Belfast city centre was transformed as the annual ‘Hit the North’ festival brought together artists from around the world to rejuvenate parts of the city.
This year’s festival opened with ‘The Other Place’, a first-of-its-kind street art conference aiming to highlight the positive impact of street art on urban areas.
This was followed by street art walking tours, workshops, exhibitions and sketching sessions, culminating in a ‘block party’ on Sunday, where artists were live painting on Kent and Union Street.
The festival, organised by Seedhead Arts and backed by Belfast One, has continued to grow in prominence and popularity since launching in 2013 as part of restoration efforts in the North Street area of Belfast.
In addition to helping restore neglected areas of Belfast, the event has also played a major role in modernising Northern Ireland’s mural tradition, welcoming more than 400 artists to the city since its inception.
Director of Seedhead Arts, Adam Turkington said this year’s festival “attracted more people and artists than ever before.”
He added that the expanding role of the festival is an important step forward for the city.
“We’re very tired and we’ve got some cleaning up to do today, but we were delighted with how many people and how many talented artists were involved with this year’s festival,” he said.
“Street art is probably the best of all visual arts because it is accessible to all and free to see.
“It not only rejuvenates tired urban corners and cheers up areas in Belfast which may not have benefited from much attention, but it also transforms the city into a vast exhibition, particularly when the art is of such high, internationally recognised quality.”
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