Craft NI

‘Materials, Messages and Meaning #14: Experimental Dialogues’
2025-11-01 11:00 - 2025-11-28 17:00 (Europe/London) | R-Space Gallery, 32 Castle Street, Lisburn, BT27 4XE, United Kingdom
‘Materials, Messages and Meaning #14’ features Lydia Bell, Michael Geddis, Patricia Kelly, Ruth Osbourne and Ioana Petcu-Colan, five visual artists selected from our annual open call, each responding to the theme ‘experimental’.
Experimental – 1. based on untested ideas or techniques and not yet established or finalized. 2. involving a radically new and innovative style.
The group exhibition presents the work of these five artists, allowing its ‘experimental’ nature to emerge through their diverse approaches – in the materials they choose to work with, the messages and meaning they convey through those materials, and the processes they employ to make their work.
Michael Geddis re-sites and re-purpose scientific tools and processes using patterns from nature as inspiration. Patricia Kelly’s textile practice entails working with the landscape, stitching, natural dying, and folklore. Ruth Osborne similarly draws from the landscape using soil, chemistry, place and the elements as tools to create new textile outcomes. Lydia Bell’s work likewise uses the rural landscape as the starting point to tell stories of change, survival and impact on nature, history and communities. Finally, Ioana Petcu-Colan starts with a musical landscape to generate exploratory ways to see music and hear visual art.

Curved Earth - Ceramic Forms in Spiral Balance
2025-11-01 14:00 - 2026-02-14 17:00 | Enniskillen Castle Museum, Enniskillen Castle, Co. Fermanagh, BT74 7HL, United Kingdom
“Curved Earth” showcases work by Enniskillen-born, London-based ceramic artist Pádraig Drugan.
Pádraig’s striking hand-crafted ceramic sculptures flow with spirals, curves and rhythmic lines. Inspired by the natural world, the forms suggest harmony, movement and balance, inviting us to pause and reflect. Short media clips reveal how Pádraig creates his work from first sketches to finished clay pieces. Photographs of his stone installations along the Irish Atlantic coastline provide a further insight into the landscapes and traditions that inspire the artist.
“Curved Earth” invites visitors to reflect on form, beauty and rhythm in a way that speaks to universal experience.

Admission tickets to Enniskillen Castle are necessary.

Please note opening hours as follows:
Mon – Fri: 9.30am – 5.00pm, Sat: 11.00am – 5.00pm

Big Bauble Showcase
2025-11-06 18:00 - 2025-12-30 17:00 | Craft NI Gallery, 115 - 119 Royal Ave, Belfast, BT1 1FF, United Kingdom
An annual staple at Craft NI Gallery during the festive season, the Big Bauble Showcase features a wide selection of limited ranges and one-off baubles all handcrafted to a high standard by local designer-makers in porcelain, felt, enamel, textiles or hand blown glass. The event is a highlight for visitors who come back each year to add to their collection.
Stop by to admire the skills of local makers and pick up a meaningful gift!

THE GIFT
2025-11-06 18:00 - 2026-01-31 17:00 | Craft NI Gallery, 115 - 119 Royal Ave, Belfast, BT1 1FF, United Kingdom
THE GIFT, Craft NI Gallery’s Christmas selling exhibition, will showcase thoughtfully-designed and beautifully-crafted works that highlight the concept of considered gifting, as well as showing the gifts and dedication of designer-makers, reflecting their mastery of material and unique design. These contemporary works, functional or decorative, will be objects made to be cherished and given with intention. Visitors can expect to see unique creations, whether it is jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass, wood, jewellery and mixed media.
The exhibition will refresh the concept of festive gifting with unique, handcrafted gift ideas that celebrate and support talented makers, thoughtful gift givers and cherished receivers in equal measure.

Participating makers: Andrea Hayes, Andrea Spencer, Anne Earls Boylan, Claire Hart, Egle Banyte, Gail Kelly, Hugh Cummins, Jakki Trainor, James Gilbert, Janice Gilmore, Joanna Komorowska, Joel Smyth, Patricia Kelly, Sue Cathcart, Ursula McGivern.

