactCheckNI director; a member of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland; and a member of the Corrymeela Community.

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