Queen Street Studios celebrates four decades of creativity in the heart of Belfast

Belfast has long been a hub for creatives and artists alike, and one particular group has survived more than four decades in the city.

Starting out in 1984 in their birthplace of Queen’s Street, QSS (Queen Street Studios) now operates on Bloomfield Avenue in east Belfast with 48 studios and an expansive gallery space, but maintains its original name.

Back in the early ’80s there was no studio provision or art suppliers in Belfast, no real gallery accessibility for non-established artists and little support for graduates.

QSS emerged in 1984 as a direct response to these challenges, starting on the top floor of a former printer’s on Queen Street with 11 artists and a grant of £3,000 from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Now 40 years on, in celebration of the artists who have found their creative space in QSS, an ongoing exhibition is taking place until December 12 with work from more than 60 artists made up of both past and present members of the group.

The exhibition will also feature participatory events, including Open Studios, artist talks, workshops, school visits and professional development opportunities.

An archival display will document QSS’s evolution over four decades, to include photographs, posters, historical documents and more.

QSS is generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council and the Esme Mitchell Trust.

Micky Donnelly (deceased) Joined QSS: 1984

Belfast man Micky Donnelly was one of the 11 founding members of QSS and also a founder member of the Artists Collective of Northern Ireland. After studying art at the University of Ulster, Belfast, he explored themes of nature and culture in his work. He exhibited paintings, drawings and installations in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Ireland, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Canada and America, and was included in a number of high-profile international survey exhibitions of Irish Art. He was also a recipient of the prestigious Rome Scholarship and was elected as a member of Aosdána in 1996.

Gerry Devlin Joined QSS: 1989

Gerry Devlin holds a BA in Fine Art and an MFA in Studio Arts (Painting) from Syracuse University. His work has earned multiple accolades, including prizes at Strictly Painting 11 in Virginia, Munsen-Williams-Proctor Museum in New York and the Claremorris Open, Ireland. A retired full-time lecturer (2004–2022) at the University of Ulster, his teaching career focused on Foundation Studies in Art & Design. His legacy spans decades of creative influence both as an artist and educator. He joined QSS five years after it started. “I have seen the organisation go from strength to strength, from less than 20 to a studio membership of around 50,” he said.

Terry McAllister (pictured with fellow member John Mathers). Joined QSS: 1990.

Terry has worked as a professional artist in Belfast since graduating in Fine Art from the University of Ulster’s College of Art in 1990. He was a founder member of the Emperor’s New Clothes Group and is a long-standing member of QSS. Specialising in drawing and painting, his work is included in the collections of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, as well as private collections in Ireland, the UK and abroad.

Darcy Patterson Joined QSS: 2022

Darcy Patterson completed a BA Hons Degree in Fine Art at the Belfast School of Art (2022). She specialises in sculpture and installations, which are made using a variety of mediums and through augmenting found objects. Her work revolves around the theme of home and she aims to tap into the common mutual experiences of everyday life. Recent exhibitions include: CONNECTIONS, an open-air group exhibition along the Lagan Towpath (2024); Some kind of feeling, two-person show at QSS; Strange Brew, new members’ group show at QSS, QSS Member’s Show, 35DP, Belfast and, Emergence VI, QSS (all 2023)

Mollie Browne Joined QSS: 2023

Mollie completed a First-Class BA Hons Degree in Fine Art at Ulster University (2023). Awards include ACNI SIAP General Art Award, RUA Award, Engine Room Gallery Graduate Award, PS2 Graduate Award and The Thomas Devlin Fund, The Community Foundation for NI. She was a shortlisted finalist for the Ingram Prize and the Global Design Graduate Show in collaboration with Gucci. Her primary medium consists of acetone manipulation on photographic images. The Co Tyrone artist was also the recipient of the QSS Graduate Bursary Award which offered her one-year access to a 298sq foot professional studio space and involvement in QSS opportunities. “The moment [I received] a tour of the gallery and showed my new studio space, I felt an immediate sense of belonging and creative possibility,” she said.

