Northern Ireland

Belfast set to receive splash of colour next month as city streets filled with new art

Hit the North, one of the biggest street art festivals in Ireland, will see local artists descend on Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Ryder
Hit the North, one of the biggest street art festivals in Ireland, will see local artists descend on Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Ryder Hit the North, one of the biggest street art festivals in Ireland, will see local artists descend on Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Ryder

BELFAST is to receive a splash of colour next month as city streets are filled with new art.

Hit the North will see local artists descend on the city centre to turn buildings into canvasses.

Launched in 2013 by Seedhead Arts and the Community Arts Partnership, this year's festival was due to take place in May but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A scaled back version will hit Belfast’s streets on September 20.

Organiser Adam Turkington said: "The streets around the Sunflower Bar will be filled with the best artists in Ireland doing their thing.

"Art has played an important role in some of the most difficult points in our history and we need art and creative expression more than ever before."

Meanwhile, an outdoor musical festival in Co Derry which had hoped to hold socially distanced events this month has been cancelled.

The Stendhal Festival, which takes place in Limavady each year, said the decision was taken following government advice.

Refunds will be available via its website by the end of the week.