The ''Spirit of Belfast'' is a

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

sculpture by Dan George in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland. The sculpture was unveiled on 25 September 2009 after a series of delays and is located on Arthur Square, close to the main point of access to Victoria Square. The sculpture is constructed of steel and cost £200,000. As with other public works of art in Northern Ireland the sculpture has been given a nickname, the Onion Rings. Critical Fail

Construction

The coloured lighting is designed to reflect the texture and lightness of linen, while the metal reflects the strength and beauty of shipbuilding, two important aspects of Belfast's history. ''Spirit of Belfast'' is part of a £16m Belfast: Streets Ahead streetscape improvement project which aims to improve the city centre. ''Spirit of Belfast'' completes the refurbishment of Arthur Square. The sculpture was scheduled to be in place by June 2008. However, after several delays it was not put in place until September 2009.

Unveiling

The sculpture was unveiled by the

Department for Social Development The Department for Communities (DfC, Irish: ''An Roinn Pobal'', Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment fur Commonities'') is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility f ...

Minister, Margaret Ritchie MLA and broadcast live on ''

BBC Newsline ''BBC Newsline'' is the BBC's national television news programme for Northern Ireland, broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland from the headquarters of BBC Northern Ireland in Ormeau Avenue, Belfast. As well as being available via all multi-ch ...

'' on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

on 25 September 2009.

Selection

The Department for Social Development commenced the procurement process to commission an artist for the Arthur Square artwork in June 2007. The method of selection was as follows: * following the publication of a Design Contest Notice in the Official Journal of the EU an initial short list of 8 artists were selected by the Public Art Selection Jury, appointed by DSD, from a response of approximately 20 applicants * the short-listed artists were invited to develop concept sketch designs * the Public Art Selection Jury met on 10 October 2007 to consider the concepts and selected a final shortlist of three concepts to be put forward to the public vote The Selection Panel was made up from representatives from: *

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

Planning Service The Planning Service is an Executive within the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), which regulates the development and the use of land in the public interest. Origins The Town and Country Planning Service was established in 1 ...

* Multi Development UK ( Victoria Square developers) * EDAW (Belfast Streets Ahead design team) * Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce *

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

Royal Society of Ulster Architects The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) is the professional body for registered architects in Northern Ireland.

Arthur Square Artwork competition

The public were given the opportunity to view the designs that made the final shortlist and cast their vote through the Belfast: Streets Ahead website or by visiting the public exhibition at the Lagan Lookout. The vote was open from 22 October 2007 to 4 November 2007. The three short listed concepts were : ''Dancing Tree'', ''Phoenix Rising'' and ''Spirit of Belfast''. ''Spirit of Belfast'' was the winning art piece for Arthur Square following a public vote. The competition results were: * Dancing Tree: 28.8% * Phoenix Rising: 24.6% * Spirit of Belfast: 46.6%

Funding

The sculpture has been funded by

and the

''Spirit of Belfast'' Intervention

In May 2012 a Belfast-based artist, Tonya McMullan, made an intervention to the ''Spirit of Belfast'' Sculpture. At the time the sculpture had protective railings around it while an investigation of the structure was underway. McMullan installed a temporary banner that read 'FAIL', the intervention was then photographed by Belfast-based photographer Jordan Hutchings. The image was circulated online in an attempt for it to become an Internet meme. Details about this intervention, which the artist considers to be an artwork in itself, are included in Bree T, Hocking's book, ''The Great Reimagining, Public Art, Urban Space and the Symbolic Landscapes of a 'New' Northern Ireland'' and in Dorothy Hunter's article "A Public City" published online in the International Sculpture Centre Re:Sculpt blog.

References

{{Outdoor sculptures in Belfast Outdoor sculptures in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in Belfast Tourist attractions in Belfast 2009 sculptures Steel sculptures in Northern Ireland