Image: Alacoque Davey, detail from ‘Future/Forward’ exhibition
47 self-contained spaces for rent 1 bursary studio 52 artists (50 studio holders + 2 associates) 99.7% studio occupancy rate 12 QSS gallery exhibitions 2 off-site exhibitions 1.214on-site gallery visitors 450 off-site exhibition visitors 90 exhibiting artists (QSS artists counted once across multiple shows) 1 Patron Scheme 43 artwork sales
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
VALUES Loyalty Inclusiveness Honesty Respectfulness Outward looking Professional Friendly Equal Trustworthy An organisation with integrity STUCTURE.GOVERNANCE& MANAGEMENT Queen Street Studios was founded in 1984 and reconstituted in 1994 as a company limited by guarantee. defined by the Companies Act 2006. The organisation is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and managed by a voluntary Board of Directors with support f rom two part-time em ployees (Membership & Development Off icer and Board Secretary). DIRECTORS& ORGANISATION STRUCTURES The QSS Board meet approximately every six weeks. Current board membership comprises four studio artists and four external Board members with experience in high level management, marketing and finance. The directors. who are also the trustees of the charity (for the purpose of charity law), who served during the year are as follows: Heather Moorhead Jim McKeever James Fair Jessica Pea rson (Resigned 8 June 2022) Majella Clancy Heather Wells Dan Ferguson (Resigned 24 January 2023) Joy Gerrard David Haughey Sharon Kelly io
11
12
13
Amanda Coogan , They come then the birds, RUA Red, 25 June - 18 September 2021 14
STUD1027(2ND FLOOR) ALACOQUE DAVEY Iiii',11 STUD104(2NDFLOOR) JOY GERRARD 15
ACHIEVEMENTS& PERFORMANCE In September 2022 QSS expanded into the 1st Floor of the premises we occupy, increasing our studio provision by 30%. As a result. we now provide 48 high quality. self-contained studios for 50 artists at varying career stsges. The affordability of these studios enabled our members to maintain their creative practices throughout 2022123, despite the rising cost of living and growing precarity of income. Additionally, with supportfrom Belfast City Council (BCC) and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI), QSS refurbished a large under-used area (onto which ten of our 2nd Floor studios open) into a second ga Ilerylevent space. Together with the purchase of new digitsl equipment we can now showcase a more diverse range of work by a larger number of artists. These improvements have also increased our scope to partner with other organisations and increase our audience reach. Each year QSS reinvests a percentage of its turnover in artistic activities directly benef itting studio holders and external, early career artists. In 2022-23 these activities included exhibition opportunities, artwork documentation, online promotion, a graduate bursary (12 months free studio provision awarded to Belfast School of Art graduate R•ub•n Brown) and the culmination of an in-house mentorlng project entitled Future/Forward (in colla boration with local curator, Jane Morrow) across three exhibitions (June/July/August 2022). The last of these exhibitions was held at the MART Gallery in Dublin in August 2022 (subsequently. seven of our artists were selected to exhibit in Los Angeles with MART). Further QSS exhibitions included (i)'Quotations' by netlabel'Quills that Whis- perf (included Una Lee. JJ Devereaux and HIVE Choir) and'A Land Unknown, by Cyrill Lim & Marcel Zaes, both of which were part of the Sonorities Festival of sound and music; (ii)'Fuse' an exhibition by fifteen MFA 1st year students from the Belfast School of Art; (iii)'Lands in Between, by Kwok Tsul (QSS) and Ben Malcolmson; (iv)'Structures' a solo-show by Majellaclancy (QSS), (v)'Did that really happeny a two-person show by Dan Feryuson (QSS) and Patrick Colhoun, (vi)'knockoff, weltan- schauungv by Vasilli (i stIn*kI (QSS) and Ronan Smyth: (vii) Qss'third artist support pledge exhibition (with works priced £220 or under) and Christmas Show (various price points); (viii) 'Emergence Vi, a group show by fifteen BA graduates from the Belfast School of Art; (ix) Oscillate Quietly, a solo show by Clare French (QSS): and. (x) 'Hinterlands (Hearty by Hannah Clegg (QSS). Outside of QSS linked events. 91% of our artists exhibited in Northern Ireland (Banbridge, Bangor, Belfast, Derry/Londonderry. Lisburn. Newtownards), 57% in the Republic of Ireland (Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Roscommon and Sligo) and 19% in Great Britain (Anglesey, Bristol, Caithness, London. Manchester. Norwich. Plymouth and Swansea). Complimented by exhibitions in Antwerp (Vasiliki Stasinaki and Majella Clancy), Barcelona (lan Cumberland), Berlin (Majella Clancy), Los Angeles (David Haughey). Paris (J•nnif•rT routon), Wuppertal. Germany (Am•nda Coogan) residencies in Rome (Sharon Kelly) and New York (Joy Gerrnrd) these activities give a strong and 16
17
18
19
20
21
22
oss-p PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE LAUNCH OF QUEEN STREET STUDIOS PATRON SCHEME OPENING DRINKS AND EXHIBITION THURSDAY 09.03.23 6:00PM - 8:30PM EXHIBITION OPEN FRIDAY 10.03.23 12:00PM - 6:00PM SATURDAY 11.03.23 2..00PM - 4:00PM EXHIBITION VENUE 35DP. 3RD FLOOR. 35 DONEGALL PL. BELFAST Bn 5BB (ABOVE BOOTS) Drinks sponsored by Muriel's Café Bar PIWDIR Belfast City Council 85DP CLANME WIRE FOX sd 23
24
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION R•gist•red Addre••: Queen Street Studios, The Arches Centre, 11-13 Bloomfield Avenue. Belfast BT5 SAA Charity Commission Number In Northern Ireland: N1100835 H M RC Reference: X0286194 Company Number: N1028725 Accountants: Muldoon & Co Chartered Accountants 16 Mount Charles Belfast BT7 1NZ Bankers: Bank of Ireland BelFast City Branch Belfast BT12BA +44 (0)7495 013947 aller ueenstreetstud ios.net www. ueenstreetstudios.net htt www.facebook.com SSArtistStudios htt twitter.com SSArtStudios htt www.insta ram.com ssartstudios Photography: Tim Millen (studios), Paul Marshall. Simon Mills & Anushiya Sundaralingam (exhibitions) PRINCIPAL FUNDER arti counci ot Northorn Ireland