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Saturday 31 October in Belfast

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Saturday 31 October 13 listings

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EXHIBITION-A HOUSE OF PLAY: 75 Years of the Lyric Theatre

Lyric Theatre · Exhibitions
A HOUSE OF PLAY | Exhibition A Lyric Theatre Belfast Exhibition Tickets & Info FRI 30 JAN - SUN 08 NOV 2026 10:00 - 15:00 BOOK NOW An Exhibition and Programme of Events to Celebrate a Landmark Anniversary. Discover the people, ideas and creative collaborations that have shaped the Lyric Theatre over 75 remarkable years. A House of Play celebrates the Lyric’s rich history and enduring role in the cultural life of Northern Ireland, tracing its journey from an intimate studio in the O’Malley family home to the award-winning theatre on Ridgeway Street. Through archival treasures, literary voices, artistic expression and the stories of those who brought the Lyric to life, explore a legacy built on imagination, experimentation and community — and discover how its past continues to inspire the future. Lyric Players Meet the people who made the Lyric. From founders Mary O’Malley and Alice Berger Hammerschlag to celebrated writers, performers and artists, discover the visionaries, collaborators and unsung heroes whose talent and dedication have shaped the theatre’s distinctive spirit across generations. Threshold Step into the pages of Threshold , the Lyric’s influential literary journal, published from 1957 to 1990. Explore rare editions, manuscripts, letters and artwork, and discover the writers and ideas that helped shape Ireland’s literary landscape, including early work by Seamus Heaney and Paul Muldoon. New Gallery Discover the Lyric’s enduring relationship with visual art. Celebrating the theatre’s commitment to artistic collaboration, this section explores how visual artists have contributed to its creative identity, bringing new perspectives, ideas and inspiration into the world of theatre. The Playhouse Trace the Lyric’s remarkable journey from its beginnings in Mary and Pearse O’Malley’s home in 1951 to the award-winning theatre of today. Experience a recreation of the original studio space and explore the milestones, ambition and collective endeavour that transformed an intimate gathering place into a cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s cultural life. A House Of Play is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery Players. Read Less Read More Credits Patsy McCartan & Matthew Maw Curators Patsy McCartan Heritage Manager Claire Murray & Emma Brennan Project Leads Naomi Johnston Interpretation Design Brian Delaney of Tom Caldwell Installations Installation of artworks Stuart Marshall Set Design Catherine Kodicek Costume Mounter Garth McConaghie Music and Sound Design Arthur Oliver-Brown Production Manager Jonny Daley Lighting Design Kerri McGimpsey Stage Manager Declan Paxton Technician Lyric Scene Shop Set Build Amanda Coogan & Kristina Laverty ISL/BSL Interpreters With Thanks Conor O’Malley, NUI Galway, Ulster Museum, Seamus Heaney Homeplace, The Linen Hall, Moya Osborne (on behalf of Jean Osborne), Anne Friel, Colin Davidson, Neil Shawcross, Dickon Hall, Michael & Barbara Lagan, Robert Walsh, RTÉ Archives, BBC NI, Below the Radar TV, Doubleband Films, Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's, Seamus Heaney Estate, W&G Baird, Walk on Air Films, Donegal County Museum Off The Wall Creatives Interpretive panel print and installation Close Date & Times Date & Times Date Time Sat 31 Oct 2026 10:00 Choose seats Sun 01 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Tue 03 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Wed 04 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Thu 05 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Fri 06 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Sat 07 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats Sun 08 Nov 2026 10:00 Choose seats
FreeVenue listing

Ongoing 12

Until30 Nov

‘Art of the Possible’

Ulster Museum · South Belfast · Exhibitions
Over the past decade, the Ulster Museum has collected a significant number of important artworks from around the world—many of which have never been seen by the public until now. Art of the Possible features over 40 artworks made from glass, ceramics, silver, metalwork, jewellery, and wood. These works were created by some of the most talented and important artists and designers working in these materials today.
FreeTickets & info
Until31 Oct

