‘Nothing but a Curtain’ at Belfast Exposed showcases the work of documentary photographer Zula Rabikowska, detailing her journey through the former Eastern Bloc. Using a Soviet-era camera, Rabikowska photographed and interviewed women, non-binary, genderfluid and transgender people born after 1989. In ‘She/Her/Hers/Herself’, Anthony Luvera presents work made in collaboration with Sarah Wilson that explores transgender life and identity.
Zula Rabikowska: until 25 March; She/Her/Hers/Herself: until 18 March
‘Breaking Free’ by Brendan Megarity at the Engine Room Gallery is an exhibition of paintings in oil and tempera, based on ink sketches of people and their surroundings. Megarity focuses on texture, using an array of tools to manipulate the surface of the paintings. The gallery also hosts two memorial exhibitions: one on Des Edwards, ‘The Life of Des Edwards’; and ‘Jenny’, which celebrates the life of artist Jenny Magee.
Brendan Megarity: until 1 April; The Life of Des Edwards: 6 – 29 April; Jenny: 4 – 27 May
The Roe Valley Arts & Cultural Centre presents the ‘Steinbeck Dustbowl Photo Exhibition’, drawn from an open-call competition on the theme of ‘The Journey’. The photographs explore the interplay between geography and humanity, echoing the literature of John Steinbeck. Also at the centre, the Northern Ireland Photography Association showcases eighty-seven works by members of the various camera clubs in Northern Ireland.
Steinbeck Dustbowl Photo Exhibition: until 25 March; Northern Ireland Photography Association Exhibition: 29 April – 27 May
In the Georgian Gallery at the Ards Arts Centre, Lisa Ballard’s exhibition ‘The Space Between’ features paintings with elements of abstraction. The centre’s Sunburst Gallery hosts ‘Paper Magic’, a group exhibition by Sue Cathcart, Adele Pound, Emma Whitehead, Jayne Cherry, Susan McKeever, Aimee Magee and Simon Hall that explores the potential of paper, while Kayla Martell shows ‘Mornings in G Major’, a series of paintings depicting lively scenes from daily life.
The Space Between: until 6 April; Paper Magic: until 25 March; Mornings in G Major: 30 March – 29 April
Works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Paul Jenkins, Lucian Freud and Georges Braque feature in an exhibition of limited edition prints at the Nicholas Gallery; this is followed by a group exhibition of work by gallery artists Heidi Nguyen, Christine Cheim, JoEllen Brydon and Emma Berkery.
Exhibition of International Prints: 9 – 26 March; New Works by Gallery Artists: 13 – 29 April
The Dillon Gallery at Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich hosts four exhibitions. For her wall-hangings and wearable sculpture in ‘Paisteáilte le Bruscar’ (Garbage Patched), Elizabeth Bleynat uses craft techniques on plastic waste found on shore walks. In ‘Ciúnú’ (Hushing), Tiffani Love also draws on the coastal landscape for her painting and lens-based works. Following this, Susan Hughes shows work from her ongoing project, ‘Léaspáin’ (Coloured lights), exploring the intersection of psychedelic sensual experience and Irish folklore; and Michelle Harton finds the magical in the everyday in ‘The Land of Gemini’.
Paisteáilte le Bruscar and Ciúnú: until 16 March; Léaspáin and The Land of Gemini: 23 March – 27 April
The McKenna Gallery’s spring exhibition showcases work from established and emerging artists including: Diarmuid Breen, James Cahill, Anna Campbell, Simon Cook, Joe Dunne, Kevin McAleenan, Gavin McCandless, Susan Mannion, Aimee Melaugh, Peter Monaghan, Mark Shields and Colin Watson. The gallery also hosts ‘Crossings’, an exhibition of Robert Ryan’s allegorical paintings and drawings that reflect on crises of our time.
Spring Group Exhibition: 1 April – 12 May; Robert Ryan: 20 May – 30 June
The ArtisAnn Gallery’s spring lineup includes an exhibition by recent graduate Aimee Melaugh titled ‘Handful of Notes’; Royal Ulster Academy member and watercolour painter Barbara Allen shows ‘Mastering the Art of Change’; and Keith Ayton exhibits landscapes in ‘Standing by the Water’s Edge’.
Aimee Melaugh: until 1 April; Barbara Allen: 5 – 29 April; Keith Ayton: 3 – 27 May
Array Collective’s 2021 Turner Prize-winning ‘The Druthaib’s Ball’ is an immersive installation modelled on a síbín, filled with posters, flags, and banners. The work comes to the Ulster Museum and is accompanied by an extensive public programme. The museum also hosts ‘Principled & Revolutionary: Northern Ireland’s Peace Women’, a photographic exhibition by Hannah Starkey.
Array Collective: until 3 September; Hannah Starkey: 7 April – 10 September
A group exhibition, ‘Abstraction’, at Gormleys features work by Jane Rainey, Lola Donoghue and Beatriz Elorza. Drawn together by their interest in non-representational art and a preference for working in oils, the artists exhibit work that shows the diverse nature of this genre, and how colour, shape, space and composition can be used to express ideas and emotions.
Abstraction: 1 – 16 April
In collaboration with the Belfast Print Workshop, the Down Arts Centre hosts an exhibition of seven members, working across printmaking, painting, video, installation, sculpture and other disciplines. It is followed by Amira McDonagh’s ‘On My Way Here’, which features urban and rural landscapes in vivid colour, and then a show by photographer Alan Thomson, who uses a large-format camera with a long exposure time to capture scenes in the Antrim landscape. Belfast Print Workshop: 9 – 31 March;
Amira McDonagh: 6 April – 5 May; Alan Thomson: 11 May – 17 June
Jaki Irvine and Locky Morris were commissioned to create an artwork for The Complex in Dublin in 2021. A new iteration of the piece is now showing in ‘Re_sett_ing_s’ at the Void Gallery. Irvine and Morris carry out a conversation through the medium of art, finding common threads in their work through onscreen sound and images.
Irvine and Morris: 4 March – 3 June
The exhibition ‘What Autism Means to Me: Creative Voices’ at Flowerfield Arts Centre features artworks from autistic pupils in Northern Ireland. A second exhibition, ‘Uncertain Landscapes’, features Heather McAteer and Alex Dewart’s explorations of themes of distance and alienation through landscape.
What Autism Means to Me: 7 January – 11 February; Uncertain Landscapes: 18 February – 25 March
Six etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn at the Ulster Museum go on display alongside other works from the museum’s print collection in their exhibition called ‘A Unique Silence’. A master of the Dutch Golden era, Rembrandt’s etchings on show encompass nature, the human face and biblical scenes.
Ulster Museum: until 2 April
