When many people think of murals in Belfast, images of our troubled past and paramilitary symbols probably come to mind.
Fast forward to today, and while there are still plenty of ‘traditional’ murals depicting our historical, religious and political divisions, there is an increasing number of strikingly colourful, creative and contemporary works of art focusing on neutral subjects that are bringing a smile to locals and tourists alike.
Over the past decade, the Hit the North street art festival has contributed hugely to bringing Northern Ireland’s rich cultural heritage for mural art into the 21st century, transforming public spaces across Belfast.
This year’s festival has a strong international feel and will welcome over 60 renowned artists from South America, Asia, the Middle East, North America, Africa, Australia, Europe and Britain, as well as supporting well-established and aspiring Northern Ireland artists.
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Running from May 2-5, events include street art workshops, an artist exhibition and sketching sessions, before a block party on Sunday May 5 where artists will be live painting on Kent Street.
Adam Turkington, director of Seedhead Arts, who organise the festival, says the growing global interest in the festival illustrates how the north is now well and truly at the centre of the street art world stage.
“Hit the North has cultivated a strong reputation for spotting and nurturing talent, giving artists a platform from which to grow,” explains Adam.
“Many of the artists who’ve returned to paint landmark pieces in our city such as Irony, Nomad Clan, Dan Kitchener and Peachzz, had their first introduction to Belfast through our festival.
Belfast is such a colourful city when it comes to art. You’ve got your more traditional political ones and these new age, colourful positive ones that are eye-catching and telling new stories.
— Danni Simpson
“This year, we’re hosting more international guests than ever before, all bringing buckets of originality and creativity to the streets of Belfast.”
One artist leaving her mark on the city is Danni Simpson. Born and raised in Australia, she fell in love with Belfast after visiting her grandmother in 2018.
“My mum moved from Belfast to Australia during the Troubles. I initially came here to see my mum’s side of the family,” she explains.
“I was travelling in Europe at the time, but I just kept coming back and have made it my home away from home.”
Danni has seen the street art scene evolve here massively over the past seven years.
“Belfast is such a colourful city when it comes to art. There’s been a huge increase in tourism when it comes to people coming and seeing the city’s murals,” she says.
“You’ve got your more traditional political ones and these new age, colourful positive ones that are eye-catching and telling new stories. It’s like an open air art gallery.
“We travel quite a lot, and we always say that when we come back to Belfast, there is a new mural around every corner.”
Having trained and worked as a digital graphic designer, Danni had only recently got into large-scale mural work before her travels.
“It was about a year before that I started drawing and experimenting on wooden boards and walls in my bedroom.”
Danni admits a “little bit of liquid courage” made her ask the owner of a recently opened Australian bar if she could be let loose on the wall of his business.
“I was looking at this completely blank wall and said to the owner, ‘You should let me paint that wall’. I was even more surprised when the next day he still agreed,” she laughs.
It was Seedhead’s Adam Turkington who helped Danni get the opportunity to paint her first Belfast wall mural in the courtyard of The Harp Bar in the city’s Cathedral Quarter.
“It’s quite a cultural courtyard of murals, so it was a cool thing to be a part of. I think that’s what really pushed me to go full time with my art,” admits the 32-year-old, who loves to transform spaces and tell stories across the globe.
Her style is an urban fusion of detailed floral illustrations where wildlife clashes with architecture and typography, sprinkled through with dashes of art deco and mandala patterns.
With a philosophy that “a picture paints a thousand words”, she always starts with asking herself “what images can I use to tell a story?”
“Because I love to travel, I try to capture the personality of a place, city or country. In my illustrations I add landmarks, local dialect, slang, people, just anything that captures the story of the place,” she explains.
Never one to turn down a challenge, her distinctive and colourful designs have garnered much more than paper and walls. A piano in a London shopping centre, a double decker bus and even a pair of football designs are amongst her more unusual canvases.
Belfast City Council’s initiative to brighten up the streets by transforming five of the city’s utility boxes, incorporating well-known Northern Ireland sayings such as ‘Keep on Going’ and ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Pure Beaut’ was one of her favourite projects.
“It was so much fun and they got so much attention because they were colourful and playful,” says Danni.
As well as commercial commissions from the likes of White’s Tavern and Belfast City Airport, Danni’s colourful animal-themed street work can also be seen in Belfast’s Cavehill with her fox, squirrel and swan murals representing the nearby Waterworks Park.
“They really added to the positivity of the community. Every two seconds someone was yelling out, ‘Thank you, that’s beautiful’.
“There is another one coming in that project - we’re just waiting for a wall to be fixed up,” she teases.
Danni is also excited by the creative licence of the annual Hit the North festival.
“It’s a really good way of being able to try something new and push the boundaries. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to paint yet but I’m tempted to revisit some of my earlier animal-based scenes and see how I can evolve them now that I’ve got almost seven years’ experience,” ponders Danni, who works in acrylic and spray paint.
Danni is proud of her contribution to the art scenes of her adopted city.
“It’s really cool when you’re walking past your work and someone is taking a photo of your art. When I have my family or friends come over from Australia, it’s great to be able to share in person what I’m doing on this side of the world.”
Her advice to aspiring young artists who want to follow in her footsteps is to “practice” and “put yourself out there”.
“The hardest thing for young artists who are wanting to get into street art is trying to get a wall to be able to paint on. So just reach out and continually test and practice your skills where you can. I did it purely because I loved creating. I didn’t realise I could make a full-time job out of it,” she beams.
