Northern Ireland
Browse ArchiveThe Arts make a major contribution to life in Northern Ireland.
They make a strong contribution to the economy, with our excellent arts venues driving the night-time economy, our distinctive arts and cultural attractions drawing visitors and business to the region, and our Creative Industries rapidly becoming one of our main sources of job and wealth creation.
The arts are also firmly engaged at the heart of community life in Northern Ireland – in schools helping to build young people’s confidence and communications skills; in care homes helping older people to cope with isolation and loneliness; in our hospitals introducing a reassuring human dimension to clinical environments; in local neighbourhoods driving the many successful neighbourhood regeneration programmes that are enabling residents to rebuild their communities.
Here are some recent highlights of inspiring work by artists and organisations working in Northern Ireland today, supported by the Arts Council.
Recent Northern Ireland Projects
Artist of the Month September 2017 - Simon McWilliams
Friday 1st September 2017 at 9am
Simon McWilliams studied painting at the Royal Academy Schools in London. He has received almost 30 awards for his paintings in the last 20 years including the Guinness Award at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London, a Major Individual Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and Perpetual Gold and Silver Medals from the Royal Ulster Academy.
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Artist of the Month August 2017 - Ciarán Harper
Tuesday 1st August 2017 at 3pm
Ciarán Harper is a recent Fine Art graduate of Ulster University, Belfast, specialising in painting. He was awarded the prestigious Carson McDowell Solicitors Prize at the University of Ulster School of Art degree show in 2016.
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Artist of the Month July 2017 - Mary Theresa Keown
Monday 3rd July 2017 at 10am
Mary Theresa Keown is a contemporary artist originally from Enniskillen in County Fermanagh, now living and working in Dublin. Mary’s paintings are inspired by collages created with cut out images from a variety of sources, to create pictorial paintings that explore the relationship between the images themselves and their historical and cultural references.
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