A long-standing Co Down gallery has entered a new chapter after changing hands for the first time in more than 20 years.
The Yard Gallery in Holywood was taken over by contemporary fine artist Kathryn Callaghan in July after its previous owners Jim and Nicki Beattie made the decision to retire.
Speaking to The Irish News, Kathryn said being entrusted with the gallery was both “exciting and terrifying in equal parts”.
“It’s such a privilege and an honour to be asked to take over the business,” she says.
“I know I’ve said it before and it’s a bit of a cliché, but it is definitely a dream come true.
“I have to just make sure I do it justice. So that’s the terrifying bit. Everything else is wonderful.”
Co Down artist Kathryn Callaghan recently took over Yard Gallery in Holywood after more than 20 years under the same ownership. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
The gallery opened its doors in 2005 alongside its sister business Coffee Yard, which is now run by Jim and Nicki’s sons, Chris and Richard.
Over the past two decades, it has become a familiar fixture in Holywood, bringing together art, food and coffee in a relaxed setting.
Kathryn is keen to preserve the ethos the family has built during that time, not least because of her own long-standing connection to the gallery.
Yard was one of the first galleries to take a chance on her work when she was still finding her feet as a professional artist.
“I came in with my work unframed and unsure,” she recalls.
“Jim said, ‘Yeah, do you know what? Bring those pieces back here framed. I’m going to put them on the wall.’
“We agreed a price and they sold literally within a couple of days.
“So he asked for some more and it just snowballed from there.”
Kathryn Callaghan at Yard Gallery, one of the first galleries to champion her work when she was starting out as a professional artist. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
Fourteen years later, the offer to become the gallery’s next owner came just as unexpectedly, with Kathryn browsing in Marks & Spencer when Jim called.
“He phoned me and just said, ‘Would you like to take this over as I step back and retire?’
“And I was just like, ‘What? Me? Really?’”
After meeting to discuss the details and working through the legal process, Kathryn officially took over the business just four weeks ago.
Now, having experienced first-hand what an early opportunity can mean to an artist, she hopes to offer the same support to others.
“To be able to give other artists what I was given 14 years ago is incredible,” she says.
“There are so many things that, like in any industry, you don’t know until you’re told or until someone explains what works and what’s needed.
Kathryn says her Ireland Collection is designed to capture the energy, feeling and spirit of the island rather than create exact visual representations. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
“So to be able to impart that knowledge is fabulous.
“There are so many fantastic, incredibly talented artists. It’s just giving them an opportunity to showcase their work.”
While much of what has made Yard successful will remain unchanged, Kathryn also has plans to develop the gallery and make the creative process itself more accessible.
“I’d like to break down the barriers even further by welcoming people upstairs to come and watch art being made, to listen to talks, to watch demos and to ask questions,” she explains.
The gallery’s distinctive multi-level building was redesigned by the architects who would later design Belfast’s MAC, and Kathryn is now planning to make greater use of its upstairs space.
A new studio room is being created alongside an exhibition space which she hopes will host around five or six exhibitions each year.
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Kathryn hopes to support emerging artists through Yard Gallery after experiencing first-hand the impact an early opportunity can have on a career. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
And among the first exhibitions Kathryn will oversee in her new role is one particularly close to home – her own.
Kathryn’s new Ireland Collection has been more than a year in the making, beginning with a road trip she and her partner took in a rented campervan in June 2025.
Starting in Kinsale, they travelled around the coast towards Donegal, with Kathryn later revisiting other locations which would eventually feed into a body of 27 paintings.
“Essentially, it’s about the essence of Ireland, well, through my eyes anyway, and how I would like to express that,” she says.
Kathryn’s new Ireland Collection features 27 works inspired by a road trip around the island and her own memories and experiences of Ireland. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
“It’s the energy, really, and the feeling and the spirit of Ireland.”
Created using Kathryn’s distinctive poured-ink technique, each piece is rooted less in creating an exact visual representation of a place and more in capturing the memory or feeling it leaves behind.
“I would love the collection to evoke people’s own memories and experiences of Ireland,” she says.
“Maybe sitting in the pub, listening to music and how that made them feel.
“Maybe it’s sipping on a pint of Guinness, splitting the G and throwing back some oysters. Or maybe it’s when you’re walking along the hedgerows and you see the bees buzzing around.
“It’s just those snippets that get ingrained into your mind and become a memory or a feeling, just something that stays there.
“That’s what it’s trying to capture.”
Kathryn Callaghan’s Ireland Collection will be on display at Yard Gallery in Holywood from August 15 until September 12. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
Rather than using a traditional paintbrush, Kathryn pours ink from a height, allowing gravity and a degree of unpredictability to influence the finished work.
For the artist, that lack of complete control mirrors the fleeting experiences she is attempting to capture.
“When you relinquish that control and you allow gravity to take its place and help form the mark, there’s something slightly unplanned, just as your day goes,” she explains.
“You can’t possibly plan everything.
“You can’t plan the memory or the thing that you see or the thing that you experience. It’s just the moment as it happens.
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The artist uses a distinctive poured-ink technique, allowing gravity and an element of unpredictability to help shape each piece. PICTURE: BRIAN LINCOLN
“That’s what I’m trying to do with pouring and splashing, the moment just happens.”
Kathryn’s Ireland Collection will run at Yard Gallery until September 12.
And as both the exhibition and a new chapter for the gallery begin, Kathryn hopes people who may previously have felt intimidated by the art world will simply come through the door.
“If anyone has been put off or been intimidated by going into a gallery, this is not that place,” she says.
“Come down, spend as much or as little time as you like.
“We’re here to help if needed.”
For additional information about the Yard Gallery visit yardgallery.com.