personal – Extramural Activity

The Dividing Wall Between Us

2025-09-132025-09-15Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Work on the “New Life” (New Life City church – Fb) concrete relief on the Cupar Way “peace” line (war wall) at the North Howard Street gates has been completed – with brightly coloured paints and a pair of plaques below the cross that read “The first 3D cement peace fresco on a Belfast dividing wall. Created by local artist Debbie Hutchings ‘Irish Angel’. The for the amazing help of ECC Builders. Created on behalf of New Life City Church. Dedicated by Pastor Johnny McKee with young people & others from New Life City Church from both sides of the wall. Thursday 14th August 2025. ‘He is our peace who has destroyed the dividing wall between us’ Eph. 2.14.”

The creator is Debbie Hutchings, a member of the New Life City church (Fb) (Belfast Media); the piece is on top of the ‘repent’ version of the New Life mural, and it contains scriptural quotations from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotton [begotten] son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” and John 3:8: “The wind blows as it chooses, you can hear it’s [its] sound but you do not know where it came from or where it is going; so it is with the hearts of those born of the spirit”. There is video of Hutchings at work in this Irish News video on Fb and at the BelTel.

Work began at the beginning of April; there are in-progress images below from July 1st and May 1st.

For the board to the left, see Hope Unlocking Friendships.

July 1st:

May 1st:

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Many Moons To Go

2025-05-262025-08-07Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

A student makes their way through the cycles of the moon, with Pride pin, skull earring, and owl familiar (and horcrux scar on the cheek?) to guide the way.

Street art by emic (web) at Belfast Royal Academy on the Cliftonville Road, north Belfast.

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Invasion Of The Building-Snatchers

2025-05-182025-05-24Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The Bank Of Ireland building at the junction of North Street and Royal Avenue was purchased by the City Council in 2021 (Business Insider) with the intention of turning it into a visitor attraction called ‘Belfast Stories’ by 2030. The latest step in the process was a period of public consultation (BelTel). In the meantime, Leo Boyd (web) has taken over the boarded-up space that previously housed the ATM with an image of space invaders hovering over the building.

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Full-Frontal Unity

2025-05-182025-06-09Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

As an apéritif for Hit The North 2025 many local artists painted on the “Belfast Stories” hoarding along North Street in mid-April. Here is a selection, from Wee Nuls (web), All The Doodz (ig), KVLR (web), Kilian (ig), and Graffic Belfast (ig). For all fifteen pieces, see the Paddy Duffy Collection.

For the previous art on these hoardings, see ‘Bout Ye?

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Know Their Names

2025-05-172025-05-25Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Here is a small selection of pieces from this year’s Hit The North (2025). (For complete coverage, see the map of Hit The North festivals.)

Politics of any sort rarely intrudes (see the 2019 Lyra McKee piece, which is still present in Kent St) but there were two pieces about the current devastation of Gaza were included, one by JMK with the caption “I Stand With Kneecap” and another by Conor McClure with the title “Know Their Names”.

Above and immediately below: “Make Art For Money” and “Picashso” by Luck (ig). Descriptions of the pieces in each photo are interposed below.

A sleepy person by Karl Fenz (web)

An eye containing a reflection of the Sunflower bar by My Dog Sighs (web), and a seated painter by Sanchai (ig).

“Stand By Your Trans” by Mel Carroll (web), “Wonder Day” by Jacky Sheridan (web), and a smiling face by SillyMe (ig) , in front of BUST’s “Dry Gin” from 2022 and a fox by Annatomix from 2023.

“Stand By Your Trans” by Mel Carroll

“Eat the rich” by FGB (web) + Katriona (web).

HTN 2023 piece by KVLR (ig) in the waste-ground.

“I stand with Kneecap” by JMK

All of the above were painted in Kent Street.

In Union Street … a “Wee Bonnie” dog by Kayde (web) and “Tell People You Miss Them/I Miss You” by Alana McDowell (ig).

“Your Ego Ain’t Your Amigo” by Codo (ig), a cycling artist by Leo Boyd (web), “Know Their Names” by Conor McClure (ig) and “Con Safos” by KAYOS (ig).

The names of dead Palestinian children by Conor McClure (ig)

On the other side of Union Street, Sky High (ig), with Malarky’s “Everlasting” in the background.

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Fast Car

2024-12-262025-05-18Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

These three cars are by DanK (ig) in Bank Square, Belfast city centre, on the wall of Crown Jesus Ministries (Fb) (in the Berry Street Presbyterian building), replacing the ‘Creation’ mural painted in 2012. Dan calls the piece “Hope” (ig) after the church’s ‘Hope Mission Centre’ (ig); this is the same title he gave to the geisha on the Shankill. This piece does not feature any of the kanji street-signage that would place it in Japan (compare with Night Taxi in the Woodvale), though there is some on the pink car, left.

The middle car has the license plate “OUTATIME” which was the plate on the DeLorean in ‘Back To The Future’ (see also: You Built A Time Machine … Out Of A DeLorean?)

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Dark Dreamer

2024-11-202025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

The info plaque next to this new piece of street art in north Belfast reads: “The Dark Dreamer – The Silkie mural by Loretta Lizzio is a recreation of the oil painting “Dark Dreamer” by world-famous Irish artist Patrick Jones who lived here in the family home.”

Patrick J. Jones (web) grew up in Belfast before leaving for London, England, in 1984 and Brisbane, Australia, in 1997. Lizzio, (web), who is also from Australia, reproduced Jones’s original (Fb) on the side of the Stax coffee-shop on the Cliftonville Road, renaming it ‘The Silkie’, though it depicts a mermaid rather than one of the seal-folk; compare with KMG’s interpretation of the Selkie myth in the city centre.

Smile! Smile More!

2024-11-102025-06-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Perhaps this graffitist was interrupted in Ann Street (on the phone box, above) or decided to escalate their demands in Fountain Lane, below.

Ape

2024-09-112025-01-08Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Art by Kate Whiteman (web) on Broadway, west Belfast.

City Paints

2024-09-072025-02-15Extramural ActivityLeave a comment

Derry’s ‘Get Up’ graffiti and street art festival took place at the end of June – here is the Strand Road hoarding sprayed by NOYS (ig), POSEA (ig), VENTS (ig), RAZER (ig), Chose Letters (ig) and perhaps others, with support from Peaball (web) and Foyle Maritime (web), as well as City Paints (Fb) and Crown paints.

For the street art pieces from Clarendon Street, see Get Up, Derry.

For the same hoarding in 2023, see Crash Bandicoot, and in 2022, see Some Buzz.