The artistic work of over 100 fostered children and young people will be displayed at Lisburn Library throughout May, as part of The Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight celebrations.

The exhibition is accompanied by a book telling the personal stories of 13 looked after young people and their foster carers as well as a short animated film.  
Kathleen Toner, director of The Fostering Network in Northern Ireland, said: ‘We are delighted to be working in partnership with LibrariesNI to showcase this moving, inspirational and hopeful exhibition by young people living in foster care. There is no better time to be highlighting the creativity of fostered young people than Foster Care Fortnight, especially as we are calling on more people in Northern Ireland to come forward to foster. We are grateful for the funding from The Department for Communities which has enabled us to produce this amazing showcase and hope it will provide a window into how foster care can transform lives.’

The Department for Communities funded the “Not So Broken” art exhibition through its Together: Building a United Community Strategic Interventions programme, the aim of which is to have a widespread impact on good relations and social exclusion. 

A spokesperson from the Department of Communities said: 'This project has helped to achieve these aims by not only enabling young people in care to nurture their creative expression, but also by using the medium of art as a vehicle to strengthen their confidence and empowering them to contribute to building a united community. This project is an example of how collaboration across government can enhance the impact of investment with Lisburn Library showcasing the impressive artistic work by the young people involved.'

The Not so Broken exhibition is open until the end of May at the following times:
Monday - 9am - 6pm
Tuesday - 9am - 8pm
Wednesday - 9am - 6pm
Thursday - 9am - 8pm
Friday - 9am - 5pm
Saturday - 10am - 4pm