Belfast is a city where art can be found in the most unexpected places. On a casual walk around the vibrant city, it won’t be long until you stumble across some inspiring art.

Belfast’s streets are so covered with murals and graffiti it’s essentially one big open-air art gallery!

You will find murals in the Northern Irish Capital that depict past religious and political turmoil the city went through – with over 2,000 murals recorded since the 1970s! Its history and culture are memorialized, communicated, and displayed through these spectacular murals.

It seems as though every year, Belfast attracts even more artists to add to its everchanging street art scene landscape. Perhaps you even find some new treasures awaiting you that we haven’t listed down below!

Blurry Eyed

After flying in from London, Dan began painting the mural free-hand at night after the skies became blurred at night in the rain. We wonder if the title is from the fact that he started it at night after flying in from London.

Rembrandt – Miniature Assholes

As part of her Miniature Assholes series, we see a gorgeous recreation of a Rembrandt being ‘white-washed by a tiny painter in the corner of the wall while she was painting a mural for Belfast Culture Night in 2016. It is situated right next to another mural by Kev Largey ‘Up Under The Earth’.

The Son of Protogoras

The mural depicts a boy with fiery red locks holding a bird that has been pierced by two arrows. Protagoras was a Greek philosopher who taught virtue to a city’s people and advised how they should manage their affairs. What MTO’s mural represents is the conflict that still affects Belfast and every other part of Northern Ireland to this day. We are referencing the struggle between Irish Catholic nationalists and Protestant unionists and the peace walls that lie between them, separating them. The peace walls are not only located in Belfast but in Derry and Portadown among others. His approach to human conflict is coloured by indirect mythology.

Golden Hares of Rathlin Island

In this stunning mural, Annatomix uses her skills for large-scale murals and geometric patterns to paint a striking creation of Northern Irelands famous Golden Hares.

The golden hare stands out among the rest for having beautiful light golden fur than typical Irish hares due to genetic variation and is typically only found on Rathlin Island.

They are known to be one of the rarest animals in the whole of Europe – even though many believe they have been around since before the last ice age!

FORZAN (FORCE)

In this mural, we see a unique and vibrant colour palette that screams South America, which makes a lot of sense when we realise the young artist that created this gorgeous piece is from Cali, Colombia. We see his love for nature through the stunning colours and wildlife surrounding the woman delicately. Through the British Council, he was able to showcase his work at the Hit the North Festival in 2018. It adds such a perfect contrast to the other styles we see in Belfast’s murals!

Spirit of Commerce

In this mural, Irony creates and manifests a prosperous community. From the dimly lit alley beneath to the bright sky, the central figure of the ship’s figurehead gives a sense of rising from the darkness.

The Duel of Belfast, Dance by Candlelight

Last but not certainly not least is a potent and iconic mural by Conor Harrington commissioned by the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival on Hill Street. It depicts two soldiers fighting whilst a bystander is simply watching and chooses to do nothing.

There lies a dead animal carcase between them, yet they seem to overlook this in an ongoing pursuit of victory, perhaps a metaphor for Belfast’s conflict-ridden past? Or a more general disdain of the colonial West?