Translink Artist in Residence Ed Reynolds

Ed has worked extensively with communities across Northern Ireland, creating art that reflects local voices and shared experiences. From small-scale workshops to large mural projects, his work is grounded in the belief that art belongs in everyday spaces. As Translink's Artist in Residence Ed builds on this legacy — connecting with the rich and vibrant communities across our towns, cities, and rural landscapes, and reflecting their stories back into the public realm. 

As part of his residency, Ed will also lead a series of creative workshops at Belfast Grand Central Station - transforming the concourse into a living studio where art and everyday journeys meet. Working with local primary schools, he’ll invite young people to explore what travel means to them, capturing their imagination through drawing, colour, and storytelling. These sessions will encourage children to see the station not just as a place to pass through, but as a place where ideas, journeys, and communities connect.

Just as Ed’s work connects people through art, Translink connects Northern Ireland every day through easy, affordable, and sustainable travel. With integrated bus and rail services and real-time journey planning at your fingertips, our network makes it simple for everyone to get where they need to go — safely, sustainably, and Better.Connected than ever.

The residency also includes an exciting collaboration with students from the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University. Ed will deliver guest lectures, lead workshops, and invite students to accompany him on his journeys — from the city’s Glider routes to rural railway lines — offering a kind of creative apprenticeship in motion. Together, they’ll learn how to observe, sketch, and respond to the movement of public life, reflecting the same spirit of connection that lies at the heart of Translink’s Better.Connected strategy.

This residency also celebrates what Translink stands for a network that is Better.Connected, delivering sustainable transport that reduces carbon emissions, provides affordable access to education, and links communities to opportunity. By bringing art into stations, buses, and trains, we are showing how public transport is more than movement — it is part of the cultural and civic fabric of Northern Ireland. 

Ed will also travel to Dublin on the Enterprise service, sketching life on board and exploring connections between the two cities to celebrate the hourly Enterprise Service from Belfast to Dublin from Grand Central Station.

This isn’t just art for art’s sake — it’s about making our everyday journeys visible. It brings rural stories into the city, gives schoolchildren a creative voice, invites the public into the artistic process, and strengthens communities through shared creativity.  Just like our transport network, it shows how creativity can move freely — across borders, generations, and backgrounds — connecting people and places that make Northern Ireland thrive.

And through it all, we’re showing that public transport is more than movement — it’s where creativity, connection, and possibility meet. Imagine where you can go. 

Ed Reynolds is the artist-in-residence for Translink, where he will be capturing the life and movement of Northern Ireland’s public transport network through a unique blend of plein air painting, field recordings, and musical composition. His work will reflect the rhythm and atmosphere of stations, journeys, and everyday encounters—transforming familiar spaces into vibrant, multi-sensory portraits of travel. 

Based in Belfast, Ed is a painter, multi-instrumentalist, and audio forager whose practice is grounded in the exploration of light, perspective, form, and atmosphere. Originally from Dublin, he studied classical animation before relocating to Northern Ireland in 2005. He is a member of Vault Artist Studios and curator of the Listen and See exhibition series, which merges visual art with sound to create immersive experiences. 

Ed’s approach is highly energetic and deeply engaged. He is committed to the artistic process and to professional standards in both design and presentation. His work often unfolds in public spaces, where he paints en plein air—inviting passers-by to witness the creative process in real time. This openness is central to his philosophy revealing rather than concealing creativity, and encouraging connection between artist, subject, and viewer. 

His paintings celebrate the beauty of the everyday—streets, shorelines, and shared spaces—while his musical compositions and field recordings add depth and atmosphere, creating a layered experience that invites audiences to see and hear the world differently. 

Wayfinding the Everyday is part funded by Arts & Business NI, delivered in partnership with Daisychain, and supported by the Belfast School of Art at Ulster University. 

If you see Ed painting or sketching across our network — whether at a station, on a bus, or aboard a train — we invite you to stop, say hello, and share your journey. 

Your story could inspire his next piece painting.