Northern Ireland’s longest running studio space for professional visual artists is celebrating its 40th birthday with an exhibition featuring 61 works from past and present members. Queen Street Studios (QSS) in Belfast is a home from home for a broad spectrum of visual artists, working across a range of mediums. The creative area offers artists the privacy and peace of their own studio space, while also being a collective hub for meeting, collaboration and exhibitions.
Past and present members include some of Northern Ireland’s best-known artists and among those featured in the current QSS at 40 exhibition are pieces by Jack Pakenham, Jennifer Trouton, Clement McAleer, Chris Wilson, Rosie McGurran, Amanda Coogan, Dougal McKenzie, Brian Connolly, Sharon Kelly, Mark McGreevy, Joy Gerrard, Gail Ritchie and Ian Cumberland. Work by artist Jennifer Trouton will feature in the exhibition (Arts Council NI/PA) The venue is supported by National Lottery funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Running across two floors, the large-scale exhibition showcases the broad range of practices, from emerging and established artists, that have shaped Queen Street Studios.
The studio itself is comprised of 47 self-contained artists’ spaces, ranging in size from 147 sq ft to 744 sq ft. QSS is also keen to support new and emerging artists and offers a bursary space to a Belfast School of Art graduate each year for 12 months of free studio provision. “It has always been a place wh.