Translink and Belfast School of Art Celebrate Three Years of Creative Partnership.
From York Street to Belfast Grand Central Station and now Lanyon Place, Translink's growing partnership with Ulster University is transforming stations through public art, celebrating local creativity and supporting Northern Ireland's next generation of artists.
Every journey tells a story. Through its partnership with Ulster University's Belfast School of Art, Translink is bringing those stories to life, transforming stations into vibrant places of creativity, connection and inspiration.
Now in its third year, the Translink and Belfast School of Art Student Public Art Competition provides Fine Art students with an opportunity to develop their professional skills and create original artworks that become a permanent part of Northern Ireland's public transport network.
First launched at York Street Station in 2024, the competition has since expanded to Belfast Grand Central Station and now Lanyon Place Station for 2026/27.
The initiative supports Translink's Better.Connected strategy, reflecting its commitment to enhancing the customer experience, celebrating local identity and creating welcoming, accessible stations that people enjoy spending time in.
Where It All Began: York Street Station
2024/25 | Winning Artist: Katye-Louise Richardson
The partnership began with a competition at the newly redeveloped £17 million York Street Station, located close to Ulster University's Belfast campus and affectionately known as 'the students' station'.
Launched during Belfast School of Art's 175th anniversary celebrations, the competition invited students to explore themes of connection, community and the journeys that bring people together.
The winning artist, Katye-Louise Richardson, created Reflections, celebrating the journeys people make through public transport and through life.
Unveiled in April 2025 to mark the station's first anniversary, the artwork became part of York Street's wider transformation into an award-winning transport and cultural space.
For Katye-Louise, who grew up just minutes from the station, the commission offered a particularly meaningful opportunity to contribute something lasting to her local community.
A Bigger Canvas: Belfast Grand Central Station
2025/26 | Winning Artists: Hollie Massey and Anna Warwick
Building on the success of York Street, the second competition brought student creativity to Belfast Grand Central Station, one of Northern Ireland's most significant transport gateways.
Students were challenged to respond to the station's architecture, heritage and identity, exploring themes of movement, sustainability and connection.
Two winning artworks were selected, each bringing a distinctive creative perspective to the station.
Joyful Journeys – Hollie Massey
Inspired by the station's architecture and natural light, Joyful Journeys uses overlapping layers of brightly coloured, translucent Perspex to celebrate movement and connection.
Drawing on architectural plans, Hollie created a vibrant abstract composition that changes as daylight moves through the building, reflecting the energy of the station and the journeys taking place around it.
Linnets in Linen – Anna Warwick
Anna Warwick's Linnets in Linen celebrates Belfast's industrial heritage and the natural world.
Created using sculptural wire forms and repurposed Belfast linen, the artwork depicts birds in flight, connecting the city's linen-making history with themes of sustainability, movement and new possibilities.
Together, the artworks demonstrate how contemporary public art can celebrate local heritage, enhance the passenger experience and bring creativity into everyday journeys.
The Next Journey: Lanyon Place Station
2026/27 | Theme: Lanyon Place – 50 Years of Connection, and the Next Journey
For its third year, the competition moves to Lanyon Place Station, marking 50 years since the station originally opened as Belfast Central on 12 April 1976.
Under the theme 'Lanyon Place – 50 Years of Connection, and the Next Journey', students are being invited to draw inspiration from the station's history while imagining the future of travel, community and connection.
Following a visit to the station, students are developing proposals for a permanent public artwork that will reflect Lanyon Place's identity and the journeys it makes possible.
Their designs will be exhibited at the station from late November 2026, with the winning commission scheduled to be announced on 3 December.
The successful artwork is expected to be installed in spring 2027, becoming a lasting part of Lanyon Place's next chapter.
Better Connected Through Art, Education and Opportunity
At Translink, creating a better customer experience means looking beyond the journey itself.
Through its Better.Connected strategy, Translink is committed to developing stations that are more than places to catch a bus or train. They are welcoming, accessible and vibrant public spaces where people can meet, connect, experience culture and enjoy spending time.
Public art plays an important role in this ambition, adding character and creativity to stations while making arts and culture accessible to thousands of passengers as part of their everyday journeys.
The partnership with Belfast School of Art also represents a meaningful investment in Northern Ireland's emerging creative talent.
Working to a live professional brief, students gain valuable experience in developing proposals, presenting their ideas and understanding the practical requirements of creating permanent public art.
For the winning artists, the opportunity extends from the classroom to a finished commission, giving them a public platform to showcase their creativity and contribute to the cultural identity of their city.
For Translink, the partnership brings together investment in people, place and customer experience – supporting young artists while creating stations that passengers can enjoy, engage with and take pride in.
A Partnership with a Lasting Legacy
What began as a single competition at York Street has developed into a growing partnership between Translink and Ulster University's Belfast School of Art.
Translink is committed to establishing the Student Public Art Competition as an annual initiative, working with Belfast School of Art to identify new opportunities for student artworks at stations across Northern Ireland's bus and rail network.
The ambition is to create a growing collection of original public art that celebrates local communities, reflects the character of individual stations and provides successive generations of emerging artists with valuable professional experience.
The initiative demonstrates Translink's commitment to its Better.Connected strategy and Ulster University's focus on People, Place and Partnership, showing how collaboration between education, the arts and public transport can deliver lasting benefits for customers and communities.
Three years. Three stations. A growing collection of original artworks. And a partnership creating opportunities for the artists of tomorrow.
Together, Translink and Belfast School of Art are helping to build a better-connected Northern Ireland, where public transport connects people not only with destinations, but with creativity, culture and opportunity.