A New Estate is a virtual world created in close collaboration with young people across Belfast. Targeting a group of approximately 25 young men aged 16-21, the project engages with marginalised working-class youth not normally represented in the arts – including those with experience of homelessness, mental health issues, drug/alcohol misuse, and criminal offences.
The experience gives voice to their concerns and stories, presented in the colloquial language native to them: a video game installation in the vein of Grand Theft Auto meets Oona Doherty’s Hard To Be Soft. The process maps their environments, collects their stories, and offers a city vision for a shared island.
Background: The Estate prototype was successfully delivered through Future Screen’s NI / Lyric Live-to-digital Programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, with narrative themes shaped by lockdown conditions. The prototype was also exhibited at Pallas Projects, Dublin in November 2024. The 2025 project represents a major evolution using cutting-edge games engine technology and new capture techniques.
Conan McIvor – Lead Artist: Filmmaker, theatre-maker and video artist working across experimental film, site-specific installation, immersive environments, and moving-image design. Exhibited and broadcast internationally.
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Funded by Future Screens NI, DFA Reconciliation Fund, Belfast City Council, Esmé Mitchell Trust