The Anna Cheyne Visual Art Award exhibition
2026-01-12 09:30 - 2026-02-14 22:00 | Island Arts Centre, The Island, Lisburn, BT27 4RL, United Kingdom
The Anna Cheyne Visual Art Award acknowledges the outstanding achievements of Lisburn artist Anna Cheyne (1926-2002), and is open to artists working in any medium. This exhibition will feature a selection of the entries received for this year’s competition. The winning artist(s) will be announced at the preview and acquired artwork will become part of the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Art Collection.
Anna Cheyne was a highly respected artist who made her home in Lisburn. She was known for exhibiting widely across Britain and Ireland, consistently appearing in major shows like t-Oireachtas and the Royal Ulster Academy. Her strong dedication to her work was formally recognised in 1994 when she was appointed an Academician of The Royal Ulster Academy.
Please note: open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 10pm and Saturday 9.30am to 5pm; closed on Sundays.

‘Patterning Futures: Dynamic Textiles’
2026-01-17 11:00 - 2026-01-30 16:00 | R-Space Gallery, 32 Castle Street, Lisburn, BT27 4XE, United Kingdom
‘Patterning Futures: Dynamic Textiles’ by Jackie Toal is an experimental exploration of Irish textile heritage through immersive technologies and projections. The work engages with Irish motifs, patterns and the Irish linen industry, while foregrounding women’s central role in the linen production.
Silk scarves reimagine motifs from Irish lace and floral patterns, translating historical knowledge into contemporary form. Several scarves are Augmented Reality‑enabled: viewed through AR, they reveal layered narratives and animated patterns. Projection mapping brings dynamic motifs to life on tulle and Irish linen, intersecting physical and digital layers with generative AI and immersive storytelling.
The exhibition asks: How do we translate textile heritage into digital space? What happens when women’s stories, often absent from the archive, are made visible through eXtended Reality technologies, projection, and interaction?
About the artist – Jackie Toal is an educator, creative practitioner, and researcher whose work bridges traditional analogue processes with emerging digital media. She has a deep love for surface pattern, painting, cyanotypes, and mixed‑media experimentation, and is increasingly exploring the possibilities of immersive technologies.

Please note:
Opening – Saturday 17 January, 2-4pm
Artist talk at the opening, 2.30pm
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-4pm
FREE All Welcome

In The Making
2026-01-20 10:00 - 2026-02-27 17:00 | Oriel Gallery, Clotworthy House,, Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim, BT41 4LH, United Kingdom
County Antrim Open Studios is excited to announce that their 2nd exhibition, In The Making, will be held in the beautiful Oriel Gallery at Clotworthy House, Antrim Castle Gardens, BT41 4LH.
Running from 20th of January to 27th February 2026, the exhibition will feature works from ten CAOS members: Audrey Kyle Art, Denise McAuley – Moneyvart Ceramics, Heather McFadden – Gobbins Crafts, Jane Lloyd – Textile Arts, Judith Logan – Art, Lorna Shannon – Weaver, Paul Burch – Ceramics & Sculpture, Paul Jordan – Art & Ceramics, Raymond Watson – Multimedia Art, Rosanne Cecil – Willow Leaves Handmade Books.

MATERIAL ALCHEMY
2026-02-05 10:00 - 2026-05-01 17:00 | Craft NI Gallery, 115 - 119 Royal Ave, Belfast, BT1 1FF, United Kingdom
MATERIAL ALCHEMY, an exhibition by mixed media artist Sarah Cathers, opens at Craft NI Gallery on February 5th, Late Night Art!

The exhibition celebrates the process of fostering curiosity and indulging in play. Intrigued by the parallels connecting the work of an artist and an alchemist, Sarah explores the art of transformation; documenting the journey of finding a curious object, experimenting with its properties and potential, and working towards a ‘eureka!’ moment.

Alchemy is the process of converting base metals into gold. Similarly, Sarah works with seemingly worthless, discarded materials, altering them to create treasured artefacts.

