Ards Arts Centre Exhibition Proposal 2026

Overview

Image: Lisa Ballard, 2023, Georgian Gallery, Ards Arts Centre

Ards Arts Centre Exhibition Proposal 2026

Ards and North Down Arts Service invites professional practising artists (solo and group shows), recent graduates, art organisations, and local community groups to apply to exhibit their artwork at Ards Arts Centre, Northern Ireland, in 2026.

As part of their exciting exhibitions programme, Ards Arts Centre aims to showcase a wide variety of contemporary visual and applied arts to cover a broad range of mediums and concepts from emerging to established artists from across the North and South of Ireland.

The Arts Centre has two galleries for temporary exhibitions; the Georgian Gallery and the Sunburst Gallery. The two galleries host exhibitions by local, national, and internationally* acclaimed artists, as well as local community initiatives and art organisations.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

• Thursday 11 September 2025, 11:59pm (sharp)

You are encouraged to complete your application at your earliest convenience and not on the date of the deadline in case you encounter internet or connection issues. Please allow plenty of time to submit your application. 

If you require assistance with your application, please contact us at arts@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk no later than Friday 5 September at 12noon and a member of staff will get back to you. 

EXHIBITION SELECTION CRITERIA

Exhibitions will be assessed on the following criteria:

• Quality of artwork – high standard of work with regard to artistic merit and presentation
• Originality of work
• Quality of concept (theme) and content of proposed exhibition

Please read the Exhibition Policy below for full details of the selection process, and other considered criteria.

SUPPORT MATERIALS:

Please have the following essential information/documents ready BEFORE you complete this application:

• Up-to-date Artist's CV (PDF or Word Document only)
• Prepare an Artist's Statement / Group Statement (no more than 300 words / 1,200 characters)
• Prepare a Description of Proposed Exhibition (no more than 500 words / 2,000 characters)
• No less than 3 and no more than 6 high quality images of the work you propose to exhibit - this may be your past work if your work proposed to exhibit is still in progress, however it is beneficial to include examples of your work that will be similar to what you are proposing (JPEG or PNG files only)
• If you/your group currently hold Public and Products Liability Insurance, please provide a copy of your current Policy.

Exhibition 'Payments in Kind':

In an effort to accommodate a wide range of artists wishing to showcase their work, Ards Arts Centre’s 'payments in kind' would include the following free of charge to every artist or group selected to exhibit:

• There is no submission fee to propose to exhibit at Ards Arts Centre and artists are not charged a gallery hire fee to exhibit
• Curatorial assistance, if required
• A Works Team to hang / install wall hung work, if required
• An opening preview event to include wine and refreshments, and staffing included
• Marketing and promotion to include; promotion and distribution of ANDculture printed materials (ANDculture Arts and Heritage Guide, fliers, posters, etc) promotion on our website, press releases to local press, Email marketing to include preview invitations to our database (currently 5,000 subscribers), promotion on external arts and events websites, promotion before and during the exhibition across our social media channels, etc
• Minimal exhibition catalogue / list of works
• Invigilation and staffing for the duration of the exhibition

*International Artists

International artists (those outside of Ireland), and mainland UK artists, who are already confirmed to be exhibiting in Ireland in 2026 are welcome to apply as a touring exhibition, however please be advised that all transport and travel costs to and from the exhibition will be the responsibility of the artist. 

It is also the responsibility of the artist to research and follow any procedures and costs relating to your country for import and export to Northern Ireland (including conditions relating to Brexit), and would need to be clearly outlined in the exhibition proposal.

IMPORTANT:

Please read the Exhibition Policy carefully before completing this application.

You can find other helpful information in the documents under 'Related' at the bottom of this page.

It is recommended that before submitting your application that you click the 'save and come back later' button at the bottom left of each page. This will save your work allowing you to return to it. If you click submit without saving your work, and you experience an IT issue or loss of internet connection, your work will be lost and you will have to start again. 

Once applicants have successfully submitted their proposal on the system, they will receive an automated acknowledgement email with their unique reference number. Please check your junk folder. If you do not receive this email, then your application has not been submitted.

If you experience any problems with this online application form, please contact Ards Arts Centre before the deadline: arts@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk