North Ayrshire ~ Irvine and Kilwinning
- North Ayrshire
- Vennel Gallery
- Irvine Burns Club
- Harbour Arts Centre
- Kilwinning Abbey Tower
- Scottish Maritime Museum
- Open Art Exhibition
Links to Arts Workers: Irvine
Follow this LINK for Irvine and district Tourist Information.
Housing and restored public buildings in Irvine Port.
©Mike Bailey
The Harbour Arts Centre (HAC), situated on Irvine's picturesque Harbourside was re-opened in 2006 following major refurbishment funded by the National Lottery and North Ayrshire Council.
The Centre is the cultural hub of North Ayrshire, providing quality exhibitions, art & drama classes, theatre, comedy, live music, special events and much more.
Theatre in the Harbour Arts Centre ca 1980.
The dedicated Arts Team, comprising of Arts specialists and administration and support staff, strive to provide something for everyone at this state of the art venue.
Box Office 01294 274059
Email harbour arts@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Web:www.harbourarts.org.uk
Please follow this LINK for the history of the Harbour Arts Centre since 1967
Kilwinning Abbey Tower Heritage Centre
Kilwinning Abbey Today ©daswede
Built in 1816, in the ruins of the town's 12th century Abbey, the heritage centre displays the fascinating history of both the abbey and the town of Kilwinning.
Kilwinning Abbey Tower is the home of the oldest archery competition in the world. Every June archers gather to try and shoot the papingo (a wooden pigeon) at the top of the tower.
The heritage centre is manned by the Kilwinning and District Preservation Society on behalf of North Ayrshire Council .
Free Admission
with
Wheelchair access to the ground floor only.
Access to top of tower is up steep stairs.
Opening Hours: June to September
Friday, Saturday & Sunday:
1pm - 3pm
Follow this Link for further information.
The Vennel Gallery is housed in a restored 18th century cottage in the Glasgow Vennel conservation area.
The gallery includes the Heckling Shop where Robert Burns, worked as a flax heckler. The
Lodging House where Burns lived is close by.
Heckling Shop, Irvine
There is a small shop at the gallery offering locally made crafts and jewellery.
The gallery is open throughout the year:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
10am - 1pm & 2pm - 5pm
There is no charge for Admission and there is
wheelchair access to Gallery and Heckling Shop
Follow this Link for further information
Robert Burns lived and worked in Irvine in
1781-82, and two of the founders of Irvine Burns Club in 1826 were men
who had known the poet
The Burns Club museum at 'Wellwood', in
Irvine, contains manuscripts, paintings and other artefacts, together with
an audio-visual display. Their web site includes a variety of on-line resources.
The Irvine Burns Museum open four times weekly from April to September,
and weekly on Saturdays during the winter. Admission is free.
For further information please follow this LINK
Steeplejack ©Mike
Bailey
Rivergate Shopping Area. ©Mike
Bailey
North Ayrshire Open Art Exhibition
North Ayrshire Open Art Exhibition at Eglinton Park.
The North Ayrshire Open Art Exhibition is an annual event within the Racquet Hall, Eglinton Country Park.
This Open Exhibition was initiated by North Ayrshire Council 1996. In the earliest years, it was limited to artists from North Ayrshire and there were no prizes. Now it attracts artists from all parts of Scotland.
Since 2001 a committee of artists has assumed responsibility for the project. That year, the exhibition attracted sponsorship from British Nuclear Fuels. This sponsorship allowed three prize awards of £1000, £500, and £250, ensuring that there was a high quality of submissions and helping the event gain national significance.
Year on year, the organisers have built on earlier successes and attracted a variety of sponsors who contribute to the venue costs and the art prizes.
The prize awards for the 2009 exhibition were sponsored by Cleland Crosbie, Kingscroft Logistics Ltd, The
Rotary Club of Irvine, the Arran Art Gallery and Miller’s Art of Glasgow. Additionally, the Exhibition Committee awarded a prize of £500 .
Follow this for further information.
Three sites on Irvine's harbourside house Scotland's museum of ships,
boats, boat building, engineering and maritime heritage, collecting,
preserving and interpreting Scottish maritime history.
The Linthouse Building, Scottish Maritime Museum. ©Mike
Bailey
In the Boatshop are exhibitions, ship models and a research area, as well as the museum shop. Guided tours start here throughout the day.
You can also visit Scotland's "Cathedral to Engineering", the Linthouse Engine Shop, built in 1872. Here you can explore much of the Museum's collection indoors, including shipbuilding machinery and machine tools, smaller boats, canoes, lifeboats, and much more.
On a guided tour you can visit the shipyard workers" tenement flat, restored to its pre-1920s appearance.
Puffer's Coffee shop on the wharf is open all year, for coffee, lunches and delicious cakes.
The museum also has two other sites: The Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank at Dumbarton, where you can step into the world of the Victorian ship designer, and Clydebuilt Maritime Museum at Braehead, which explores the story of the River Clyde.
Opening Hours:
April - October 2012
daily 10am - 5pm
Admission
Adults £4.00
Child £3.00
Concession £3.00
Family £12.00
For further information please follow this LINK.
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