A collaborative exhibition between Connections Arts Centre, Art is Collective and Mencap Northern Ireland
- Exhibition open: Thursday 2 July – Friday 21 August 2026
- Late Night Art Belfast: Thursday 2 July from 5:00 – 9:00 pm and 6 August 2026 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm
- Artist Talk: Thursday 9 July 2026 from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
- Gallery Opening hours: Tuesday – Friday, from 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Message from the CEO and Artistic Director
Edel Murphy says: “What Lies Within is an exhibition of work brought to you through a collaboration between three partnering organisations: Art is Collective (Belfast); Connections Arts Centre (Dublin); and Mencap Northern Ireland. These three outstanding organisations deliver programming that develops skills and professional ambition for artists who have a learning or mental health disability.
The work is eclectic and diverse. Each artist has worked independently on their own pieces. There is a common thread of exploration and discovery – uncovering what is seldom seen, the layers beneath, and finding a voice through arts. The exhibition is called ‘What Lies Within’, as it is from the creative depths that these works have come”.
Art is Collective artist studio space is currently located at 2 Royal Avenue in Belfast as an assisted studio model. Connections Arts Centre is a social enterprise working alongside adults living with intellectual disabilities and neurodivergent adults based in Dublin.
Mencap Northern Ireland’s contribution to this exhibition is a film from their project ‘Positive Identities, Inclusive Futures’, which places people with a learning disability at the centre of conversations about identity, understanding and reconciliation.
University of Atypical, 109-113 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1FF
028 90239450
More information: https://universityofatypical.org/gallery/whats-on/what-lies-within/
