The ‘Hit The North’ (HTN) street art festival has been transforming public spaces across the city with contemporary murals for over a decade.
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 the UK. It will also support well-established and aspiring local artists.
The festival, organised by Seedhead Arts and running from May 2-5, includes street art workshops, an artist exhibition and sketching sessions. There will also be a ‘block party’ on May 5, where artists will be live painting on Kent Street, Belfast.
Adam Turkington, director of Seedhead Arts, says the growing global interest in the festival illustrates how Northern Ireland is now at the centre of the street art world stage.
“Over the last decade, HTN has cultivated a strong reputation for spotting and nurturing talent, giving artists a platform from which to grow,” said 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.
“The festival is where they fell in love with Belfast and we fell in love with them.
“This year, we’re proud to welcome a new batch of artists to fall in love with, alongside some old flames we haven’t seen for a while.
“We’re hosting more international guests than ever before, all bringing buckets of originality and creativity to the streets of Belfast.”
Launching this year’s festival, HTN teamed up with BEAT Carnival, adding some new artwork to the organisation’s Belfast HQ ahead of its 30th birthday.
BEAT Carnival’s samba band will be playing at the block party, adding to the carnival atmosphere.
Visit seedheadarts.com
