CREATIVE CONNECTIONS
Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality promote equality, human rights and diversity through the arts. People in Resistance is a unique project telling stories of citizens who stood up for the rights of others during World War II. Smashing Times are sharing these stories as we bring diverse communities together to build creative connections through theatre, film and multidisciplinary visual art practice.
Work in 2026
Smashing Times were delighted to implement Creative Connections in Northern Ireland with the support of the National Lottery through The Arts Council of Northern Ireland New Small Grants programme. The arts have the power to promote creativity, equality and human rights for all and are a unique way to explore creative solutions to problems facing communities today with a view to building a shared future for all.
A key aim was to promote creativity through theatre, film, visual and digital arts practise with four diverse groups in areas designated as disadvantaged and to identify issues facing the groups through creative arts processes. The project uses creativity and the arts to identify collective, shared solutions for bringing the groups together and creating a genuinely integrated society into the future with a focus on equality and diversity.
This was done through the creative processes of theatre workshops, vision boards, film screenings, storyboard artworks on people in resistance during World War II, and post-show discussions.
The total project reach was 31,121. This consisted of 12 Creative Art Workshops with theatre games and exercises, film screenings, the presentation of story board artworks on people in resistance during World War II and post-show discussions – all conducted face-to-face and reaching 80 direct participants. Outreach activities were conducted including 4 online meetings reaching 35 including group leaders; and 31,004 citizens were reached through communications and dissemination.
This project was supported by The National Lottery through The Arts Council of Northern Ireland New Small Grants programme. A special thank you to the National Lottery players and money raised for good causes, and to The Arts Council of Northern Ireland National Lottery Fund.
Partner Groups
Clanrye Group Skills for Life and Work – Mayfair Business Park Gavahey Road Portadown Co Armagh
Career development is prioritised on the SfL&W programme with structured 1:1 and small group sessions focusing on CV development, interview techniques job search and progression opportunities. Employability Mentors will secure work placements for each young person with employer activities available to each young person to include job fairs, industry visits, motivational talks and sector taster sessions. Workplace competencies are built via practical activities, vocational placements and community projects all of which help boost confidence, personal and community responsibility and provide real-world insight into the world of work. At Clanrye Group the holistic development of each young person will be fostered through workshops, personal development and enrichment activities that build confidence, independence and community engagement.
Silver Whites Club, 99 Lower North Street, Lurgan, Co Armagh
The Silver Whites Club meet every Monday in St Peter’s, 99 Lower North Street, Lurgan. They participate in social activities like music performances, quizzes, outings, talks, and workshops. The group are open to new members who are interested in meeting new people and making friends.
Hens Sheds, Westwinds Estate, Newtownards, Co Down
The women’s group at the Inspire Scraboview service in Newtownards (located near Westwinds) hosts a Hen’s Shed project focused on activities like upcycling furniture, cleaning, sanding, and painting, aimed at fostering community connections. The project is part of a broader network of women’s sheds in Ireland and Northern Ireland focusing on wellbeing, friendship, and peer support.
T Group, Resurgam Trust, 3D Youth Centre, 65 Drumbeg Drive, Lisburn, Co Antrim
The Resurgam Community Development Trust Limited is a community owned and community led organisation which aims to bring about long term social, economic and environmental change within deprived communities in Lisburn through creating greater levels of collaboration and partnership working between communities, creating the conditions to attract investment and enable local organisations to address a myriad of challenges that impact their quality of life. The Resurgam Community Development Trust Ltd is a Development Trust Association. We have ambitious plans for our Trust, which we feel connects communities across Lisburn and will drive community, youth, social and economic development for many years to come. The Resurgam Trust is based in the Laganview Enterprise Centre in the Old Warren Estate in Lisburn and works with community-based organisations across both Lisburn North and Lisburn South. We are a non-political organisation but feel that it is extremely important to build alliances and relationships with all locally elected representatives across all political divides. Equally we want to reach out and build good working relationships with statutory, community and voluntary sectors in Lisburn and wider afield. Some of the areas we are currently working in include: Education & Employment; Community Development; Youth Provision; Social Enterprise; Community Safety; Health & Wellbeing; and Early Intervention.
Work in 2025
Smashing Times are delighted to bring People in Resistance to Northern Ireland with the support of the National Lottery through The Arts Council of Northern Ireland Rural Engagement Arts programme. The aim is to use the arts to bring people from diverse communities together to explore creative approaches to building a genuinely integrated society in Northern Ireland The arts have the power to promote creativity, equality and human rights for all and are a unique way to explore creative solutions to problems facing communities today with a view to building a shared future for all.
