‘A champion of contemporary, experimental art’: why Belfast’s The MAC is one of the UK’s most unmissable art galleries

In case you missed it, last month Time Out unveiled our rundown of the greatest art galleries in the UK. The list of 16 venues features a couple of blockbuster names like London’s Royal Academy and Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery (aka the ‘National Gallery of the North’). But there’s also a roster of more compact but equally worthy spaces in seaside towns, quiet suburbs and smaller cities. 

One such place is the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) in Belfast, which we ranked fourth. The only permanent display you’ll find here is the multicoloured wire installation by Mark Garry suspended above the main foyer, titled ‘The Permanent Present’ (pictured above). But we primarily featured the Cathedral Quarter venue for the ‘reliably brilliant’ programme of exhibitions in its three art galleries and for being ‘a champion of contemporary, experimental art in Northern Ireland and beyond’. 

In recent years, the MAC has held shows tracing the history of the flower in art and politics, confronting the inequalities and injustices within Belfast and reimagining the lost artworks of 20th-century Palestinian-Lebanese artist Maroun Tomb.

I recently stopped by to see artist and fiddle player Susan Hughes’ exhibition A Feeling in the Blood, which includes an endearing collection of archival material (like traditional costumes, instruments, letters and sheet music) from musicians, singers and dancers and their families across Ireland, and coincided with the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the world’s biggest festival of Irish music. That one runs until October 18. 

Coming up, from November until February it’ll host Unruly Ordinances, a major group exhibition of queer artists from the last two decades, including Reuben Brown, Batool Desouky and Sarah Joy Ford. 

Entry to the MAC’s gallery spaces is totally free. Not only can you see great art here, you can also catch excellent theatre, comedy and workshops. The Fleadh is happening in Belfast for a second time next summer, so we’ll bet good money the MAC will be holding more Irish trad-related events for the occasion. 

🖼️ Check out the full list of Time Out’s best UK art galleries here.

Did you see that a major UK museum exhibition will be all about Billy Connolly?

Plus: a £12 million new attraction in Manchester is the UK’s biggest urban farm.