Graffiti Bales

Sliabh Beagh Arts

At the Heart of Rural Creativity

The overarching aim for Sliabh Beagh Arts is the development and implementation of a series of community Arts programmes which address the social, creative, economic, cultural, environmental and good relations needs within the area. We are dedicated to providing high quality arts activity, promoting the use of creativeness as a means of enriching the lives of the rural communities involved. Our programs aim to promote the importance of our physical and personal environment, looking to the rural for inspiration and exploring the culture in AgriCULTURE.

All of our projects are innovative and we try to bring something special to the area every year.

Grafitti Bales

We took the mundane and brought some colour and brightness to the plain old stacks

Gate weaves — Gateweaves

These gate weaves were created by several different communities who worked together during dark evenings

Painting With Light

Working with several different artists the task of running through dark places at night became a creative pleasure

Mini Worlds

Seeing quality in the everyday local objects, local photographer Max Carnson brought this project to life

Storytelling Through Song

We have searched through our library of song to tell stories that are educational to hear.

Shadow puppetry 2013

Our First "Show" was a shadow puppetry event in the woods, with choirs and bands

Details: Category: Projects 2018 - 2019

Graffiti Bales

S.B.A is focused on a number of innovative rural initiatives including Gate Weaving, Graffiti Bales, Barn Murals and Limerick Lanes all of which have been designed to add artistic merit to the local landscape and to inspire and engage with farming communities.

By using existing features such as barn walls, 6 bar metal gates on the entrances to fields, concrete lanes and silage bales Sliabh Beagh Arts have utilized the resources available in abundance within our rural setting. Project such as Graffiti Bales have brought Rural Arts to forefront and ensured that creativity remains an integral part of rural life. Artist Kev Largey has captured the imagination of local people young and old with his quirky characters appearing on bales across the Sliabh Beagh area. Funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland the project is in its 2nd year of life, with the view to continuing into the future.

In June 2016 Kev began work on his first set of bales along the main A4 Belfast road just outside Fivemiletown….a vivid burst of colour and character, the bales attracted attention as far a field as Canada and have certainly captured the imagination of local people. The images went viral within one week of being unveiled with people stating the project has ‘put the Culture into Agriculture’. The response to the work has been amazing, people constantly stopping at the site, questioning, experimenting with the spray cans, taking photographs with their kids…this is what the project is all about!

Kev Largey has thoroughly enjoyed the process "I get lots of beeps from passing cars," he said. "People come up and ask me what I'm doing. They also want to take photographs. It's been very positive."

The switch from painting walls to painting silage bales took a little time but, armed with his spray paints, he has converted the huge black plastic wrapped bales into something to smile about. "I normally do walls and buildings. Black plastic is a bit different," he said. "The paintings on the bales are transitory and will mirror the farming cycle, but that is part of the beauty of the entire process. The art work should prove a little food for thought for the local livestock too. It's not often you get such colorful wraps on your dinner.

The graffiti bales project continues it success with stacks of bales appearing around the area imminently…waiting patiently for the sun to shine and hay to be made!