IRENE FITZGERALD CHRONICLES THE EVOLUTION OF BELFAST’S QUEEN STREET STUDIOS OVER FOUR DECADES.
In May 1981, the Art & Research Exchange (ARE) in Belfast, founded in 1978 by Christopher Coppock and Anne Carlisle (who also established CIRCA art magazine), invited the artistic community in Northern Ireland to discuss forming an artist’s collective.1 At this time, there was no studio provision or art suppliers in Belfast, no real gallery accessibility for non-established artists, and little support for graduates. Over a hundred artists responded to the invitation, leading to the formation of the Artists’ Collective of Northern Ireland.
It was the outcome of conversations within the collective, that focussed people’s attention on the need for artist workspaces, and a small group of individuals committed themselves to signing a lease. Damien Coyle spearheaded the search for premises, and in 1984, studios on the fourth floor of a former printer’s building on Queen Street were opened, funded by a grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI).
Today, Queen Street Studios (QSS) operates on Bloomfield Avenue in East Belfast, maintaining its original name. We provide 47 self-contained studios, ranging from 147 to 744 sq. ft., with excellent natural light, double-glazed windows, and electric heating.2 An annual bursary offers free studio provision for a Belfast School of Art graduate. Additionally, a limited amount of storage space is available to rent, and we have a communal workshop and equipment for member’s use.
QSS also manages two gallery spaces, primarily showcasing early and mid-career artists who are generally selected via open calls or through partnerships. Over the last year we hosted 22 exhibitions but have pared back to 13 shows this year to better align with our staffing capacity. Currently, Gallery 01 features Eimear Nic Roibeaird’s solo show, ‘Seek the Fair Land/ Tabhair ar ais an Oíche Aréir,’ while Gallery 02 has a group show, ‘What do we Want?’ curated by Olivier Cornet, which addresses geopolitical themes and includes works by Jill Gibbon, Eoin Mac Lochlainn, Tom Molloy, and QSS artist Gail Ritchie. Both exhibitions continue until 5 September.
Notably, on 26 September, QSS will launch its 40th Birthday Programme with ‘We are QSS at 40,’ a large-scale exhibition curated by Eamonn Maxwell that will run until 12 December. This show is not meant to act as celebration of the past 40 years of QSS but seeks to acknowledge the many great artists who have helped create the organisation and to highlight the huge talent that exists in the current membership. Maxwell notes: “It’s going to be an eclectic show with an unusual hang, but that makes it really exciting for me as a curator. Being from County Antrim, it’s nice to be working with artists who live and work near where I hail from. Spending time in QSS over the last few months, meeting the artists and considering the exhibition spaces, has been deeply rewarding.” The exhibition will feature participatory events, including Open Studios (26 October), artist talks, workshops, school visits, and professional development opportunities. An archival display will document the evolution of QSS over four decades, to include photographs, posters, historical material and more.
QSS is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, supported by two part-time employees (Board Secretary and Membership & Development Officer) and a freelance digital media consultant. The board meets every six weeks and includes four studio artists and four external members with expertise in management, law, and finance. We use Arts & Business NI’s Board Match Programme for recruiting non-member trustees, and artists can nominate studio members to the board. This governance structure ensures that QSS remains artist-led while benefiting from diverse professional insights and experiences.
Throughout 2024/25, our operations will be funded by ACNI’s Annual Funding Programme (£32,014) and BCC’s Cultural Multi Annual Grant (2024-2026, £10,000 per annum). These funding streams will help cover our core operational costs. Despite these supports, securing funds for non-ticketed venues like QSS remains challenging. The introduction of Belfast City Council’s Artist Studios Organisational Grant in 2022 was significant and has since helped us to deliver studio-specific projects and to diversify our funding sources. For example, our 40th Birthday Programme is kindly supported by BCC’s Arts & Heritage award and the Esmé Mitchell Trust.
Although we have been around for 40 years, uncertainty of tenure persists. The owners of our current premises have recently applied to redevelop the site into apartments and although a short-term lease extension might be possible (our current lease expires on 31 March 2025), relocation is inevitable. This issue is widespread; Jane Morrow’s PhD thesis highlighted the precarious nature of studio tenancies in Belfast, with all of the 17 organisations she consulted having tenancy agreements of fewer than three years in 2019.3 By 2022, two studio groups had closed. A recent review found that only one organisation had secured a lease of any great length, and many were operating on month-to-month rolling contracts. This instability hampers future planning and incurs significant relocation costs, which are particular burdens for our sector.
Yet, affordable studio provision is vital for retaining NI’s artistic talent and supporting the wider visual arts sector. Notably, 86% of our members have previously studied at Belfast School of Art. During 2023-2024, 62% of our studio-holders exhibited across the city (excluding QSS galleries) and 34% showcased their work in other galleries in Northern Ireland, providing numerous opportunities for cultural engagement. Moreover, 18% of QSS artists contributed to third-level arts education in Belfast.
At present, we are developing a three-year strategic plan, dependent on securing a stable, suitable location. Amid our landlord’s redevelopment plans, our priority is to lease a building that meets our needs, aiming for a permanent home in the long-term. We will also focus on enhancing staff capacity to better support our artists to reach their full potential. Reflecting on the work of the Artists Collective of Northern Ireland and the establishment of CIRCA Art Magazine, editor Michaële Cutaya wrote in 2016: “The needs of artists, it seems, are not so different from the 1980s: they are still underfunded, struggling for workspaces, and yearning for sustained critical engagement with their work.”4 These words resonate today. However, we hope that by our 50th birthday, we will have a different story to tell: one of stability, growth, and continued support for the vibrant artistic community in Belfast.
Irene Fitzgerald is Board Secretary at Queen Street Studios (QSS) in Belfast.
queenstreetstudios.net
Notes:
1 Christopher Coppock ‘A.R.E. – Acronyms, Community Arts and Stiff Little Fingers’, Vacuum, No. 11 (Belfast: Factotum, 2003)
2 Current QSS artists: Alana Barton, Mollie Browne, Reuben Brown, Gerard Carson, Majella Clancy, Pauline Clancy, Niamh Clarke, Hannah Clegg, Daniel Coleman, Susan Connolly, Amanda Coogan, Mary Cosgrove, Jonathan Conlon, Ian Cumberland, Alacoque Davey, Catherine Davison, Gerry Devlin, Craig Donald, Dan Ferguson, Joy Gerrard, Kathryn Graham, Angela Hackett, Karl Hagan, David Haughey, Ashley B Holmes, Frédéric Huska, Sharon Kelly, Gemma Kirkpatrick, Rachel Lawell, Naomi Litvack, Clement McAleer, Terry McAllister, Mark McGreevy, Meadhbh McIlgorm, Sinead McKeever, Michelle McKeown, Sharon McKeown, Grace McMurray, Tim Millen, Kate O’Neill, Darcy Patterson, Jane Rainey, Claire Ritchie, Gail Ritchie, Yasmine Robinson, Duncan Ross, Anushiya Sundaralingam, Vasiliki Stasinaki, Jennifer Trouton, and Kwok Tsui.
Associate/subletting artists: Rebecca Dawson, Clare French, Amy Higgins and Charlie Scott).
3 Jane Morrow, ‘Precarious people, places, and practices: Mapping, mediating, and challenging the instability of artists’ studios in Belfast (2018 – 2022)’, PhD Thesis (unpublished), University of Ulster, 2022.
4 Michaële Cutaya, ‘Is CIRCA an Artists’ Magazine? Part I’, CIRCA Art Magazine, 2016 (circaartmagazine.net)
