Marking the occasion of Belfast School of Art's 175th Anniversary, we begin our exhibition programme this Autumn with a look back on selected works by Basil Blackshaw, including never before seen sketchbooks; and an exhibition of work by one of the School's acclaimed graduates, Phil Collins. We end the year with an exercise in curation for our Fine Art students in partnership with National Museums of Northern Ireland as we present Art Unwrapped, a surprise unveiling of a work from the national art collection as a christmas gift to the city. Come visit our Ulster Presents Art Gallery over the course of our opening semester, September to December 2024.
12th September to 17th October
Basil Blackshaw
Blackshaw’s art was inextricably interwoven with his deep roots in his rural locality. While he is celebrated as one of Ireland’s greatest painters, he was most comfortable in the countryside, talking about horses and dogs rather than art. Blackshaw’s focus on local subjects has helped shape our conceptions of rural Ulster and immortalised a way of life through paint. This exhibition marks the naming of a building on our Belfast campus as the Blackshaw Building as part of the 175th Anniversary of the Belfast School of Art.
31st October to 5th December
Phil Collins
In partnership with Outburst Queer Arts Festival
Outburst Queer Arts Festival and Ulster Presents mark the 175th Anniversary of the Belfast School of Art in a new collaboration with one of its most acclaimed graduates.
Drawing its title and concept from a devotional form of music compilation, Mixtape #1 is a genre-bending collection which brings together a heady blend of episodes, excerpts, off-cuts, and ‘wild footage’ from Phil’s extensive filmography. Notorious for its tendency, and tenderness, towards poetic overture, insinuation and desire, the mixtape foregrounds interactions between form and feeling, and underlines proximities between giver and receiver. Such connections have long characterised Collins’ practice and are revealed here as sustained techniques of production.
Further activity and work will be announced as part of the Outburst Queer Arts Festival programme later this year.
12th December to 9th January
Art Unwrapped
In partnership with National Museums of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council
Art Unwrapped 2024 will be our seventhannual ‘gift to the city’ exhibition bringing to the widest possible public rarely seen paintings from museum and private collections. The artwork and the artist are revealed at a later date, when free guided interpretive tours by Fine Art Students of Ulster University are offered to visitors.
Presented in partnership with National Museums of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council
Keep an eye on Art Unwrapped (ulster.ac.uk) for more information.