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A replica of the Berlin Wall created by Adjunct Associate Professor of Fine Arts Mark Cooper and his students has received a new life in Northern Ireland, where it has been reworked as a peace memorial.
The structure — built in 2009 by Cooper and students to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall — was relocated earlier this year to Strabane, a town in County Tyrone that endured extensive violence and damage during the three decades of “The Troubles.” Local schoolchildren worked with professional street artists to create bold and colorful imagery, and to explore such themes as barriers to living in a border area, ways to promote working together across the political and physical divides, and issues of diversity.
Said Cooper of the Northern Ireland project, “The young people have made a public statement about the desire to break down walls and barriers that have existed for a very long time. Their combined efforts make for a powerful statement on reconciliation. Having had the opportunity to discuss the types of walls we build in our minds, that we inherit from our parents and peers, and that, although invisible, are very much present, participants then came up with agreed-upon ways to visually represent taking down these walls.
“This is an experience they will never forget.”