Belfast Canvas

CLIENT - Belfast City Council

Belfast Canvas is an ongoing project whereby local and international artists are brightening the streets of Belfast with junction boxes painted by local and international artists. This project has turned overlooked aspects of the streetscape into canvases for artists and has brought art into the public space.

Belfast Canvas supports our ethos of creating more space for art and artists in public space, commissioning good art and exploring people's relationships with place. It also represents a recognition by public agencies of the impact art can have in public spaces.

We got involved with the project during the third phase in 2022 and supported Belfast Canvas in expanding beyond the city centre into Belfast’s arterial routes. During Phase III, 22 artists transformed 30 new junction boxes across the city and repaired 8 boxes from previous phases.

We also designed and facilitated a public consultation process, exploring people's relationship with Belfast as a place to live and work. What we heard from the 200+ participants informed the artistic briefs for the project..

In Phase IV (2023-24) we developed the project further by running an upskilling workshop for visual artists who were interested in street art but didn’t know where to start. Artists who took part painted 14 of the 23 junction boxes in this phase.

In Phase V (2024-25) we commissioned 25 national and international artists to transform 27 junction boxes across the city,, including 10 local artists who took part in another successful upskilling workshop. This time, we invited residents to get involved through Nominate a Box, a public call-out giving people an opportunity to have their say on which boxes were painted in their local area.

To date Belfast Canvas has transformed over 130 junction boxes on the streets of Belfast.