Ballyhackamore Heritage to be Celebrated with Themed Street Art

Residents and visitors to Ballyhackamore will see a variety of new street art installations appearing over the coming weeks. This is all part of a streets revitilisation project led by local regeneration charity, EastSide Partnership, on behalf of the Ballyhackamore Business Association.

Suppoted by Belfast City Council’s Business and Community Cluster grant scheme, EastSide Partnership has appointed creative placemaking agency Daisy Chain Inc. to deliver this high profile street art project. Daisy Chain Inc. have been behind many of the city’s recent heritage themed street art interventions such as last year’s Belfast Entries project.

EastSide Partnership’s Assistant Chief Executive, Chris Armstrong, explains “Ballyhackamore is rich with incredibly fascinating heritage which local businesses were keen to celebrate through this streets revitilisation project. The team from Daisy Chain Inc. have pulled together some of the UK’s leading street artists for this project and each has drawn out specific heritage elements unique to Ballyhackamore.”

These heritage themes include Ballyhackamore’s historic reputation for horticultural nurseries as well as remembering the by-gone street scenes which would have included tram lines, overhead cables and ornate gaslamps. One of Belfast’s last lamplighters lived close by, tending to the gas street lamps on the city’s bridges until the late 1960s.

London-based street artist Hicks, who has worked on previous commissions for EastSide Partnership, will also be highlighting Ballyhackamore’s unique geography as a gateway from the city to the countryside.

Doreen McKenize from Ballyhackamore Business Association says “We are really excited to see these street art pieces being installed across Ballyhackamore. There is a real sense of optimism in the run up to Christmas and we want to thank everyone from the artists to the property owners and Belfast City Council for working together to make this happen.”

This revitilisation project is currently ongoing and is expected to complete by late November.