Living Mural #2: The Link House - Bruce Street in Linen Quarter

The Ecology

With this Mural, we wanted to show how the red listed 'swift' can be conserved, through the installation of nest bricks that every home and business can erect. Swifts are regular visitors to the Botanic area in the summer. The Victorian and Georgian era brick buildings in the area still provide the crevices and cracks that offer nest sites for this declining species. In particular the Crescent Arts Centre area which hosts one of the largest swifts nesting colonies in Ireland. Swifts are a red listed species and have suffered a 40% decline in their population since 1995 across Ireland, in particular as a result of a loss of nest sites, and these interventions could be undertaken by us all to help a species in need.

Within our mural we have installed 8 nest bricks on the north facing gable wall of the Link House on Bruce Street which occurs next to the Dublin Road. This orientation helps to avoid the overheating of the nests. While boxes are also available and acceptable, the use of bricks guarantees that the nest sites will be available as long as the building is standing. 

The Linen Quarter Business Improvement District (Linen Quarter BID)

During the artistic ecological workshop consultation was undertaken with the Linen Quarter Business Improvement District (Linen Quarter BID) to gather the thoughts of the business community and themselves. Throughout these discussions, the community members were able to convey their aspirations for the area and their wish to encourage sustainability across the Linen Quarter area and have a bold piece of artwork that helps to draw attention to the plight of the swift, particularly as there is so much potential to make interventions for the species in the Linen Quarter area. Linen Quarter BID were also part funders for the project.

The Art

The key ideas shared that inspired the design of the mural included:

• The design is bold and colourful and embodies the progressive values of the BIDs and its desire to be a destination for contemporary art on walls.
• The design should incorporate a sweeping curve to represent the migration routes of the swift - this is demonstrated in the position of the swift boxes, and the images of swifts all flying in the same direction.
• The swift boxes should be marked by darker design elements so that they can be pointed out easily in messaging, and also to aid the swifts in locating the boxes.
• The swifts should be large and easy to identify from a distance.

The Artist

Rob Hilken is a Belfast based artist that specialises in creating disruptive art pieces. He is embedded in the Irish street art scene where he regularly contributes to the "Hit the North" street art festival in Belfast. He has produced murals across Ireland including large works in Banbridge, Coleraine and Killeshandra, where he has responded to the culture and heritage of the local area whilst keeping his distinctive use of patterns and repetition at the fore. 

The Funders

This piece was funded with thanks to Belfast 2024 and the Linen Quarter BID.