Belfast had been calling for a while… and I finally relented. I decided to plant myself in one of Belfast’s most charming, walkable, and oldest neighborhoods - the Cathedral Quarter. It came with promises of cool street art, great music pubs, and tasty modern restaurants. And it more than delivered on those expectations.
The Quarter is named in honor of turn-of-the-20th-century St. Anne’s Cathedral, which anchors the heart of this vibrant neighborhood.
Originally a warehouse district serving Belfast’s once-thriving linen and shipbuilding industries, the area is populated with striking vintage architecture.
This artsy vibrant 'hood is filled with great pubs, restaurants, and galleries. But I had come for street art.
To get the lay-of-the-land, I kicked off my week-long Belfast stay with an expedition of Cathedral Quarter street art, run by Seedhead Arts. But this was no mere tour of painted walls - this walk is run by Seedhead Arts’ founder, Adam Turkington. And in Belfast, Adam is the one putting walls and artists together. What you get on Seedhead’s approximately 2-hour walk is an entertaining insider’s view to the art, the artists, the process, and the political and cultural history of the area.
Turkington is passionate about Belfast’s cultural scene. In 2009, he instigated Belfast’s first Culture Night, an event clustered around the Cathedral Quarter on a given Friday in September. Culture Night here is echoed in cities across the emerald Isle (and on variable dates across Europe). With Adam’s background as Events Manager at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, he was well-positioned to set Belfast’s Culture Night on its successful path. Nearly a decade later, this free cultural soirée that began with 125 events has swelled to well over 200 activities that celebrate local culture and artisans.
Riffing off of Culture Night, and motivated to rejuvenate abandoned buildings along North Street, Adam launched the street art festival “Hit the North” in 2013. The mural festival has fully infiltrated the Cathedral Quarter, as artists take over the streets in the week leading up to Culture Night. The timing of my visit was perfect to experience the resulting new works from 40 artists who had participated in the “Hit the North” festival. This past year, the event expanded to include a conference where artists discuss how street art and graffiti play an important role in the revitalization of cities.
Belfast is certainly steeped in street mural history. Long before The Troubles, city facades in Belfast served as canvas for political expression. Political murals were once more of a vehicle for Ulster Loyalists commencing in the early 20th century. Republican themed murals began to emerge in the late seventies compelled by events like the Bobby Sands’ 1981 hunger strike death, in protest of the IRA to be treated in accordance with rules for prisoners of war.
Architecture around Belfast served as the outlet to mark territory, fueling combat-style dueling murals between Republican and Nationalist factions. While toned down, these murals still exist around the city demarcating catholic and protestant neighborhoods. Since the Good Friday Agreement, Peace Walls constructed over the past twenty years divide neighborhoods and serve as additional canvas for graffiti and sociopolitical expression.
By contrast with the typical narrative style of Northern Ireland political murals, the newer artwork flaunted across the walls of the Cathedral Quarter is distinctly varied and modern – and exhibits the work of world-renowned visiting artists, as well as brilliant locals. Adam, too, seems to express a more contemporary philosophy regarding the new breed of Belfast murals – one that is decidedly apolitical in the sectarian vein.
Adam’s passion for transforming and developing this burgeoning arts district is apparent, and his dedication has made "Hit the North" an institution in just a few short years.
The Seedhead Arts walk commences at the Dark Horse courtyard, festooned with colorful umbrellas.
The tour starts with the courtyard classic, featuring wall-to-wall collage and framed window-like pop culture.
More local pop culture is featured just down the alley with this tribute to beloved local DJ John Peel reflecting his passion for the punk anthem “Teenage Kicks by Derry band The Undertones.
It doesn’t take much time after turning the corner onto North Street to recognize the contrast of this neglected street that runs through the core of the Cathedral Quarter. The street is lined with one derelict building after another, strewn with compelling graffiti art and roll-up murals.
A stand-out is the heartbreaking animal mural on the North Street Arcade. A suspicious fire in April 2004 destroyed the interior of the 1930s Art Deco space. It has symbolically set empty ever since. Until the fire, the arcade had started to come back to life in the nineties, after decay at the height of The Troubles. Over twenty businesses were affected by the fire, including arts organizations. Amazingly, no person lost their life. However, the mural on the exterior reminds passersby of the animals in a pet shop that perished in a fire that many suspect was arson.
Another note-worthy piece on the street is by Bristol-based Andy Council's Phoenix, striking and unsubtle in its message that North Street can rise from the ashes.
Dean Kane's (aka Visual Waste) eye-catching “Sons of Anarchy” stencil was made more-so by the strategically placed spray of red, in an unintended collaboration by a rival artist, that elevates the piece.
Visual Waste is happily prolific around the Cathedral Quarter. His recent “Hit the North” Kanye West is whimsical and interactive. And his Bowie and Skull murals, shown here, are just a few of his works scattered about town.
