Lucky Me, Lucky You

This piece of street art by Zippy (web) was originally intended for Hit The North 2024 but she didn’t find time to paint it until later, as she was busy organising the event itself. At the time, the green frame was painted but then the gates were covered with yellow stickers – see All This Scratching Is Making Me Itch.

Library Street, Belfast city centre

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Say It With Flowers

Verz’s (ig) Hindu man on the side of the Hospice Shop in Finaghy was paint-bombed back in December (2023) even before it had been completed (see Tilaka) and after subsequent vandalism was “removed following community engagement”. At a subsequent meeting, Nisha Tandon (CAP profile) of ArtsEkta (web) (whose grant is paying for this and other south Belfast murals) was subject to racist remarks (Belfast City Council’s South Belfast Area Working Group – pdf). At a June 5th meeting (Fb), however, this design by emic (web) – of a bunch flowers being offered from one person to another – was accepted.

The in-progress shot (final image) is from August 7th

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Bangor Is Buzzing

Here is a gallery of the street art in the Project24 space along Queen’s Parade (which continues on from the art on the main road – see Remember To Daydream), updating the gallery in How About This For Art? The buzzard, toad, and turtle are all by Keyto (ig) and the partial face is by Kate Whiteman (web); the artist of the final piece is perhaps COZ (ig).

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Remember To Daydream

Here is a gallery of street art from a repainting at the end of June of the boarded up shop-fronts along Queen’s Parade, Bangor. The images from top to bottom in this post follow the art east from the Project24 space towards Main Street:

Side-Eye Birds by Strangford (ig)
Sup
Moon And Sun
Save The Tiger Shark by Keyto (ig)
Squid by Fox & Bear
Swan by Kate Whiteman (ig)
Hold Me In This Wild Wild World by Sweat, Tears, And The Sea (ig)
Remember To Daydream by Lost Lines (ig)
Stars by Cha Cha (ig) (organiser of the jam and tour guide for the Bangor Street Art tour)
Koi Pond by Anie Poole (ig)
Flowers by Alexandra (ig)

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Anatomy Of Oppression

In May and June, Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen (web | ig) toured various cities in England and Scotland (Leeds, Glasgow, Bristol, Stroud, London) as part of the Bethlehem Cultural Festival, producing a wall-painting at each stop. Thereafter, he came to Belfast, where he painted three pieces, beginning with this small piece on the side of the Sunflower bar in Kent Street, showing a person with a head encased in concrete trying to hammer themselves free.

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Swimming Upstream

Salmon disappeared from the Lagan in the late 1700s. The river was restocked in 1991 (CFB) and some salmon have been seen and caught since then (Flickr | Fly Forums). (The angling season is March to October – NIDirect | DAERA.) A more reliable salmon sighting is the Big Fish, which has been in place since 1999 (Atlas Obscura), to which we can now add this Glen Molloy (ig) painting in Palestine Street, in the Holylands, south Belfast.

June 23rd:

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Signpost Of The Times

The centenary of Northern Ireland and the Our Story In The Making Project (web) provided an occasion for towns to revisit their pasts. Despite the title of the piece – Northern Ireland 100 Commemoration Mural – much of the mural pre-dates the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland. Blackhead lighthouse opened in 1902; the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway company was founded in 1860 (web); Berkeley Wise, who helped develop the village of Whitehead into a tourist destination, died in 1909.

“Whitehead: Diverse, Welcoming, Forward Thinking – Northern Ireland 100 Commemoration Mural – Supported by the Northern Ireland Office, as part of the Our Story In The Making project, this mural was commissioned by Mid And East Antrim Borough Council. The mural came about following consultation with groups in the town and has been designed and painted by Dee Craig of Belfast Mural Arts, November 2021. The symbolism of the mural is detailed below … Berkeley Deane Wise … The Trees … The Steam Train … The Spitfire … The Signpost … Blackhead Lighthouse … The Town Of Whitehead … The Colourful Houses …”

At Bentra golf club, Whitehead. Also included (last below) is the emic (ig) piece “Time Waits For No One” at the club after beginning life in Larne (ig).

Also from “Our Story”: My Irish People | NI Beyond 100.

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Computer Says No

The Vault artists (ig) are making good use of the gallery space at their new digs in Marlborough House. FGB (ig) had an exhibition during HTN (entitled “He’s Not Right In The Head” – ig) and new work by Leo Boyd (ig) is on display this week.

The ad above is in Waring Street, in Belfast city centre. Included below is the same piece in paint form, in Kent St for HTN24.

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