Sure Start and Fashion
Sure Start Inner City South Belfast holds a weekly meeting for Chinese mothers and toddlers from all parts of the city.
The sessions take place in Morton Community Centre and involve advice and support, a programme of activities for the participants, playtime for the children, gossip, food and lots of tea!
The inspiration for the four panels in this project came from the Ulster Museum's wonderful collection of costume and fashion, with the finished panels featuring items from 1800 to the present day. Children's clothes, hats, shoes and a parasol were also included.
The work began by looking at some of the costume and trying on Victorian dresses, corsets and children's clothes. We then made charcoal drawings. The following week one of the mothers brought in a beautiful Chinese silk dress, which we also drew. We painted directly on to the canvas - sometimes setting the clothes down and tracing their outline. The paintings also have enlarged details of floral patterns.
The group's completed artwork was then mounted and varnished to make the four finished panels which were launched at the Ulster Museum on 1 May 2008, during Community Relations Week.
We would like to thank the mothers, toddlers, staff at Morton Community Centre and Sure Start co-ordinator Saumei Lai for their enthusiasm and hard work and for their warm welcome to Anu and Museum staff.