9ft in Common Project Trailer
This Garden Cannot Be Unplanted Trailer
9ft in Common: A Manifesto for The Alleys
9ft in Common: A Manifesto for the Alleys was a large-scale, collaborative exploration of our alleyways – commissioned by Belfast 2024 and led by Starling Start & Studio Idir - which invited us to reconsider the possibilities hidden just beyond our back gates. Over the course of a year, aligned with the Celtic seasons, 9ft in Common commissioned creative responses, hosted inquiries, and held gatherings in and for alleys across the city. This work was done in partnership with a wide range of collaborators: artists, designers, growers, neighbours, geographers, activists, ecologists, architects, researchers, and more. The resulting manifesto – developed through years of dialogue – contains nine key principles. These principles reflect and mobilize the intentions, hopes, and wishes of the people of Belfast for the alleys behind their homes and throughout the city. During the fieldwork and mapping research (as part of the Allez Alley programme), it was discovered that 7% of Belfast’s alleyways already show signs of growing projects or social interaction. The manifesto envisions the untapped potential of the remaining 93% - asking Belfast; if we adopt the Manifesto and occupy the alleys, what new spaces, friends and connections will we find along the way?