A Thirst for Silver exhibition

Craft NI Gallery · Exhibitions
Visit an exhibition of original works by 50 silversmiths. The exhibition is a focus on the silver beaker. Each maker has interpreted it in a distinctive way, from traditional techniques and meticulous craftsmanship to contemporary experimentation and individual artistic expression. Among the exhibitors are five local silversmiths: Cara Murphy Stuart Cairns Samantha Moore Claire Mooney, and Michael McCrory. The exhibition is free and launches during Late Night Art . For more information on Craft NI exhibitions, go to Craft NI (link opens in new window).
FreeTickets & info
Until31 Oct

NEW WORK John Carson

Golden Thread Gallery · Exhibitions · Belfast International Arts Festival
Launch : Saturday 12th September 1pm-3pm Dates : 12th September – 31st October 2026 Gallery : Lower Gallery In September 2026, Golden Thread Gallery will present NEW WORK, a major new exhibition by internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist John Carson. Originally from Northern Ireland and now based in Pittsburgh, USA, Carson’s practice spans film, sound, installation and public art. Combining humour, research and personal narrative, his work explores themes of history, identity, place and belonging. The exhibition brings together three new film projects that examine cultural connections between Ireland and the United States through Carson’s distinctive blend of storytelling, historical inquiry and wit. John Carson’s exhibition is supported by Culture Ireland’s Shared Island Touring Production and Platforms Fund and through partnership between Askeaton Contemporary Arts (Limerick), Golden Thread Gallery and the Border Biennale (Cavan). Carson Street is a 19-minute ‘mockumentary’ exploring how Carson Street in Pittsburgh got its name. Carson’s video invites you to join him in searching for the story behind the naming of Carson Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Carson’s inquiries find him engaging in kerbside conversations, visiting local residents and businesses, exploring historical archives, consulting experts, and eventually heading for Philadelphia to pursue a promising lead. Pittsburg Street . Originally from Belfast, Carson has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for 20 years and was intrigued to recently discover that there is a Pittsburg Street in Belfast. This short video sets out to search for Pittsburg Street and to examine its history and character. Same But Different examines shared cross-border musical traditions via filmed performances of 3 tunes by 3 musicians from Cavan, and 3 musicians from Fermanagh on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, guitar, accordion and bagpipes. Sub-titles reveal alternative lyrics to each tune and indicate different affiliations. The intention is not to reinforce the notion of two separate cultures, but rather to highlight commonalities within and across Ireland’s ‘two cultures’ as evidenced in shared musical references. “John Carson is a Pittsburgh-based Northern Irish artist, who over five decades has investigated and found new ways of understanding Irish identity. Through video, installation and exhibitions since the 1970s, seen throughout the world, his enthusiastic endeavours have continually made a socially orientated art – one encompassing strains of conceptual art, the immersive role of popular culture, and a form of storytelling peppered with insightful wit and humour.” Sean Lynch, Askeaton Contemporary Arts About the Artist John Carson is an artist whose practice incorporates performance, sound, film, installation, sculpture, drawing, photography and public art. As both an artist and curator, he has been involved in numerous context-based and socially engaged projects. Carson’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues including The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin; the ICA, London; CCA, Glasgow; IKON Gallery, Birmingham; Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Australia; the Aine Art Museum, Finland; PS1, New York; New Langton Arts, San Francisco; and The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh. Accessibility The Lower Gallery is accessed via the ground floor, which is step-free. Large print versions of exhibition texts are available. Access videos of the gallery are available on our website here , with BSL and ISL signed versions. Please let us know if you have any questions or additional requirements, we are working hard to make the gallery as accessible as possible for everyone. Golden Thread Gallery is proud to hold an Arts & Disability Access Award 2025 Venue Accreditation. Golden Thread Gallery is supported by: Exhibition is supported by: Culture Ireland’s Shared Island Touring Production and Platforms Fund and through partnership between Askeaton Contemporary Arts (Limerick), Golden Thread Gallery and the Border Biennale (Cavan).
Venue listing
Until31 Oct