A workshop programme is conducted with four community based organisations using creative methodologies to share stories of people in resistance from World War II and to use the stories as a catalyst to generate discussion on values today in relation to equality, human rights and diversity and ways to create a genuinely integrated society. Smashing Times then present the multidisciplinary exhibition People in Resistance with a cross-community launch and artist talk on Creative Connections: Arts and Peace, presented for the annual international Arts and Human Rights festival.
This project is supported by The National Lottery through The Arts Council of Northern Ireland Rural Engagement Arts programme. A special thank you to the National Lottery players and money raised for good causes, and to The Arts Council of Northern Ireland National Lottery Fund. Congratulations on the 30th birthday of The National Lottery 2025.
If you are an organisation based in Northern Ireland in a rural community and wish to get involved in the People in Resistance: Building Creative Communities project please contact Freda Manweiler at freda@smashingtimes.ie for further information.
The artist facilitators are Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Herron.
Carmen Ortiz, Director and Facilitator
Carmen Ortiz Victorino is a versatile multidisciplinary artist, theater-maker, director, actress, facilitator, playwright, and stage manager from Seville, Spain. She holds a degree in drama from ESAD de Sevilla and has further honed her craft through studies in screen acting at the Laboratorio de Interpretación de Sevilla and Directing for Theatre and Community Work at Maynooth University. Carmen has worked with Crooked House Theatre in Newbridge and currently collaborates with Smashing Times Theatre Company.
Throughout her career, Carmen has facilitated drama workshops and directed various plays with diverse communities across Ireland, including King Lear, Hamlet, and The Heights. Her international experience includes participation in projects such as Mouth Off (Spain), You Mix It (Sweden), Mind Your Body (Slovenia), and Transmission (Albania), using theater to address social issues through innovative acting techniques.
At Smashing Times, Carmen serves as an administrator and coordinator for both national and international projects. She has directed two plays for the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival: The Art of Trees (part of the TREES Project), which will tour in 2025, and Memorial Monologues, created in partnership with Front Line Defenders.
Dr Stephen Herron, Social Researcher and Academic
I am an experienced social researcher and academic who has worked in both academic, non-academic and freelance capacities. My academic background is anthropological based with a particular expertise in military anthropology and research in areas of conflict, violence and warfare. I am currently a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast where I am examining how counter-insurgency warfare impacts upon the post-conflict reintegration experiences of British land based military personnel. My PhD research examined the role and effect of violence on the Ulster Defence Regiment in South Armagh during which I analysed a range of areas from training and operations to trauma and post-conflict reintegration.
I am also experienced in public affairs and advocacy having worked both as a political assistant for a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and as an advocate for a number of organisations/bodies. I carry out a number of voluntary roles and am a keen sports enthusiast, including football, golf, squash, darts and rallying.
I am also currently working on a VoxPol project at Dublin City university which is exploring online Loyalism and I also provide tutoring at Queen’s University Belfast as well as being director of a social media monitoring company I-Media Analysis Ltd.
I am keen to carry out more social research projects, particularly those which examine the impact of violence, warfare and conflict.
The four groups we are working with are:
Clann Eireann GAA, Co Armagh
Clann Éireann GAC is located in Co. Armagh. We are an active Gaelic Athletic Club which also incorporates a vibrant Youth Club. With a total membership of 1500, the youth club and GAC provides a wide range of sporting, social and developmental activities throughout the year. The Youth Club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2004. Founded in 1954 it has continuously served our community in North Lurgan since. With a strong Gaelic games ethos the GAC provides Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball for boys and girls of all age groups from under-8s to senior level.
The Hub BT80, Cookstown Co Tyrone
The Hub BT80 is an all-inclusive space where we promote self-care through mental health and well-being workshops. Theatre Workshops, Dance and Meditation workshops.
Old Warren Community Association
The Resurgam Trust deliver a Community Investment Fund programme for the Department of Communities which provides support to communities under the umbrella of Resurgam Trust. As part of this, The Old Warren Community Association runs a Men’s Sheds promoting openness, honesty, social inclusion and positive lifestyles for men, and works with adults and Youth Education with different communities in the Old Warren Estate including ex UDR and ex British Legion soldiers.
UDR Association Portadown
The UDR Association looks after ex-service personnel who were previously part of the Ulster Defence Regiment during the recent conflict in Northern Ireland. The UDR Association Portadown works with ex-service personnel in the Portadown area. The UDR Association aims to provide opportunities for members to meet and keep in touch, through organised social events and other activities, to maintain contact with former members of the Regiment, their families and dependants; and in cases of need, to provide assistance by the most appropriate means whether or not the person is a member of the Association, to bring to the attention of the relevant authorities any cases, which come to the notice of the Association, of former members of HM Forces requiring assistance to support The Ulster Defence Regiment Benevolent Fund and to support The Royal Irish Regiment.
