2 Royal
Avenue
MayWe is delighted to manage 2 Royal Avenue, a new cultural venue that Belfast City Council have transformed playing host to artistic experiences, events and workshops.
2025 Opening Hours
2 Royal Avenue is open 10am-6pm Monday to Sunday.
Pop in to find some new additions to the space featuring...
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A New Installation 'Landscape with Columns and Figures' curated and commissioned by Belfast City Council with MMAS Architects and OGU Architects
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Our Kids Cosy area
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The Library Corner, featuring a selection of books for all ages by Northern Irish and Irish writers and a diversity themed collection, curated by Seamus Heaney Centre at Queens, Michaela Mc Dermott, and Orla McKeating, and supplied by No Alibis bookshop.
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A Homework Station
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Our Sensory Dome
Yallaa Café will be open from 10am-5pm Monday-Saturday and 12pm-4pm Sundays, serving delightful hot & cold beverages and delicious food, featuring a new lunch menu!
Check out whats on below!
If you are interested in using 2 Royal Avenue for an event or workshop, please contact 2royalave@maywe.co.uk
EXHIBITIONS
7 - 30 MARCH
IMPRISONED IMAGINATION
Prison Arts Foundation
Visit us at 2 Royal Avenue and witness the remarkable creativity that flourishes even in the most difficult circumstances. This inspiring exhibition showcases art, music, and writing created by individuals incarcerated in Northern Ireland’s prisons: Maghaberry, Magilligan, and Hydebank Wood College & Women’s Prison.
Curated from Prison Arts Foundation’s workshops, the exhibition features thought-provoking works, including the powerful poem For Those Who Judge. Each piece reflects the incredible resilience, imagination, and human spirit of those behind bars, offering a raw and authentic perspective.
The showcase is available to view for free every day from 7-30 March 2025 at 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast, from 10 AM – 6 PM.
Experience the talent and imagination that thrive even in the most restrictive spaces.
Guided Tours available 13, 20 & 27 March from 1:00-2:00pm:
Book a guided tour today and immerse yourself in this transformative experience. Explore how art can transcend confinement, challenge perceptions, and inspire change through the voices and stories of imprisoned individuals.
Spaces are limited, so book your place today by clicking this link
week commencing 3rd March
monDay 3 March
MONDAY MENDATHON 12pm-6pm
Belfast Repair Week
Kick off Belfast Repair Week with a Monday Mendathon! Bring along an item to repair, or just come along to find out more from Sustainable Fashion expert Sue Bamford (Tools for Solidarity) about mending techniques that will help you keep your treasured textiles in fashion for longer. Say no to fast fashion and embrace a slower, more sustainable style.
Free entry, everyone welcome. No experience necessary.
To see the full Repair Week Programme, click here
Free event. Drop in.
TUESDay 4 March
PROJECT U 10am-1pm
USEL
Project U is here to help you move closer to employment. If you’re unemployed and facing challenges due to a health condition—big or small—this free program is designed to provide practical, tailored support to overcome those obstacles.
Meeting twice a week in Belfast City Centre, you’ll take part in sessions focused on improving your wellbeing, building employability skills, and preparing for the workplace. You’ll also receive one-to-one guidance to refine your CV, identify job opportunities, and navigate the application process. With additional in-work support available through programs like Workable NI, Project U offers a full-circle approach—helping you get ready for work, secure a job, and stay on track.
Free event. Drop in.
GRAPEVINE 11am-1pm
Age Friendly Belfast
The Grapevine is a new drop-in hub for older people.
Come along, get a coffee, and catch up with the latest news and activities for older people in the city. Open 11am-1pm every Tuesday in 2 Royal Avenue.
Free Event, no booking required just drop in.
STITCHING SOLIDARITY: ACTIVISM IN TEXTILE ART SYMPOSIUM 10am-1pm
Ulster University Belfast
10:00am to 11:30am Andrea Dickson “Threads that weave us
together”
Participants will be asked to choose threads that communicate their experiences of both conflict and recovery, and which calls to them. Beads and objects of meaning can be included in the weaving. The workshop will explore the use of colour and texture as a means of communication.
Each piece will be woven using a basic weaving techniques to simplify the weave process, aid in finding joy working with the thread and help focus on communicating the meaning of the individual weaving. Participants will be asked to try and be mindful during weaving of the individual stitches’ meaning and asked to think of personal positives and affirmations to aid recovery and confidence building. Whilst weaving does require time this workshop can be done on various types of looms and sizes to accommodate various lengths of time based on the need and availability. To aid the workshop all looms will be prepared ready for use beforehand.
12:00pm to 1pm: Pamela Whitaker “Badge of Honour”
This is an open studio to create a stitched badge of honour to be worn as a testimony to resilience and fortitude. The badge will represent each person's story of persistence, a stitched emblem for overcoming adversity and the living out of purposeful convictions. This sewing circle will highlight passages from the article Textile Pedagogies: Stitching as Reflective Practice written by Pamela Whitaker, Lorna Dillon and Érika Silva earlier this year which advocates on behalf of textile activism and women's sewing circles.
Free Event, no booking required.
wednesDay 5 March
WORK AND WELLBEING EVENT 10am-2pm
Shaftsbury Square Jobs and Benefits Office
Speak to the right person that can help you on your path to secure employment.
• Employment opportunities with Wineflair, Pure Gym, Securitas, Healthcare Ireland, Filoheart Ireland, Titanic Belfast, Industrial Temps, The Recruitment Co and SGL Security
• Training with Belfast City Council Training Academies, Belfast Met Skill Up, Belfast Works, Women’s TEC, King’s Trust and Springboard
• SkillSET employment support with NOW Group, Action Mental Health, Disability Action and NIACRO
• Support advice with Universal Credit, Housing Rights, Aware, Gateway to Choices and Carer’s NI
No appointment is necessary, so feel free to drop in.
Free event. Drop in.
thursDay 6 march
PANDAS FOUNDATION BELFAST SUPPORT GROUP 10am-1pm
Pandas Foundation
More information to follow.
Free event.
FriDay 7 march
FÉILE CÉILÍ WORKSHOP/ CEARDLANN CÉILÍ FÉILE 2pm-4pm
Féile an Phobail
Come along to 2RA for a free Céilí as part of this years’ Féile an Phobail. No previous Céilí dancing experiences required as expert guidance and tuition will be given.
Perfect your current Céilí skills, or learn new dances at a relaxing leisurely pace. No partner needed, although by all means bring a spouse, sibling or friend.
For enquires, email: info@feilebelfast.com
Free event. No booking required.
sunDay 9 march
COVID 19 DAY OF REFLECTION 2pm-4pm
Memory Stones of Love/Cruse Bereaved NI
Sunday 9th March is the Covid 19 Day of Reflection.
We will be marking the day by holding a remembrance concert with music, poems and readings at 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast. Were delighted to be joined by the amazing singers from Newtownabbey Arts Cultural Network and the Belfast Rock Choir.
We will have on display our Memory Stones of Love with inscriptions of those we lost during the pandemic.
We will pause for a minutes silence before walking the short distance to Belfast City Hall as the building illuminates Yellow to remember the wonderful individual we miss each and every day.
Free event. No booking required.
SUNDAY CHESS 2pm-5pm
Roaming Knights
Belfast City Chess meet up. This is a free weekly social meet up for chess players. It is not a chess club, or tournament. Under 16s must be accompanied by responsible adult.
Free event. Contact roamingknightsni@gmail.com for more info.