Jennifer Trouton Joined QSS: 1997

Ten months after completing her Fine Art degree at the University of Ulster, Jennifer moved into a small studio on the fourth floor of a neglected building on Queen Street. “Queen Street Studios (QSS) became my first and only studio, and 27 years later, I still feel fortunate to be part of this historic group,” she said. “QSS was set up in 1984 during the Troubles and I joined it just before the Good Friday Agreement was signed. Perhaps mirroring the city itself, we’ve faced persistent challenges, from securing financial support and building security to ensuring decent working conditions. Yet these struggles have been met with significant triumphs, including setting up the QSS Gallery in 2000 and Digital Arts Studios in 2003. Our two relocations provided us with improved facilities and fuelled our growth in size and confidence. My current studio, with its sturdy, dry walls, heating, and lift, is worlds apart from the cold, damp garret where I began. Throughout these changes, QSS has remained my anchor, and I hope it continues to thrive for future generations of artists.” Jennifer’s painting work has been extensively exhibited both nationally and internationally, and throughout her career she has garnered numerous awards.

Clement McAleer Joined QSS: 2003

Clement studied in Belfast then Canterbury and the Royal College of Art, London. After working in a studio at the Bluecoat Arts Centre in Liverpool, Clement came to join the QSS group in Belfast (2003). He has had regular solo exhibitions in London, Dublin, Belfast and Liverpool and has been included in many group exhibitions at home and abroad as well as a retrospective exhibition at FE McWilliam Gallery in 2023. The focus of McAleer’s paintings is primarily landscape. A member of QSS for more than 20 years, Clement said that being part of the group has proved “invaluable”. “Sharing the space with other artists is consistently inspiring, and the interactions that take place are incredibly enriching,” he said. “The QSS Gallery has expanded the organisation’s vision and reach with extensive exhibitions from near and far. I hope this continues for many years to come.”

Sharon Kelly Joined QSS: 2019

Sharon, who is from the West County in England but moved to Northern Ireland in the mid-1980s, said joining QSS has been “one of the most positive experiences.” “Being part of a broad network of artists making diverse work; supported by a dynamic board; getting to know a younger generation of artists has all been rewarding,” she said. “Having worked in some squalid studios over many, many years, it has been uplifting to have good studio provision and this has an impact on my well-being. I think all this has had more than a co-incidental effect on my art practice, which I feel has taken a new energy!” Sharon has exhibited in various galleries across the UK as well as further afield. In November 2023 she was awarded the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Major Individual Award. Recent research and work have been supported by The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, USA and in 2023 she completed a fellowship at the British School at Rome, Italy.

Anushiya Sundaralingam Joined QSS: 2019

Sri Lankan artist Anushiya joined QSS in 2019 and specialises in mixed media, installation work and printmaking. She completed a BA in Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Ulster, and now works as an artist and arts facilitator for various public, private, and health organisations. She has shown in numerous group exhibitions throughout Northern Ireland, together with selected group shows in Dublin, Galway and London. She said: “When my surroundings change, through displacement, whether by choice or not, I respond and adapt. I work with a range of media to reflect the intricate and layered nature of belonging, identity, place and conflict. The most recent development within my work has engaged with and responded to the exploration of woman’s identity within my culture.”

Amanda Coogan Joined QSS: 2015

Amanda is an internationally recognised and critically acclaimed artist working across the media of live art, performance, sculpture and installation. Her extraordinary work is challenging, provocative and always visually stimulating. Using gesture and context she makes allegorical and poetic works that are multi-faceted, and challenge expected contexts. Among many awards, Amanda exhibited her work extensively in the US, the Netherlands, France as well as across the UK and Ireland. She said of her QSS studio space: “Bumping into each other in the corridor we check in and share; how do you mix that particular colour; what is your experience of hanging an artwork from the ceiling; what way does that gallery work? Advice is shared generously, always knitted with delicious stories. Studio spaces for artists are essential to the cultural life and the ecology of all cities. They subtly transform the place they inhabit. By osmosis Belfast seeps into our work and, in turn, our practice, molecule by small molecule, spreads through the streets of this great city.”

Chris Wilson Joined QSS: 1984

Although no longer a studio holder, Chris is a founding member of QSS and featured in their 40th anniversary exhibition.

He is a sculptor and painter living on the north coast. Born in Glengormley in 1959, Chris attended Brighton College of Art where he was taught by Antony Gormley. His work ranges in scale from small bronze landscapes to large scale public art works and he is currently completing a large public commission in Derry, celebrating the history of the city’s shirt factories. Chris has received numerous awards including the Bass Ireland Arts Award and the RUA Gold Medal. His work has been exhibited throughout Ireland, the UK and abroad, including the USA, France, Germany, Canada, Bulgaria and Romania.

​The QSS Christmas Market Open Studios will take place on Saturday, November 30 (12 noon to 5pm)