Projects

Hand drawn illustration of the Strand Cinema at night time under a starry sky in east Belfast with the H&W yellow cranes in the background.

Hand drawn illustration of the Strand cinema set during 1935. The image is black and white colours, there are workers with men going to the shipyard and women to the linen mills and a tram passes by

Hand drawn illustration of the Strand cinema set during 1950. The image is black and white colours, there is a ship being constructed in the background, and the cinema is promoting 'Girls at Sea'

Hand drawn illustration of the Strand cinema set during 1970. The image is an evening colour set. There are soldiers, RUC and a punk artist. The cinema is promoting 'Little and Large'.

Hand drawn illustration of the Strand Cinema at night time. the Strand building promoting films such as Titanic. There is traffic passing, and a bus with an advert for 'The Belfast Agreement' campaign

Logos of project partners: funder National Lottery Heritage Fund. University of Atypical logo promoting the Accessing Architecture program. Commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen, Strand Arts Centre

The Pictures by James Ashe

The Strand Cinema through the ages

The Pictures is a series of artwork created as part of Univerisity of Atypical's Accessing Architecture programme in collaboration with Northern Ireland Screen and Strand Arts Centre illustrated by visual artist James Ashe. These are shown as movie posters displayed in the Strand Arts Centre.

Following the Strand's 85th anniversary in 2020, James has illustrated the Strand building, local economy, transport, entertainment and politics. Showing how Belfast and the Strand have changed alongside each other. The Digital Film Archive helped the artist to capture how the streets and people of Belfast looked at the time. Making sketches on paper and using images from the Strand Arts Centre archive, James has made the final illustrations on a computer tablet. This short silent video shows the artist's process.

ABOUT

James Ashe is a visual artist working within illustration, typography, and print-making techniques such as screenprinting and risograph printing. He has previously held solo exhibitions with Framewerk Gallery, The Black Box, along with work featured in group exhibitions and museum collections such as Centre for Contemporary Art Derry-Londonderry and the Ulster Museum.

Accessing Architecture is a series of public workshops and talks by the University of Atypical. James Ashe is one of five commissioned artists exploring disability and the built environment. It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland. The Pictures was commissioned by Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive in partnership with The Strand Arts Centre to provide support for artists during lockdown in 2020.

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Projects

The Pictures by James Ashe

The Strand Cinema through the ages

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