Culture - Ards and North Down

Culture - Ards and North Down Ards Arts Centre and North Down Museum - Bringing Arts and Heritage to life in Ards and North Down.
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Keep up to date with news, activities and events provided by Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Arts and Heritage Service. Learn more about the work we do in maintaining our local culture and encouraging others to engage with it. We’re passionate about getting the local community involved with our shared cultural legacy, which continues to grow through the talents of new creative professionals.

To inspire ownership of this, we subsequently manage two fantastic venues, where everyone from young children and teens, to adults and senior citizens can experience our cultural offerings in many different ways. Our cultural venues include:

- Ards Arts Centre
- North Down Museum

To encourage community engagement with our local culture, we provide a wide range of services at both locations, including:

-Arts and heritage events and exhibitions
- Opportunities for cultural learning
- Funding opportunities for individuals and groups
- Outreach activity
- Professional development for artists resident in the borough
- Information and publications on the cultural heritage of our borough

www.andculture.org.uk

The Arts and Heritage Service of Ards and North Down Borough Council

www.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk



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Enjoy this closer look at sculptures by 3 of the artists exhibiting at ForM Sculpture Exhibition; Helen Hanse, Oxana Gor...
19/06/2026

Enjoy this closer look at sculptures by 3 of the artists exhibiting at ForM Sculpture Exhibition; Helen Hanse, Oxana Gorbunova, and Vivien Ferran.

ForM Sculpture Exhibition is currently showing in the beautiful setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden. 🌼

📍 Bangor Castle Walled Garden
📅 1 - 30 June
🕙 Mon - Thurs: 10am - 8pm, Fri - Sun: 10am - 6pm

ℹ For more info visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/form-sculpture-exhibition-2026

📸 Joe Fox

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not visit North Down Museum and explore a range of fascinating exhibitions...
19/06/2026

Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not visit North Down Museum and explore a range of fascinating exhibitions – all free to enjoy.

Discover a lesser-known chapter of local history in The Birth of Irish Motor Racing, celebrating over 100 years of the Ulster Automobile Club and the role Bangor, Newtownards and Donaghadee played in the early days of the sport 🚗

Step back in time with Holywood Shop Fronts Then and Now, an engaging look at how the town’s high street has evolved from the mid-1900s to today, created by the Holywood U3A Local History group.

And while you’re here, take time to enjoy Harmony, a beautiful solo exhibition by local artist Angela Titirig in Coffee Cure. Inspired by Northern Ireland’s landscapes, her atmospheric works explore light, movement and seasonal change 🌊

North Down Museum Opening Hours
⏰Tues - Sat: 10am - 4pm
Sunday: 12noon - 4pm

Admission is free.

ℹ️https://andculture.org.uk/visit-us

Don't miss the next in our Friday Night Live music series at Ards Arts Centre!After a show stealing performance 'in‑the‑...
18/06/2026

Don't miss the next in our Friday Night Live music series at Ards Arts Centre!

After a show stealing performance 'in‑the‑round' at last year’s Ards International Guitar Festival, we are delighted to present Grainne Hunt for a solo show on Friday 26 June!

Described as ‘The Irish Joni’, she has shared stages with Glen Hansard and U2 – and has opened for Gladys Knight.

Friday Night Lives: sit back, relax, and enjoy the best affordable live music in town!

ℹ For more information and booking, visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/friday-night-live-grainne-hunt

📍 Ards Arts Centre
📅 Fri 26 June
🕙 8pm
🎟 £13.50

⭐ ARTIST PROFILE ⭐Paul Reid is a visual artist based in Belfast. His exhibition “Nostromo: Scenes from the Raft and Othe...
18/06/2026

⭐ ARTIST PROFILE ⭐

Paul Reid is a visual artist based in Belfast. His exhibition “Nostromo: Scenes from the Raft and Other Stories” is currently showing in the Georgian Gallery, Ards Arts Centre.

Historically his practice has used the work of other artists as the starting point for paintings and drawings. These range from Bruegel, Théodore Géricault and van Ruisdael to Donald Judd and Malevich. The combining of and re-appropriation of these artists work has been used as the vehicle to explore concepts and ideas relating to truth, technology and more currently class and colonialism.

His new collection of paintings is inspired by The Raft of the Medusa (1818–1819), a monumental oil painting by French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault.

Exhibition continues until Wed 24 June.