“A naturally curious collector, I mend and combine matter, assembling small sculptures, juxtaposing the unlikely to create a tangible record of the environment and people. I curate objects of intrigue in ‘families’ based on an instinctive response or relationship between materials. Fascinated by adhesives and their ability to secure and fasten, I focus on the binding capabilities of thread, using fibres to document and repair. I aim to preserve an object’s history, acknowledging the past while recognising new potential. Like an alchemist, I indulge in the process of measuring out and combining different quantities of substances, in the hope of striking gold.”

In this exhibition, Sarah explores a range of responses to found objects, celebrating the instinctive creative process that can (if lucky) yield exciting reactions and unexpected results for the alchemist.

For the love of dog (and other creatures)
2026-02-14 09:30 - 2026-03-28 17:00 | Flowerfield Arts Centre, 185 Coleraine Road, Portstewart, BT55 7HU, United Kingdom
Eleanor Wheeler’s work explores the deep interconnection between humans, animals, and the natural world, drawing on symbolism, metaphor, and the storytelling traditions of myth and folklore. Animals appear as recurring figures – symbolic, emotive, and often occupying the space between the wild and the domestic. Through dynamic ceramic forms and richly textured surfaces, the artist examines themes of transformation, instinct, and the balance between control and surrender. Elemental forces—wind, weather, movement— are integral to both her subject matter and her process, mirroring the unpredictable nature of working with clay at scale.

Associated Workshop
Animal Tiles for 18+ yrs | Saturday 28 February | 10am-4pm

Gormleys x USWA
2026-03-07 10:00 - 2026-03-21 17:00 | Gormleys Gallery Belfast, 471 Lisburn Rd, Belfast, BT9 7EZ, United Kingdom
This exhibition, organised by Gormleys Gallery in support of the Ulster Society of Women Artists, showcases the work of Jenny Hamilton, Hannah Ferguson, Louise Lennon, and Ruth Edens. Though distinct in medium and approach, each artist shares a deep connection to nature and place.
Those interested in ceramics in particular will enjoy Hannah Ferguson’s terracotta vessels, carved using sgraffito, which draw on her printmaking background and the folk traditions of Northern Irish craft.

BLUNTING
2026-03-12 18:30 - 2026-03-15 17:00 | Portview Trade Centre, 310 Newtonards Rd, Belfast, BT4 1HE, United Kingdom
Stephanie Noble and Patrick Colhoun introduce ‘BLUNTING’, a mixed media exhibition exploring the difficulty of existing in the world as it is and some of the various mechanisms we use to cope. Using a combination of painting and contemporary sculpture the artists invite viewers on a journey exploring the changed perceptions of reality that can come with medicating with prescription and non-prescription substances.
The exhibition showcases both collaborative and individual pieces with each of the artists stepping outside their respective comfort zones. This collaboration takes the sublime and calm oasis of Stephanie Noble’s landscapes and the dystopian nightmare of Patrick Colhoun’s ceramic Black Dogs and combines them, subverting the normal rules of what one would expect to see from these artists in their individual practices.

The exhibition opens March 12th at 6:30pm at Block B, Floor 2, Portview Trade Centre, 310 Newtownards Road, Belfast, BT4 1HE
About the artists:
Stephanie Noble: www.stephanienoble.co.uk Stephanie Noble has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally including Royal Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition and Ballinglen biennial exhibition of art. Her landscapes are held in private collections worldwide.
Patrick Colhoun: www.patrickcolhoun.com Patrick Colhoun uses the term ‘Anti-ceramics’ to best describe his work. A traditional craft but done in a very different way. Colhoun has exhibited internationally and his work is held in numerous collections including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Private Collection. He is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

Silver Generations
2026-04-18 10:00 - 2026-05-23 17:00 | Island Arts Centre, The Island, Lisburn, BT27 4RL, United Kingdom
Silver Generations is a special exhibition featuring work from Michael McCrory, Deirdre McCrory, Cara Murphy and Caitlin Murphy.
Three generations of applied artists with over 170 years of combined experience and expertise come together. This exhibition celebrates a unique family immersed in the world of silversmithing and jewellery, showcasing how each generation has forged its own creative path.
The exhibition will be opened by Katherine McDonald, Director of Craft NI.
Join the exhibiting artists for drinks at the exhibition preview on Sat 18 April, 2-4pm.
