LANEWAY OFF ROSEMARY STREET
URBAN DEPRESSION ON NORTH STREET AND THE SECRET GALLERY OFF ROSEMARY STREET [MAY 2025]
As I wanted to give an overall feel for the area I did not separate out the street art from the immediate derelict urban landscape.
The Secret Gallery: Folklore and Foxes Behind Rosemary Street
Date: May 2025 Location: The Laneway at 41 Rosemary Street, Belfast
Belfast is a city of layers. On the main street, you have the rush of the present; in the architecture, the weight of the past. But if you slip down the narrow laneway beside the First Presbyterian Church, you enter the city’s imagination.
What looks like a simple service alley connecting Rosemary Street to the "Tribeca" waste ground has been transformed into a dense, vibrant corridor of art. Unlike the vast murals on the main roads, the pieces here are intimate, utilizing the bricked-up windows and doorways to create small portals into other worlds.
Here is what I found in the "Secret Gallery" in May 2025.
1. The Portal: The Fox and the Fireflies
Artist: SillyMe Art (@sillyme_art)
The standout piece of the laneway uses the architecture perfectly. Painted into the recess of a bricked-up archway, SillyMe has created a window into a magical forest. A fox sits gazing upward, mesmerized by a canopy of glowing, golden lights that tumble down like fireflies. The use of the arch frames the piece, giving the illusion that you could step through the wall and join the fox in the woods. It is a moment of quiet magic in a gritty urban setting.
2. The Seasons: "Fómhar"
Artist: Laid Back Design (@laidbackdesign)
Further down the lane, the tone shifts to a celebration of nature and language. A beautiful piece by Laid Back Design features a crisp, detailed painting of a bird (resembling a coal tit) set against a backdrop of falling leaves. The word "fómhar"—Irish for Autumn—is emblazoned across the centre. It’s a striking reminder of the city's cultural heritage, blending modern graphic design with the Irish language.
3. The Folklore Corner
The laneway seems to have a theme of nature and folklore running through it this year.
The Earth Spirit: A striking portrait by Painted by Ciarah (@paintedbyciarah) depicts a woman with horns, surrounded by wheat and barren trees, looking like a Gaelic nature spirit or goddess watching over the alley.
The Sleeping Gnome: Beside her, Saul Art (@saul_art42) brings a touch of fairytale whimsy with a vibrant piece featuring a bearded figure sleeping soundly against the stem of a giant red mushroom, surrounded by pumpkins.
4. The Surreal and The Abstract
It wouldn't be Belfast street art without a touch of the weird.
The Pig Rider: A surreal, dynamic character by an artist tagged as Magda captures a figure crouched on the back of a pink pig. It’s bizarre, energetic, and pops against the dark brickwork.
Abstract Geometry: Fishi Art (@fishi_art) contributes a chaotic, colourful explosion of shapes and eyes that feels like a burst of pure energy against the grey walls.
5. The End of the Lane: "The Warriors"
As the laneway spills out into the vast, empty expanse of the North Street Carpark, the art changes. The polished murals give way to grittier, old-school graffiti. A low brick wall bears the slogan "THE WARRIORS" in dripping red paint. It serves as a stark border marker, signaling that you are leaving the curated "gallery" of the laneway and entering the raw, undeveloped "waste ground" behind the city.
6. The Empty Quarter
The laneway eventually spills you out into the vast, open silence of the North Street Car Park (the stalled "Tribeca" development site). Unlike the bustling street you just left, this space feels paused in time—a landscape of cracked concrete and fading outlines of demolished buildings.
While the car park itself is largely empty of fresh murals (the main festival walls are a block over on Kent Street), the journey through the laneway proves that art in Belfast isn't just in the outdoor galleries; it's hiding in the gaps.
As I wanted to give an overall feel for the area I did not separate out the street art from the immediate derelict urban landscape.
The Secret Gallery: Folklore and Foxes Behind Rosemary Street
Date: May 2025 Location: The Laneway at 41 Rosemary Street, Belfast
Belfast is a city of layers. On the main street, you have the rush of the present; in the architecture, the weight of the past. But if you slip down the narrow laneway beside the First Presbyterian Church, you enter the city’s imagination.
What looks like a simple service alley connecting Rosemary Street to the "Tribeca" waste ground has been transformed into a dense, vibrant corridor of art. Unlike the vast murals on the main roads, the pieces here are intimate, utilizing the bricked-up windows and doorways to create small portals into other worlds.
Here is what I found in the "Secret Gallery" in May 2025.
1. The Portal: The Fox and the Fireflies
Artist: SillyMe Art (@sillyme_art)
The standout piece of the laneway uses the architecture perfectly. Painted into the recess of a bricked-up archway, SillyMe has created a window into a magical forest. A fox sits gazing upward, mesmerized by a canopy of glowing, golden lights that tumble down like fireflies. The use of the arch frames the piece, giving the illusion that you could step through the wall and join the fox in the woods. It is a moment of quiet magic in a gritty urban setting.
2. The Seasons: "Fómhar"
Artist: Laid Back Design (@laidbackdesign)
Further down the lane, the tone shifts to a celebration of nature and language. A beautiful piece by Laid Back Design features a crisp, detailed painting of a bird (resembling a coal tit) set against a backdrop of falling leaves. The word "fómhar"—Irish for Autumn—is emblazoned across the centre. It’s a striking reminder of the city's cultural heritage, blending modern graphic design with the Irish language.
3. The Folklore Corner
The laneway seems to have a theme of nature and folklore running through it this year.
The Earth Spirit: A striking portrait by Painted by Ciarah (@paintedbyciarah) depicts a woman with horns, surrounded by wheat and barren trees, looking like a Gaelic nature spirit or goddess watching over the alley.
The Sleeping Gnome: Beside her, Saul Art (@saul_art42) brings a touch of fairytale whimsy with a vibrant piece featuring a bearded figure sleeping soundly against the stem of a giant red mushroom, surrounded by pumpkins.
4. The Surreal and The Abstract
It wouldn't be Belfast street art without a touch of the weird.
The Pig Rider: A surreal, dynamic character by an artist tagged as Magda captures a figure crouched on the back of a pink pig. It’s bizarre, energetic, and pops against the dark brickwork.
Abstract Geometry: Fishi Art (@fishi_art) contributes a chaotic, colourful explosion of shapes and eyes that feels like a burst of pure energy against the grey walls.
5. The End of the Lane: "The Warriors"
As the laneway spills out into the vast, empty expanse of the North Street Carpark, the art changes. The polished murals give way to grittier, old-school graffiti. A low brick wall bears the slogan "THE WARRIORS" in dripping red paint. It serves as a stark border marker, signaling that you are leaving the curated "gallery" of the laneway and entering the raw, undeveloped "waste ground" behind the city.
6. The Empty Quarter
The laneway eventually spills you out into the vast, open silence of the North Street Car Park (the stalled "Tribeca" development site). Unlike the bustling street you just left, this space feels paused in time—a landscape of cracked concrete and fading outlines of demolished buildings.
While the car park itself is largely empty of fresh murals (the main festival walls are a block over on Kent Street), the journey through the laneway proves that art in Belfast isn't just in the outdoor galleries; it's hiding in the gaps.
LANEWAY OFF ROSEMARY STREET