📍Ards Arts Centre

🕙 Gallery Opening Hours
Tues - Fri: 10am - 4pm
Sat: 10am - 1pm
Sun & Mon: Closed

For more details visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/nostromo-scenes-raft-and-other-stories

Visit Ards and North Down

ForM Sculpture Exhibition will be part of Bangor's June Late Night Art event on Thursday 25 June! 🎉Late Night Art Bangor...
18/06/2026

ForM Sculpture Exhibition will be part of Bangor's June Late Night Art event on Thursday 25 June! 🎉

Late Night Art Bangor is an initiative that aims to share Bangor’s amazing arts and cultural venues and showcase the creatives who live and work here. On the last Thursday of every month* from 6-9pm you can enjoy open house across the city centre. (*except December)

As part of this month’s programme, you are invited to the Walled Garden to browse the ForM Sculpture exhibition and meet a few of the exhibiting artists. 🌸

For more information, visit: https://latenightartbangor.com/

ForM Sculpture Exhibition is currently showing in the beautiful setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden. 🌼Today we are sh...
17/06/2026

ForM Sculpture Exhibition is currently showing in the beautiful setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden. 🌼

Today we are sharing a closer look at sculptures by 3 of the artists exhibiting; Anna McGurn, Shauna McCann, and Heather Nelson.

📍 Bangor Castle Walled Garden
📅 1 - 30 June
🕙 Mon - Thurs: 10am - 8pm, Fri - Sun: 10am - 6pm

ℹ For more info visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/form-sculpture-exhibition-2026

Muddy Fingers McGurn
Shauna McCann Ceramics

📸 Joe Fox

Have you visited ForM Sculpture Exhibition yet at Bangor Castle Walled Garden? 🌼If so, we would love to hear your feedba...
17/06/2026

Have you visited ForM Sculpture Exhibition yet at Bangor Castle Walled Garden? 🌼

If so, we would love to hear your feedback through this short survey 👉https://engage.ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk/crafts/73cc7ff1/

All those who leave their email addresses are automatically entered into a draw for a complimentary family pass (up to 5 tickets) to Out of the Box, The Space Theatre at SERC Bangor, on either Wednesday 8 or Thursday 9 July (3pm or 6pm).

📍 Bangor Castle Walled Garden
📅 1 - 30 June
🕙 Mon - Thurs: 10am - 8pm, Fri - Sun: 10am - 6pm

ℹ For more info visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/form-sculpture-exhibition-2026

📸 Joe Fox

⭐ ARTIST PROFILE ⭐Ross Miley is a visual artist based in Greyabbey. He graduated from Manchester School of Art in 2022, ...
16/06/2026

⭐ ARTIST PROFILE ⭐

Ross Miley is a visual artist based in Greyabbey. He graduated from Manchester School of Art in 2022, and his exhibition, “Lumen”, is currently showing in the Sunburst Gallery, Ards Arts Centre.

Miley's work delves into the interplay between nature, mood, and the transient beauty of changing seasons. Through abstract expressionism, the aim is to capture the delicate yet bold emotions that landscapes evoke, transforming them into vibrant, imaginary realms.

A palette of bright colours reflects the energy and dynamism of nature, inviting viewers to experience a sense of movement and change. Each brushstroke serves as a dialogue between the internal landscape of the mind and the external world, visualising emotional states influenced by the shifting seasons.


Exhibition continues until Wed 24 June.

📍Ards Arts Centre

🕙 Gallery Opening Hours
Tues - Fri: 10am - 4pm
Sat: 10am - 1pm
Sun & Mon: Closed

For more details visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/lumen

Visit Ards and North Down www.whatsonni.com

Today we are taking a closer look at sculptures by 3 of the artists exhibiting at ForM Sculpture Exhibition; Alison Hanv...
15/06/2026

Today we are taking a closer look at sculptures by 3 of the artists exhibiting at ForM Sculpture Exhibition; Alison Hanvey, Grainne Kielty, Pamela Boyd

🥈 Congratulations to Alison Hanvey, her sculpture 'Garden Party' was awarded 2nd Place at the ForM Sculpture Awards.

ForM Sculpture Exhibition is currently showing in the beautiful setting of Bangor Castle Walled Garden. 🌼

📍 Bangor Castle Walled Garden
📅 1 - 30 June
🕙 Mon - Thurs: 10am - 8pm, Fri - Sun: 10am - 6pm

ℹ For more info visit: https://andculture.org.uk/whats-on/form-sculpture-exhibition-2026

Address

Town Hall, Conway Square
Newtownards
BT234NP

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