ROUTES: Bus workers' exhibitions, Northern Ireland (May 2002)

The ROUTES project recorded the history and experiences of the men and women employed in the region's bus industry over the past 30 years, and gave them an opportunity to communicate their experiences and talk about their contribution to the community, using their own words and images, as part of a major public celebration of the bus workers in the North of Ireland.

A team of photographers (Belfast Exposed), artists (Flaxart Studios), and film makers (Banter Productions) worked with Littoral and with the bus drivers and associated workers over two years (2000 - 2001) to develop the ROUTES project. The ROUTES documentary provides a record of the role of the Transport & General Workers Union and its members in maintaining an essential public service and community lifeline over the past 30 years of conflict in the region. The project is also an investigation of shop-floor approaches to anti-sectarianism in the workplace.

Funding for the project has come from a Lottery Arts Access to the Arts award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, with supporting funds from the Transport & General Workers Union, Translink Plc, and other sponsors.

The ROUTES programme consisted of:

1. A photographic exhibition, and a publication, about the experiences of bus workers (Ulsterbus and Citybus) and trade union officials in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years. This provided a historical and contemporary record of the contribution made by bus transport workers to the cause of peace, improved community relations, and economic stability in the region.

   

2. Educational resource materials and a travelling exhibition based on the bus workers' excellent record of dealing with sectarianism and intimidation in the workplace. Links were forged with bus workers and artists working in situations of conflict in other parts of the world (Israel, Palestine, South Africa, and Kosovo).

3. Video, digital media and film projects about the bus workers, based on interviews with past and present members of the bus industry (drivers, shop stewards, cleaners, inspectors) about their memories and experiences of working with the bus service and the travelling public over the past 30 years. A web site and collaborative digital art on-line projects were developed by bus workers and artists.

4. An oral history/audio arts recording project with current and retired bus workers, many of whom have great stories to tell about their experiences of the Troubles, and memories of happier days in the bus service. These provide a valuable record of working peoples' history, and as many interviews as possible were collected for a sound archive devoted to the Northern Ireland bus workers .

5. A region-wide public celebration of the bus workers of Northern Ireland, consisting of a week of ROUTES exhibitions, public art projects, and educational and conference programmes, in May 2002.

           

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