A new Belfast Maritime Mile interactive experience is being developed by Big Telly Theatre Company which will enable visitors to talk to an AI Salmon of Knowledge (the Big Fish sculpture) and engage with live performers and 3D holographic experiences at City Quays, St Joseph’s Church, and Sailortown.

The project is one of six prototypes funded by the £120,000 Belfast HUB-IN Challenge Fund which is being delivered by Belfast City Council’s City Innovation Office in partnership with the Maritime Belfast Trust to harness digital innovation to help animate and enrich the city’s Maritime Mile.

Big Telly is working with community partners on the project and held co-creation sessions with the Sailortown community to gather stories, artwork and history about the Sailortown area to help develop the interactive experience.

About Sailortown

Sailortown, located on the Maritime Mile, is the oldest remaining residential area with links to Belfast Harbour and its dockers, and once had over 5,000 people packed into its small, terraced streets. The area was where dockers and immigrant families settled while seeking work in the increasingly busy shipyards and docks. The men worked on the docks or went to sea while the women looked after families and found work in the local linen mills.

Project partners and support

This project has been supported by a range of organisations, community groups and businesses along the Maritime Mile.

  • Sailortown Regeneration
  • Local artist Corrina Askin
  • The American Bar
  • Belfast City Council’s City Innovation Office
  • Maritime Belfast Trust

More information

Find out more about the Belfast HUB-IN Challenge Fund at www.smartbelfast.city/story/belfast-hub-in-funding.

Find out more about Belfast’s Maritime Mile at www.maritime-mile.com.

The Belfast HUB-IN project is part of a €7.9 million European initiative that aims to transform historic urban areas through innovation and spread public benefits from urban regeneration. It’s funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 869429.