Water Works

We are in the development phase of an exciting project that will form a key part of the Belfast 24 programme; Belfast’s biggest ever creative and cultural celebration, beginning next spring.

PS²'s project - Water Works - is funded by Belfast City Council as part of their Belfast 24 investment of £5.9m in the sector which they announced in October 2023. 

The Belfast 24 programme will see the city come alive with ambitious, participatory workshops, performances and events and an array of creative projects and initiatives, celebrating our homegrown culture, creativity and the city itself. People, Place and Planet will be the key themes of the programme. Read more about the selected projects here. 

We are well underway with our programme of workshops, commissions, and neighbourhood pop-up events. You can read more about everything that's happening on our project website waterworks.site. We're continually adding and announcing more events, so check the website regularly for up-to-date details. 

Our city is built on water. We are planning a mass-participation project which reimagines our maritime traditions with citywide events, workshops, and an ambition to build 10,000 boats for Belfast - from life-size skiffs, to milk-bottle rafts, Coke-can dinghies and shoebox yachts. Water Works aims to reinvigorate our relationship with water in the city, forming a stronger link to waterbodies both large and small, showcasing the potential of our water systems to educate, entertain, include, and to imagine a more sustainable future.

Water Works spearheads a transformative journey, rediscovering our pre-industrial, vernacular boatbuilding histories, urban and maritime developments and future planning, and use of some of our greatest assets: the waterways in and around our city.

Together, we can envisage a future where our river is rejuvenated, celebrated and used by all its residents, and where community engagement and creative expression take centre stage.

We are absolutely delighted to be involved in this ambitious and exciting programme and can't wait to share and celebrate with you all in 2024! 

Image courtesy of Duncan Ross