Launch: Thursday 5th June 5-8pm

Dates: 5th June – 17th July 2025

Gallery: Vertical Gallery

Linen Hall Library, 17 Donegall Square N, BT1 5GB

A touring exhibition celebrating Northern Irish art and the Golden Thread Gallery. Taking place at Linen Hall Library, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Golden Thread Gallery is proud to continue How We Got To… at Linen Hall Library, a touring exhibition that reflects on the past, present, and future of Northern Irish contemporary art – and of the Gallery itself.

This exhibition has been created to mark a significant moment in the evolution of GTG, celebrating our rich history of supporting and showcasing some of the most powerful and important contemporary artworks made within and about Northern Ireland over the last five decades. Many of these works, created during the height of the Troubles, through the post-Agreement era, and responding to broader cultural and political discourse, have rarely been seen by the public.

How We Got To… at Linen Hall Library invites a selection of artists to revisit their past encounters with GTG and respond with new, small-scale works. These pieces have travelled across community venues including local libraries and public spaces, tracing a path from North Belfast to our new home on Queen Street. The exhibition will culminate in these works entering the permanent Collection which is a key step in our future growth.

Exploring themes such as identity, nature, belonging, and transformation, How We Got To… is more than a retrospective, it’s a celebration of resilience, collaboration, and the enduring power of art in Northern Ireland. It is also a bold step toward making these artworks more accessible to people from all walks of life in Belfast.

We are incredibly excited about what lies ahead for the Golden Thread Gallery. How We Got To… is just the beginning of our next chapter.

Image credit:

Jack Pakenham, The Idealists’ Progress 1986

Acrylic Painting on Board

Photographed by Simon Mills for Golden Thread Gallery