Litter Labels Arts Showcase 2007

Litter Labels Fashion Showcase came to a close on 21 November 2007 as the deaf children and young people involved modelled their creations at a fashion show in the King's Hall Belfast.

Showcase is an exciting event in the NDCS Arts Event Calendar in Northern Ireland.

Deaf children and young people, aged 4-18, have the opportunity to take part in workshops through their school that will lead to a performance or piece of artwork for our finale showcase.

This year Showcase focused on fashion design.

A total of 90 deaf children and young people took part in the initial workshop stages of this event.

79 of those involved then attended our finale event at the King's Hall Belfast to model the garments they had made from recycled materials.

The workshops

During October and November 2007 deaf children and young people were invited to attend a two hour workshop at one of five venues across Northern Ireland. The aim with this format was to allow the children to work with others from different schools and integrate during the initial stages of the project.

Four artists were at hand throughout the workshops to inspire the children and help them create their fashion pieces using recycled materials provided by The Play Resource Centre Belfast.

The children / young people started with their design page; putting their ideas on paper. They then created their garment following the processes of a fashion designer and refering back to their initial designs throughout.

For those who didn't get their pieces finished, follow up workshops were offered in preparation of the finale event.

It was an exciting day at the King's Hall on Wednesday 21 November 2007 as 79 deaf young people, representing 11 schools across Northern Ireland, started arriving to model their garments in the Litter Labels fashion show.

The morning was spent backstage rehearsing for the show and getting hair and make up done!

We were very lucky to have the expertise of a number professionals in the fashion industry who all gave up their time free of charge to help at the event.

The show started at 1pm and each child / young person had their own time to shine on stage as they proudly modelled their work to an audience of 200 people.

After the show the judges made the very difficult decision of choosing winners and prizes were presented.

Thanks to Peter Mark Hairdressers, we also had a number of spot prizes for the audience including eight gift vouchers and a set of GHD hair straightners!

The day concluded with visits to our exhibitors' stands who provided a wealth of information for the parents, professionals and children attending the show.

 These included:

• Deaf Association of Northern Ireland (DANI)
• Northern Ireland Deaf Youth Association (NIDYA)
• Disability Action
• Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)
• RNID
• Deaf Sports Council of Northern Ireland / Belfast Deaf United
• The Play Resource Centre
• The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)

"The best NDCS event I have ever attended. Well organised. I thought it showed the children in a very positive light." Teacher

"I had a wonderful day. It was fun and no homework. I would like to do it again. i looking forward to the showcase on November i can't wait." Participant

"It lets deaf children see that they can achieve and it is great for children at mainstream so they can integrate with other deaf children" Parent

"The confidence was shining!" Exhibitor at finale event

"I thought the show was excellent. Wonderful to see so many deaf kids in the one place using their creative talents. Often deaf kids feel alone and inferior but events like this must boost their confidence a lot." Exhibitor at finale event 

As with all our events, these opportunities are made possible by the support of a number of funders and individuals.

A special thank you goes to the following professionals who added to the high profile of our event.

• Four hair dressers from Peter Mark
• Two freelance make up artists
• Tracey Hall from Style Academy Model Agency who coached the young people in catwalk walking and confidence building!

Finally, a huge thank you goes the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for their continued support of our arts programme in Northern Ireland.