Artichoke project: Derry~Londonderry temple

It all started out on Kickstarter and this art project was funded globally and is truly for the people, by the people. It took 2 years of careful planning and when they completed building it, it stood 72ft high overlooking the beautiful city of Derry~Londonderry.

The intention was that people could leave behind a memory, to let go of the past and look to the future. And it was a success, over 60,000 people visited the temple and I was one of them.

I left very early on the 20th of March, the day before the burning. The weather wasn't spectacular but it is always a treat taking the train from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry.

From my window

Road trip tune ~ Riviera Life

The directions on the website on how to get there were pretty straight forward and I found myself at the temple within 30 minutes. 

No blue sky but still stunning

Little nerd moment: Triforce!

Shrine chair

When I started to read the messages that people have left, it got emotional for me. The feeling I got when standing amongst so many messages of love and hope was very overwhelming. It is best just to show you.

It fills my heart with joy and hope to see so many people share the same feelings and message. In a world that seems divided and torn by hate and conflict there is always a hope that it will get better when we show that we had enough of the misery.

This was a huge project that involved the community of Derry~Londonderry:

• 25 young people aged 18-24 completed a week long, full time training programme leading to a qualification in OCN Digital Fabrication at the Nerve Centre's Fablab.  Participants designed their own ornate panels, inspired by David Best's work.  Each panel was then cut and added to a dedicated freize that ran the entire perimeter of Temple.
• 25 young people joined the Temple build team for 6 weeks to assist with the construction.
• Workshops took place in 20 local schools where school children produced paper designs for panels which were then cut in the Fablab and added to the freize.
• Workshops took place with local community groups at Hillcrest House, Irish Street and City Centre: Bogside, Brandywell, Fountain to design and cut wooden lanterns to be used on the night of the burn.
• 20 project participants, ranging from Californian members of the Temple Crew to local carpenters and volunteers were given camcorders to document their experiences on the build and during Temple's public exhibition, under the direction of award winning filmmaker Margo Harkin and her team.

The next day the temple went up in flames, flames of hope. 15,000 spectators had gathered to watch the ending of a wonderful project they had helped to build. 

You can find the photos of the burning here: http://templederry-londonderry.com/blog/the-burn-in-photos