Belfast community secures funding for murals and area improvements

A newly formed group in part of North Belfast has secured £40,000 in funding to brighten the area up and celebrate the local small business community.

The Cavehill Business Association consists of a number of independent business owners operating on Cavehill Road. This week, the group caused a stir when a new positive mural, featuring a swan and the word “Cavehill” appeared on the side of Wholistic Works on the corner of Marsden Gardens.

The mural, created by artists Danni Simpson and Karl Fenton, has been praised for its brightness and positivity, with the swan representing Waterworks Park located across the road. They have three more murals in the pipeline, each bringing together a different aspect of the area, with work on the next installment underway at the side of Ben Madigan’s Bar and Kitchen.

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Improvement works earmarked for the area include the creation of a community garden space, as well as the organising of family events.

Chair of the Cavehill Business Association, Paul Carlin, told Belfast Live that it’s all about celebrating the vibrant Cavehill community and supporting small businesses.

He said: “Last year I saw grants available from Belfast City Council and the Department for Communities and they were joining together to work on keeping the small business community as vibrant as possible. They were doing things around streetscapes, programming, and identity, so we put together a committee and applied for the money.

“We had to sit down with everyone and see how we wanted to spend the money to have the best impact on the area. The street art was a really good way of doing that, already the conversations it has started have been brilliant, and it’s been blowing up on social media.

“All the local businesses on the Cavehill Road have been sharing it on their social media, with everyone creating a wee bit of an individual buzz within their own businesses, which is really good as it was a collective responsibility to get it this far.

“Everyone has worked really well together, but I think that’s reflective of how businesses on the Cavehill Road do work together already. The cohesion and understanding of where we wanted to develop was great, it made it very easy and it’s worked very well.”

Owner of Ben Madigan’s Bar and Kitchen, Kelvin Collins, is part of the association and said the area is known for its range of independent businesses. His bar is the location of the second mural along the road, with work set to be completed over the next few days.

He said: “All the businesses on the Cavehill Road are all independent businesses, we all get good value for money as well. We weren’t spending for spending’s sake, we were trying to get the best value for the area.

“All the businesses involved with the murals are delighted, all the pieces on the businesses mark each part of the road. We’re trying to keep it to the theme of the nature associated with the area. The great thing about this is there’s always been street art in the city, but now it’s moving on from the past towards something brighter.”

Paul added: “The Cavehill has a very strong identity due to the parklands and from what we see the influx of new residents into the area has really been because of the facilities on offer, so we reflect that into the artwork.

“The point was to mark Cavehill as being as strong an area as any other, so to use street artists who are linked to other big projects around the city allowed us to tie in with that. It definitely did open doors for us. The minute business owners heard who was doing the art, they were all on board. It worked out really well.”

Artists Danni and Karl said they’re happy to be part of the project and have been blown away with the response they’ve received.

Karl said: “It’s been great, and it’s been received really well, the community has been great. Someone was shouting praise over to us from the Waterworks and giving us thumbs up as we were working.

“Even in the comments of photos people were saying it’s good to see art like this, instead of more negative stuff. It gives a wee injection of positivity in the area.”

“I think it really connects the community, it gives a real shift in the way people use art in the city to tell a story, by using art to show off the beauty of the place,” Danni added.

The murals and wider projects planned for the area are for residents and small businesses to show pride in their area and celebrate its strong community.

Paul added: “It’s down to that idea of if you walk out of your house if you’re in a beautiful environment you’re going to feel better. Seeing beautiful artwork and seeing how people set up their businesses, it’s great, it makes all the difference. It shows it’s beyond just having a shop or a bar or whatever – it’s about investing in the actual area you’re in.”

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