About

The former Georgian House in Newtownards, now the home of the Arts Centre, was designed by Stratford in 1765 and completed in 1770.

Located in the beautifully restored Georgian Town Hall in the centre of Newtownards, Ards Arts Centre delivers a jam-packed programme of visual arts exhibitions, creative classes and workshops, performances of live music, dance and drama. Included in the arts programme are the annual festivals Ards International Guitar Festival and the Puppet Festival.

Housing two galleries for temporary exhibitions – the Georgian Gallery and the Sunburst Gallery – Ards Arts Centre hosts a thriving diverse visual arts programme of monthly exhibitions featuring local, national and international professional artists, touring exhibitions, as well as community initiatives and art organisations.

Fans of live music can kick back, relax, and enjoy the best affordable live music in town with the ever popular Friday night live series featuring the best of the local music scene in the atmospheric surroundings of the Londonderry Room.

If you are after a hands-on creative experience, then enroll on one of the weekly creative classes or one-day workshops including drawing, painting, sculptural textiles, figurative ceramics, guitar classes, patchwork, and mosaics to name just a few!

Please note: Ards Arts Centre is closed to the public on Sundays and Mondays, and during public holidays.  

Bronze - Green Tourism Accredited

At Ards Arts Centre, older lighting has been replaced by modern LEDs and whenever upgrades are made in this Grade A listed building, sustainability is in the forefront of decision making. Paper and plastics usage are continually reducing.