A visit to one of the best pubs in Belfast, The Sunflower, will reward you with this exterior mural by French artist Kashink. And on a pleasant evening you can opt to sit outside in the Sunflower's artsy beer garden, with this abstract Malarko mural peeking over the fence.
You may still be able to pick up a pair of 3D glasses at The Sunflower to view this inventive 3D "South East" piece by Eoin McGinn - aka Emic, just across the street .
I could barely take my eyes off Smug One’s stunning portrait of chef and lobster, which might have been my favorite.
But I hesitate at noting favorites with each successive mural. This stunner of "The Son of Protagoras" by French artist MTO went up for the 2014 "Hit the North."
Painted for the Cathedral Quarter Festival in 2012, Irish artist Conor Harrington’s black & white “The Duel of Belfast” is iconic. It’s placement on this particularly striking vintage wall, down this narrow side street is entrancing.
Just down Hill Street is Irish artist Joe Caslin’s wheat paste mural in support of marriage equality. The nature of the paste-up medium is vulnerable to the elements. Alas, a male version in Dublin has already peeled away. Check out Caslin's "Yes Equality" campaign for more in this series.
Also along Hill Street is another favorite by London-based artist Pang with her ubiquitous “Miniature Asshole” character that can be found around the world in tongue-in-cheek homage to the masters.
I watched this one by local artist, Kev Largey (aka KVLR) with his illustrator style, go up in just a handful of days. KVLR has several amazing pieces around the Quarter.
Graffiti artist Psychonautes has a unique, geometric tell-tale style. This piece also went up during "Hit the North" 2016.
The first time I saw Christina Angelina's (aka StarFighteraA) work was in Downtown L.A., and I was immediately blown away. The Venice, California-based artist's work is immediately mesmerizing and recognizable.
Another favorite is this head-turning, stained glass style horse by Dublin-based artist James Earley, juxtaposed with some gorgeous vintage architecture. Created during Culture Night 2015.
The Cathedral Quarter is dense with a variety stunning and whimsical art that ranges from mural to stencil to graffiti.
I was completely entranced with the Cathedral Quarter, and Belfast in general… and I was already planning my next trip before I even left.
But now that pull to return to Belfast feels more urgent, as art and architecture is now threatened by developers who want to replace history with characterless sprawl. This building on Kent St. and work by Himbad that just went up during "Hit the North" 2016, is already gone.
A swath of vintage architecture in the Cathedral Quarter is marked for demolition to make way for new modern buildings. While Quarter residents understand the need to improve the dilapidated areas of the neighborhood, they actively promote the approach of “Develop not Demolish.”
This is the other side of the building, ending the vigil of this beautiful work by Irish artist Dermot McConaghy (aka DMC).
These buildings could not be “listed” as part of the historical register in time to save them. The spate of Victorian warehouses along Kent street might have been converted to lofts, perfectly blending vintage and modern. Instead they were turned to rubble.
Developer plans seems to mirror outdoor retail space that already abounds in this surrounding area. This is a flagrant act of erasing Belfast's heritage, which can't be undone. I’ve witnessed first-hand how complex and vibrant city neighborhoods are wiped out in favor of new construction that becomes so expensive that it forces out the local artists and merchants who made the area interesting in the first place.
It is understandably the nature of developers to prioritize their own financial interests over the public’s. However, that is where the Belfast City Council needs to balance those competing interests - to be accountable to its current and future constituents, not collude with developers. From the pragmatic perspective, it is a beautiful, historic, and cultural city that will attract tourism.
I warily wonder what I will find on my next visit. What will “progress” bring to Belfast? And as the nearly 50 Peace Walls are already starting to be torn down (with anticipated completion by 2023), what will be the climate in the wake of Brexit, considering 56% of Northern Ireland voted to stay with the EU. This and the potential of a once-again closed border with the Republic of Ireland are already fueling political rhetoric for a united Ireland.
Yet I have faith in this passionate and creative Belfast community, based merely on what they've already accomplished.
What to Do in the Cathedral Quarter
While the Cathedral Quarter is in transition, one way or the other, the talented and friendly locals will continue to make Belfast a compelling place to visit. The Quarter and its environs are vibrant and filled with plenty to see and do - rounding out art with fantastic live music and great food. My Belfast Notebook will be posted soon. In the meantime, here are some Cathedral Quarter venues to check out, including coverage to Save the Cathedral Quarter…
- Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival - Coming up quickly - April 27 to May 7, 2017.
- Out to Lunch Arts Festivals Festival – every January
- Check out the Black Box for live music, comedy, trivia, and more in an intimate setting.
- The MAC - Great changing art space -- even to just hang-out
- Seedhead Arts puts on all kinds of cultural events, but get your Street Art Walk tickets here on the Black Box website (walk each Sunday at noon.)
- Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
- Save CQ Facebook - Twitter: #SaveCQ
- Map of Belfast Political Murals
