The MAC, Belfast
At the Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC), we have a clear and ambitious aim – to make Northern Ireland a better place by creating space for people to imagine, enjoy, participate in, and create art. We are in the business of moving Northern Ireland forward, leaving no one behind.
The MAC works because it is full of people – workers, artists, customers, and community partners – who are deeply committed to helping Northern Ireland achieve its full potential. Our customer research tells us time and again that the MAC makes people proud to be from Belfast and Northern Ireland because of the role our work plays in breaking down old, tired, and constraining beliefs.
What is the MAC?
The MAC is one of Ireland’s leading arts centres and a hotbed of creativity. Since its opening in 2012, the MAC has quickly become a beacon for the ongoing regeneration of Belfast, offering an eclectic programme of visual art, theatre, dance, family workshops, and more.
Our core values are centred on our twin commitments to art and to audiences. We support artists in creating and presenting new and often challenging work. Above all, we champion artistic excellence. We value partnerships by co-designing, co-creating, and co-delivering – enabling artists, other charities, communities, health organisations, and educational & arts groups throughout Northern Ireland to present ideas, challenge conventions, and showcase their creativity.
When we talk about art, we mean hope.
The MAC exists for everyone – always for the many, never the few. This is a crucial tenet of what we do. We live this in many ways: through our outreach work, affordable ticket prices, a free family room, subsidised transport for school groups, and deep partnerships with some of our socio-economically deprived communities here in North Belfast and further afield. Last year alone, we worked with 50,574 people from our poorest neighbourhoods, including children living in poverty and people who are struggling with addiction, mental ill health, and homelessness.
These are just some of the ways in which the MAC opens wide its doors to share the true, transformative power of art. Now, as we look to our next ten years, we hope to consolidate our organisation at the heart of our community as a safe, engaging, rewarding, and inspiring space for all.
Why we need your help now.
The Troubles took a heavy toll on our society, and the poorest citizens continue to pay a heavy and disproportionate price.
The arts in Northern Ireland have been systematically de-funded over many years. Some have tried to co-opt culture for political purposes by characterising it as green or orange, all while devaluing the power of great art to transform lives and communities.
Our young people, our artists, and our society deserve better, and we know that the arts can transform small-mindedness into big thinking.
How you can help.
To do this work, we must raise around $3.5M each year. We have been – and continue to be – highly successful in attracting investment from central and city government and from grant-giving trusts and foundations. We could do so much more with additional support.
With the help of our friends in the US, we secured peace, and we need your help again now to finish the job by tackling the legacy of the conflict so that lasting reconciliation can occur. Our people need hope and pathways to a new and better future.
Please donate today, and we promise your donation will make a real difference for people back home in Northern Ireland.
Learn more about the MAC here.
Support the MAC with a tax-deductible gift below. 100 cents of every dollar of your gift will go directly to the MAC.
You can also mail a check to The Irish American Partnership at 15 Broad Street, Suite 210, Boston, MA 02109 and note “The MAC” in the memo.