SECTARIAN MURDER SERIES Paul Seawright

Golden Thread Gallery · Exhibitions · Belfast International Arts Festival
Launch : Saturday 12th September 1pm-3pm Dates : 12th September – 31st October 2026 Gallery : Upper Gallery The exhibition presents Paul Seawright’s iconic Sectarian Murder series, which revisits sites of sectarian killings in Belfast through understated photographs and edited newspaper reports, exploring the enduring legacy of violence, memory, and identity during the Troubles. Seawright revisited and photographed the sites of Sectarian attacks during the 1970’s close to where the artist grew up in Belfast. The texts accompanying each photograph are from newspaper reports at the time and document the murders of innocent civilians, killed for their perceived religion. Reference to Protestant or Catholic background was removed from the text. Seawright is best known for his alternative visual analysis of locations and subjects dominated by mainstream media. His photographs are devoid of obvious drama but loaded with implicit tension. In 2002 he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum London to respond to the war in Afghanistan and his photographs of battle-sites and minefields have subsequently been exhibited worldwide. The iconic Sectarian Murder series is one of his earlier works, and has been exhibited in more than 20 countries, including at Tate Britain, Planet Parr in Munich and Paris, The Troubles Archive OBG Belfast, the British Council Collection exhibition at London Whitechapel Gallery. The series was part of a major exhibition of Seawright’s work entitled ‘Anxious Landscape’ here at the Golden Thread Gallery in 2008. This work was purchased for the Golden Thread Gallery Collection thanks to support from the Ampersand Foundation . About the Artist Paul Seawright was born in Belfast 1965 and is currently Professor of Photography and Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Ulster. His photographs have been exhibited worldwide and are held many museum collections including The Tate, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, International Centre of Photography New York and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Accessibility The Upper Gallery is accessed via wheelchair accessible lift or by the stairwell. Large print versions of exhibition texts are available. Access videos of the gallery are available on our website here , with BSL and ISL signed versions. Please let us know if you have any questions or additional requirements, we are working hard to make the gallery as accessible as possible for everyone. Golden Thread Gallery is proud to hold an Arts & Disability Access Award 2025 Venue Accreditation. Golden Thread Gallery is supported by:
Venue listing
Until31 Oct11:00–17:30

Gingles and Gingles

ArtisAnn Gallery · Exhibitions
Acclaimed Father and Daughter To Exhibit Together at ArtisAnn in Belfast Graham and Lisa Gingles Wednesday 7th to Saturday 31st October Late Night Opening WED 7th October 6 to 8pm All Welcome and No Booking Necessary ArtisAnn Gallery 70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, BT5 5AE mail@artisann.org www.artisann.org Wed – Sat: 11am to 5.30pm Graham Gingles is internationally renowned for his complex, intricately built boxes. These contain scenes which comment on his major themes of life and death From happiness to trauma, travel and autobiography the dioramas and scenes reveal something new on each viewing. Graham has exhibited his work extensively including in London, Brussels, Cologne Newfoundland and Vermont. He has received many accolades, including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Scholarship to the British School at Rome, the Gold Medal at the Royal Ulster Academy and the De Veres Award at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA). His works are held in major public collections including by the Ulster Museum, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Queen’s University Belfast, An Chomhairle Ealaíon, the Office of Public Work (Ireland) and in the UK Government Art Collection. Lisa Gingles studied Fine Art at Ulster University and has exhibited internationally. Her work is a mixture of paintings, collage and sculpture. She currently lives and works in Spain. She has exhibited in London, New York, Newfoundland, and at the Russafart Art Festival and MuVIM (in Spain), She describes her work as drawing from her own experiences of having lived in many places, a nomadic lifestyle from when she was young. “Each place brings its own stories and myths, and the masks we wear to hide, to protect, to perform and to survive. The creatures in my art know about changes in life, and then death, because of the stories they come from. I am influenced by many things; mythology, folk tales and invented stories, leaving their dark side laid bare. It is about my life, the lives of others, and sometimes the life of no one at all. I use images of the past, feelings of the present and dreams of the future to inspire me in my art.” Her work is rooted in the changes in life, both chosen and imposed. Sculpture gives those changes weight, drawing gives them immediacy. Identity is never fixed. Underpinning this is an inquiry into the human condition. The art of this father and daughter gives a unique insight into the ideas of two visionary artists. All Welcome Admission is free. All artworks are available to buy. ArtisAnn Gallery 70 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast, BT5 5AE mail@artisann.org www.artisann.org Wed – Sat: 11am to 5.30pm
FreeTickets & info
Until31 Oct

