What's On

What’s on in Northern Ireland

Discover what’s on in Northern Ireland for visual arts with our definitive events guide: from Belfast’s cutting-edge gallery exhibitions at the MAC and Catalyst Arts to immersive printmaking workshops in Derry’s historic Guildhall Quarter, plus open-studio weekends across County Antrim and pop-up sculpture trails on the Ards Peninsula. Explore artist-led masterclasses in the Causeway Coast’s dramatic landscapes, behind-the-scenes curator talks at Tannaghmore Gardens in Lisburn, and family-friendly mural festivals in Newry. Our Northern Ireland visual-arts roundup brings you weekly updates on gallery openings, limited-edition craft fairs, collaborative installation projects, and exclusive preview nights—perfect for collectors, creatives, and culture lovers alike. Stay in the loop with insider exhibition tips, early-bird tickets to specialist workshops, and curated exhibition tours that showcase both emerging talents and renowned artists. Elevate your Ulster art experience today with our all-in-one “What’s On” resource.

Belfast / Rest of Northern Ireland

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A Myth for the Last Wolf | Karen Daye-Hutchinson at ArtisAnn Gallery

A Myth for the Last Wolf | Karen Daye-Hutchinson at ArtisAnn Gallery

07/01/2026 - 31/01/2026
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
ArtisAnn Gallery
70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, County Antrim, BT5 5AE

A Myth of the Last Wolf is an exhibition by internationally renowned artist Karen Daye-Hutchinson. Each print in the show is a gateway into an imagined mythology. Animals appear as messengers or witnesses, their forms dissolving into human gestures and vice versa.

The landscapes they inhabit are fractured and dreamlike, haunted by traces of conflict, tenderness, and the slow erosion of time.

Karen Daye-Hutchinson studied Fine Art at the Art College, Belfast, and Manchester School of Art.

In 2021 she was elected a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (ARE) and a member of the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts (ARUA).

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Closing
Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster | Lin Li at room2

Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster | Lin Li at room2

04/12/2025 - 08/01/2026
11:15 am - 11:45 pm
room2
32-36 Queen St, Belfast BT1 6EE, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 6EE

Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster – Lin Li Solo Exhibition – 4 Dec to 8 Jan 2026.

Exhibited works:
– Sláinte
– Tranquil Moment in Gleann na Srutha
– The Silence of Ghaibhóile
– Ten Minutes After Sunset, Béal Feirste
– Flowing Mountain Light, Aontroim
– Vortex of Bóthar na bhFál Dorcha
– Eternal Currents — Machaire Rabhartaigh Shore
– Golden Portaigh R-255
– Dathanna An Earagail (Colours of Errigal)
– Crimson Plateau of An Mhucais
– Somnolent Fever of a Dreaming Oileán Reachlainn
– Sleepwalking Dún Lúiche

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In the flow of being | Liudmila Kalinka at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich

In the flow of being | Liudmila Kalinka at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich

04/12/2025 - 15/01/2026
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich
216 Falls Rd, Belfast, BT12 6AH

This new body of work by Liudmila Kalinka explores clarity, calm, and joy through accepting thoughts, feelings, and sensations as a continuous flow of energy.

This exhibition, shaped by an intuitive process and based on personal experience, reflects an inner flow as a cycle of states that arise, dissolve, and renew. Each series grows from the previous one, as if one state naturally gives rise to the next and each piece is part of this unfolding process.

The work brings awareness into inner presence, showing how every moment, as it comes, becomes part of a path toward clarity and joy, revealing the beauty of simply being.

Read more →
Tribes & Tribulations | Helen Merrigan Colfer at Ards Arts Centre

Tribes & Tribulations | Helen Merrigan Colfer at Ards Arts Centre

11/12/2025 - 17/01/2026
Ards Arts Centre
Conway Square, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4NP

In this exhibition, Helen Merrigan Colfer explores a personal journey from childhood to adulthood in the ongoing search for belonging and self-acceptance.

Through emotionally resonant sculptures, Colfer reflects on the universal human desire to find one’s “Tribe.”

Audiences can expect totemic forms representing inner strength, transformation, and resilience. The works confront themes of conformity, identity, and personal power, moving through darkness and light.

As Colfer asks, “Is that journey complete or still underway?” the exhibition invites reflection, hope, and a sense of shared humanity.

