The Metropolitan Arts Centre, usually referred to as the MAC, is an arts venue in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter and is home to all kinds of exhibitions, theatre performances, experimental works. The MAC is a cultural hub and a vital shared space in Belfast. Open 363 days per year, the MAC offers an eclectic programme of visual art, theatre, dance, family workshops and lots more. Since opening in 2012, some 1.5 million visitors have come through the doors of the MAC. In 2015 the MAC was shortlisted for the

Museum of the Year The Museum of the Year Award, formerly known as the Gulbenkian Prize and the Art Fund Prize, is an annual prize awarded to a museum or gallery in the United Kingdom for a "track record of imagination, innovation and excellence". The award of £ ...

prize, with sponsor

The Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charitable organization, charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for man ...

stating that “Belfast’s new arts venue presented an outstanding programme in 2014 and established itself as a world-class attraction”.

Architecture

Designed by Belfast-based architectural practice Hackett Hall McKnight, the MAC sits on a roughly trapezium-shaped site opposite St Anne's Cathedral. The building, completed in February 2012, consists of a number of intersecting brick volumes and a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

tower topped with three stories of glazing. The project won a 2013

RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

National Award and was awarded the 2014 Downes Medal by the

Architectural Association of Ireland The Architectural Association of Ireland is an organisation dedicated to architecture in Ireland. It is not a professional accredited organisation but is open to all. Its activities include the organisation of a public lecture series, an annual ar ...

''The Permanent Present''

The MAC has a single permanent artwork: ''The Permanent Present'' by Irish artist Mark Garry. The work was jointly commissioned by the MAC and The Thomas Devlin Fund, a charity set up in memory of murdered teenager Thomas Devlin, and consists of 400 copper strands in a spectrum of colours reaching from a high window down to the first floor. Anne McReynolds, Chief Executive of the MAC, said the aim was “to commission an artwork that would comment on The Thomas Devlin Fund’s commitment to highlighting the futility of violence as well as the hopes and aspirations of our young people”, and artist Mark Garry stated that he “wanted to create a work that is positive and hopeful”.

References

External links

Official website

Project architect’s website
{{authority control Art museums established in 2012 Art museums and galleries in Northern Ireland 2012 establishments in Northern Ireland