AND TIME, AGAIN: Video works from Northern Ireland @ Videotage Hong Kong

Golden Thread Gallery · Exhibitions
Opening Reception | 開幕酒會 17:00 | 11.10.2026 (Sun 日) Dates : 10.10.2026 – 31.10.2026 12:00 – 19:00 (Wed to Sun 三至日) Curated by | 策展：Sarah McAvera Participating Artists | 參與藝術家：Lisa Byrne, Ian Charlesworth, Miriam de Búrca, Susan MacWilliam, Moira McIver, Peter Richards Acting as an entryway into the story of Northern Ireland, And Time, Again brings together six artists whose practices engage with Northern Ireland’s complex histories, contested identities, and enduring political legacies. Through personal testimony, archival research, staged enactments, and site-specific documentation, the exhibition moves beyond familiar narratives of the Troubles and post-conflict society and offers more nuanced narratives, creating an essential space for contextually situated discursive reasoning and reflection. Together, the six works reveal the fragility of narratives and the challenges of truly “knowing” a person or a place, particularly a place like Northern Ireland where deep religious and political divides preclude any idea of consensus. 《彼刻重來》匯集六位北愛爾蘭藝術家，透過錄像藝術梳理當地的故事。從個人經歷、檔案研究、事件重演到場域限定的紀實影像，他們的藝術實踐基於北愛爾蘭錯綜複雜的歷史、受質疑的身份和揮之不去的政治影響。展覽闡述主流論述以外的「北愛問題」和衝突以後的社會面貌，並營造一個循脈絡理解的推論與反思空間。六個作品揭示論述的脆弱之處和切實地「認識」一個人、一處地方的難處——尤其在宗教和政治矛盾根深蒂固的北愛爾蘭，任何共識終難達致。 Co-presented by | 合辦：Golden Thread Gallery, Videotage 錄映太奇 Supported by | 資助：
Venue listing
Until3 Jan

Craft NI Showcase @ RUA 2026

Ulster Museum · South Belfast · Exhibitions
Craft NI are delighted to be invited back for a second year to present a Guest Showcase at RUA’s 145th Annual Exhibition! The Royal Ulster Academy of Arts (RUA) returns to the Ulster Museum this autumn for its 145th Annual Exhibition, bringing together around 350 works by artists from Northern Ireland, across Ireland and further afield. Craft NI will present a guest showcase within the exhibition, bringing together a curated selection of contemporary craft works spanning various disciplines such as ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, metalwork and furniture. The showcase brings together works that explore new, contemporary interpretations of the natural colours of the Irish landscape: from bespoke furniture and blown glass to silversmithing, ceramics and handcrafted jewellery, the works sit in conversation with one another, creating a shared canvas of the local landscape and its influence on the makers. Participating designer-makers include Adam Frew, Andrea Spencer, Anima Roos, Anna Smyth, Cara Murphy (RUA Academician), Carla Pennie McBride, Céline Traynor, Joanne Lamb, John Piekaar, Mark Hanvey, Matthew Chambers, Rauni Higson, Sarah Cathers, Scott Benefield, Seliena Coyle and Shauna McCann. The showcase highlights the breadth and vitality of the local craft sector, with an emphasis on the quality, creativity and technical skill evident in the work of NI designer-makers.
FreeVenue listing
Until6 Dec

The Earth is the First Body Exhibition

Botanic Gardens Palm House · Exhibitions
The Earth is the First Body: an Exhibition by Botanic Gardens Artist-in-Residence Kerrie Hanna The Earth is the First Body is a new exhibition by artist Kerrie Hanna, created during her residency at Botanic Gardens. Using inks, pigments and charcoal made from plants growing in the Gardens, Kerrie has explored the stories, history and living landscape of this unique place. The exhibition looks at the Gardens' past, including the movement of plants around the world during Victorian times, while also highlighting the important work of protecting plants and biodiversity today. Through stained glass and other artworks, The Earth is the First Body invites us to think about our connection to the natural world and our role in caring for it. Join us for the exhibition opening event and be among the first to see the work. The exhibition officially opens to the public on 24 October and runs until 6 December.
FreeVenue listing