Critics have branded the portraits a 'vanity project' but the council says they help support artists.
By Brendan HughesBelfast City Council has spent almost £150,000 in the past 10 years on portraits of its lord mayors.
In Belfast, each outgoing lord mayor can choose an artist to create their portrait which goes on display in the corridors of city hall.The gallery is included in guided tours of the building.The most recent spending was £15,000 on a portrait of the Alliance Party's Kate Nicholl, who was lord mayor from June 2021 until she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2022.
The 23-year-old said it was "exciting" to see her artwork in city hall and described the opportunity as a "great boost". "I would rather see these portraits commissioned to honour those everyday citizens whose extraordinary work is often undervalued," he said. "They do cost a lot of money but we try and keep it down to a respectable level for obvious reasons," he said.
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