You might not expect it, but the Belfast Cathedral Quarter was quite a mad rush of activity on Sunday morning. We heard “Ave Maria” played on church bells through the fog out the hotel window, raucously accompanied by the squawks, screeches, and cries of seagulls nesting on the roof next door. Next, we heard and saw the boisterous fans of the 26.2-mile May Day Marathon who were piled 2 deep and hollering and clapping from the sidewalk as several thousand damp runners flew by with numbered banners on their chests. We signaled our support for the athletes by lifting breakfast forks full of fried eggs, boiled tomatoes, potato bread, bacon, and black pudding as we watched through the gauzy curtains of the hotel lobby.

But you are here for the “Hit the North” festival, now in its 12th year, only a few blocks from the cathedral. With the Sunflower bar at the intersection of Union Street and Kent Street, you have reached the epicenter where long wooden tables are set up in the middle of the street for visitors to have refreshments, and 50-60 artists are lining up to paint side by side up and down the block. The smell of aerosol thickens through the streets. The Seedhead Arts team—Adam, Eoin, Zippy, Rory, and a few others—are all arriving with boxes of paint supplies, t-shirts, ladders, and maps for the stream of visitors who are gathering to watch, have a beer, take selfies, and possibly talk with artists as they create.

With Seedhead, the aim is to provide platforms for artists and performers to showcase their talents while fostering connections between artists and audiences. They often collaborate with local venues, artists, and cultural organizations to create dynamic and engaging events that contribute to Belfast’s street art/public art scene.

One such example of the evolution of community art festivals was the presence of the rest of the family for Northern Irish painter and print-maker Sara Majury, who has only recently begun to translate her art to the street, having taken a course on how to do so. Her small family, with whom she traveled this morning from a rural part of the country called County Down, sat on the sidewalk across the street, watching curious visitors walk past them while she prepared her wall. Her husband Johnny spoke briefly to us while their kids Rory and Freya enjoyed a snack and knocked over their flasks of water a couple of times. While mom was testing paint cans and sifting through the bag of stencils to layer on the wall, Johnny, a leather costume designer for shows like “Game of Thrones,” tells us that the children will stay still for a few more minutes because they were promised food. A moment later, he produces small sandwiches and chips for them before describing the further entertainment he plans to offer – to take them to see the Festival of Fools performances at a location just two blocks away.  

We had some other great conversations with artists and visitors here this afternoon but we’ll bring you more later. For now, here we bring you scenes of some works in progress at “Hit the North.” These walls will be completed by six pm if the weather stays dry. Then, off to the bar for some curry and a glass of beer to celebrate with the artists, many of whom have traveled a great distance, for a job well done at this year’s “Hit the North.” To summarize a sentiment that we’ve heard here a few times from organizer Adam Turkington; the artists, visitors, and advertisers all leave, but in the end, it is the art that remains here on the street.

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