Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Councillor Sarah Duffy, in her final week in office, hosted a delegation visit to the F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio in Banbridge to highlight the progress made on a £4.4m expansion and upgrade of the facility.
Accompanying her on the Council side were Chief Executive Roger Wilson, Director of Development, Community and Wellbeing Paul Tamati, Head of Tourism, Arts and Culture Brian Johnston, Gallery Curator and Manager Dr Riann Coulter, and Alderman Paul Greenfield.
They were joined by Jenny Martin and Ryan Donaghy from the NI Team representing the UK Government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The UK Government provided £3.8m in funding to support this key infrastructure project.
The Lord Mayor expressed her enthusiasm at seeing this once-in-a-generation project come to life and praised the ambition behind this redevelopment, saying:
“The F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio serves as an important gateway to the borough’s cultural landscape. I am really excited to see our ambitious plans start to take shape as we seek to further capitalise on its A1 location and expand its role as a cultural hub attracting significantly more local, national and international visitors.
“This project will enable the Council to honour the Banbridge-born, internationally renowned sculptor’s legacy and ensure his work continues to be a source of creativity and inspiration for future generations. I look forward to seeing it come to fruition and boosting tourism across the wider region.”
The visit provided an opportunity for the delegation to gain valuable insights into the transformative impact that this major expansion will have on the wider community and hear about the Council’s strategic priorities for the accredited museum once it is completed in autumn 2026.
Even though building work is still in its early stages, those in attendance were able to see first-hand how much progress has been made in a short space of time.
Planned improvements include a new collection gallery which will make more of F.E. McWilliam’s nationally significant collection of art accessible to the public; a large education and community space; additional storage; an extended shop, café and tourism information; a Changing Places facility; more staff accommodation; a larger car park and two multi-purpose meeting rooms, available for programming and hire.
This project will not only double the size of the facility but also bring many benefits. These include allowing for a significant increase in visitor capacity; creating a thriving hub for artistic expression, learning and engagement; elevating the visitor experience and ensuring the exhibition space is more welcoming to diverse audiences.
UK Minister for Local Growth, Alex Norris, said:
“It is fantastic to hear progress is underway on transforming the internationally renowned F.E. McWilliam Art Centre into a revived cultural hub for the community and really putting Banbridge on the map.
“The gallery will provide a vital creative space for local people while also boosting tourism, jobs and economic growth across the region.”
Council officers took the opportunity to express their gratitude to the UK Government for supporting this expansion and to the Wolfson Foundation for providing £200,000 to fit out the new collection gallery and improve interpretation through multi-lingual video guides and accessible tours of the F.E. McWilliam collection in both British and Irish Sign Language.
The Council is contributing £400,000 towards this project to provide a range of new modern amenities for visitors.
The gallery will remain open and be accessible to the public throughout much of the 15-month contract period, with a new exhibition featuring the work of Belfast-based painter Barbara Freeman launching on Saturday 14th June 2025.
For regular updates and further information on this exciting expansion project, visit www.armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk/femcwilliam.