Read more →
On-going
Mise en Abyme | Sharon Murphy at Golden Thread Gallery

Mise en Abyme | Sharon Murphy at Golden Thread Gallery

22/11/2025 - 31/01/2026
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Golden Thread Gallery
23-29 Queen Street, Belfast, BT1 6EA

In November 2025 Golden Thread Gallery will be presenting a new exhibition by artist Sharon Murphy, curated by Sarah McAvera.
Drawing from her background in theatre and shaped by influences from psychoanalysis and magic realism, Murphy’s work delves into theatrical settings, captured in moments of quiet and stillness. Through recurring symbols such as curtains, deserted stages, and performative environments, she investigates the thin line between illusion and reality, presence and absence.

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The Border That Crossed Me | Azzedine Saleck at Golden Thread Gallery

The Border That Crossed Me | Azzedine Saleck at Golden Thread Gallery

22/11/2025 - 31/01/2026
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Golden Thread Gallery
23-29 Queen Street, Belfast, BT1 6EA

The Border That Crossed Me is a multi-sensory collaborative exhibition exploring surveillance technology, border infrastructures, and climate-induced migration. This exhibition has been devised for the Golden Thread Gallery in collaboration with FLAX Artist Studios, Belfast and Azzedine Saleck. Presented in our Upper Gallery, The Border That Crossed Me examines the political and emotional geographies of divided territories across the globe.

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Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster | Lin Li at room2

Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster | Lin Li at room2

04/12/2025 - 08/01/2026
11:15 am - 11:45 pm
room2
32-36 Queen St, Belfast BT1 6EE, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 6EE

Across Eurasia, Encountering Ulster – Lin Li Solo Exhibition – 4 Dec to 8 Jan 2026.

Exhibited works:
– Sláinte
– Tranquil Moment in Gleann na Srutha
– The Silence of Ghaibhóile
– Ten Minutes After Sunset, Béal Feirste
– Flowing Mountain Light, Aontroim
– Vortex of Bóthar na bhFál Dorcha
– Eternal Currents — Machaire Rabhartaigh Shore
– Golden Portaigh R-255
– Dathanna An Earagail (Colours of Errigal)
– Crimson Plateau of An Mhucais
– Somnolent Fever of a Dreaming Oileán Reachlainn
– Sleepwalking Dún Lúiche

Read more →
In the flow of being | Liudmila Kalinka at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich

In the flow of being | Liudmila Kalinka at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich

04/12/2025 - 15/01/2026
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich
216 Falls Rd, Belfast, BT12 6AH

This new body of work by Liudmila Kalinka explores clarity, calm, and joy through accepting thoughts, feelings, and sensations as a continuous flow of energy.

This exhibition, shaped by an intuitive process and based on personal experience, reflects an inner flow as a cycle of states that arise, dissolve, and renew. Each series grows from the previous one, as if one state naturally gives rise to the next and each piece is part of this unfolding process.

The work brings awareness into inner presence, showing how every moment, as it comes, becomes part of a path toward clarity and joy, revealing the beauty of simply being.

Read more →
DISASTERS AND INTERVENTIONS | Oliver Jeffers at The Naughton Gallery

DISASTERS AND INTERVENTIONS | Oliver Jeffers at The Naughton Gallery

08/12/2025 - 29/03/2026
The Naughton Gallery
Lanyon Building, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN

Exhibition continues from the 4th of December 2025 to the 29th of March 2026.

Each piece in the exhibition involves the artist intervening in some way on a found image. Although collage has long been part of Jeffers’ approach, both the disaster paintings and the intervention works differ from traditional collage: rather than cutting up found material for its colour or specific imagery, Jeffers uses the entirety of the original scene, adding a new element that completely alters the depicted narrative.

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Tribes & Tribulations | Helen Merrigan Colfer at Ards Arts Centre

Tribes & Tribulations | Helen Merrigan Colfer at Ards Arts Centre

11/12/2025 - 17/01/2026
Ards Arts Centre
Conway Square, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4NP

In this exhibition, Helen Merrigan Colfer explores a personal journey from childhood to adulthood in the ongoing search for belonging and self-acceptance.

Through emotionally resonant sculptures, Colfer reflects on the universal human desire to find one’s “Tribe.”

Audiences can expect totemic forms representing inner strength, transformation, and resilience. The works confront themes of conformity, identity, and personal power, moving through darkness and light.

As Colfer asks, “Is that journey complete or still underway?” the exhibition invites reflection, hope, and a sense of shared humanity.

Read more →