wild ireland: curator tour

Explore the paintings in Wild Ireland with Dr Mike Simms, Curator of Geology and wildlife artist Julian Friers.

Wild Ireland contains 60 original paintings by renowned wildlife artist Julian Friers, created in collaboration with Dr Mike Simms, Curator of Geology.

Tour the exhibition with Julian and Mike, as they discuss Julian's love of birds, his methods and how he blends science with art.

Julian Friers

Julian Friers is a wildlife artist from Bangor, County Down. After one term at Art College, he decided to leave and learn to paint through his own experience. Julian's love of wildlife developed through his father, a wood sculptor who had an interest in the natural world.

Since 1977, Julian has had multiple solo exhibitions, been part of group exhibitions and won several awards and commissions.

Dr Mike Simms

Mike found his first fossils near his hometown of Cheltenham at the age of 6, more than 50 years ago. He developed a similar passion for minerals a few years later and, by the age of 9, had decided to become a geologist.

Mike has a First-Class degree in Geology with Zoology from Bristol University. He studied at Birmingham University for a PhD on Jurassic crinoids, an interest that he developed as a schoolboy. 

He joined the Ulster Museum in 1996 as Curator of Palaeontology. This followed various research, lecturing and curatorial posts in Britain and Ireland. 

Mike has been closely involved in some of the most successful exhibitions at the Ulster Museum. He was lead curator for Dippy on Tour when it visited the Ulster Museum in 2018. He devised and curated the immensely popular Elements exhibition that opened in 2014.