VISUAL art comes in many forms in the city. All of it is relevant and as it gets closer to the present-giving season my recommendation always is for anyone wishing to encourage and develop an artistic interest in their children and grandchildren to simply buy a sketchbook and some pencils or felt-tips.

Self-expression should be an important part of every individual's life and there are many outlets and newsagents with £1 sketchbooks and £1.50 packs of felt-tips or crayons.

If you're looking to buy or see some art, the Royal Ulster Academy's annual  exhibition is still running at the Ulster Museum. Meanwhile, www.bpw.org.uk is the place for fine art prints. You can call into their Cotton Court workshop and gallery or shop online.

Francesca Bondi of Gallery 545, fresh back from the Edinburgh Art Fair, has a good selection of artists and an art service  in her online gallery. Ashley B Holmes, formerly of Boston and now of Belfast, is one of the exciting artists whose work you can access there. 

Uphold Art have gathered together a selection of Belfast artists and have added a new editions aspect to their art strategy. It's good to find out more about even a small selection of the artists living and working in the city. However, as someone who spent many years developing the artistic skills and spiritual transformation that comes with traditional printmaking techniques, I'm not a fan of their version of editions. 

Sometimes people ask me what they should buy as a good investment. I reply with the advice I got at the London Art Fair many years ago: to start buying art, decide on a figure each year – it might be £100 or much more – then take some time to have a look around at what you can get for that price and buy something you like.

Get used to having it around the house, then the next year decide again on your figure for the year. In a few years you can build up something interesting and your daily life can be transformed by living with art around you.

Many places selling art will instead sell you a gift voucher if your time and energy run out. Some places are part of the Own Art scheme where you can pay over a period of ten months interest-free.

It's great to hear a Belfast 2024 website will show all the cultural year has to offer and we hope it makes it easier for everyone to navigate the city.