Belfast receives the ‘Hit the North’ treatment as artists transform city centre public spaces

Gable walls across many parts of Belfast city centre received the ‘Hit the North’ treatment this weekend as the annual festival welcomed artists from across the world.

Watched on by hundreds of visitors, the artists worked their magic to transform public spaces across Belfast with contemporary murals.

Well-established and aspiring artists from Northern Ireland joined more than 60 renowned artists from South America, Asia, Middle East, North America, Africa, Australia, Europe and the UK to add a splash of colour to the city centre landscape.

There were also street art workshops, exhibitions, sketching sessions during the four-day festival, which culminated in a ‘block party’ on Sunday, where artists were live painting on Kent Street.

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The festival, organised by Seedhead Arts, has went from strength to strength since it was launched in 2013 as part of rejuvenation efforts in the North Street area of Belfast.

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.

It is now credited for nurturing and developing Northern Ireland’s street art industry locally and over the past 10 years has welcomed over 400 artists from all over the world.

Speaking ahead of the festival, Adam Turkington, director of Seedhead Arts, said the growing global interest in the festival illustrates how Northern Ireland is “well and truly at the centre of the street art world stage”.