Council Area: Antrim & Newtownabbey

The Bloomsbury Set

An accessible audio described informal visit to ‘Bloomsbury: A Collective’ for anyone experiencing sight loss, to find out more about these fascinating characters and the art they created.

The Bloomsbury Group was a group of artistic and intellectual friends. They came of age just as the conservative Victorian era of the 19th century was ending. As a loose and changing mix of people they were searching for new ways of thinking, living and loving. They initially met in the Bloomsbury district of London at the family home of the siblings Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf, and Thoby and Adrian Stephen.

An extremely privileged group, they were closely connected to British ‘high society’. This wealth and class gave them freedom to live as they desired and time to discuss the philosophies they lived by. Many of them formed similar ideas around feminism, socialism, pacifism and sexuality while studying at the Universities of Cambridge or Kings College London. They considered their art making during the First World War as an act of protest against the conflict. The art, literature and ideas generated by the Bloomsbury Group would have an enormous influence on the rest of the twentieth century.

This exhibition includes works from The Courtauld’s collection and Ulster Museum in order to take an introductory look at the Bloomsbury Group, specifically three central artists within it – Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry and Duncan Grant.

This exhibition is part of an ongoing collaboration between The Courtauld and Ulster Museum.

Please contact Sharon.mckibbin@nmni.com to book your place to this free event.

RSPB drop in session at Ulster Museum

Get hands on with Nature …explore stories from near and far, climb inside our sensory tree of life, or dare to open our curious cabinets. Our engaging natural science facilitators are on hand to answer your questions.

On Sat 24th of September the RSPB will be running a session in the Ulster Museum ‘Discover Nature’ centre focussing on swifts. You’ll be able to contribute a piece to a collaborative wall art ‘collage’, and also make a pledge to help the species!

This is a free drop in session running from 11am – 3pm,  we hope to see you there!

Inclusive Global Histories Trail at the Ulster Museum

The Ulster Museum is hosting an Inclusive Global Histories exhibition as part of their wider commitment to decolonising NI museums and collections.

The guided tour will involve understanding the ways in which colonialism is rooted in our collection and working to address racism and exclusionary practices. Ulster Museum aim to be open and collaborative in their actions, to include multiple perspectives and encourage dialogue.

This approach is not limited to the Inclusive Global Histories exhibition but extends across their collections and sites. 1the museum haas started to view history, nature and art galleries through an inclusive global lens right across the museum.

Join Modern History Curator, Tríona White Hamilton on a tour of the new Inclusive Global Histories trail and help shape it further across the museum.

This is a free event, with no booking necessary.

Reimagine Remake Replay: Power to the Young People

Reimagine Remake Replay (RRR) is a ground-breaking creative programme that has connected over 4,000 young people with heritage, through creative media and the latest digital technologies. This unique partnership is led by Nerve Centre, National Museums NI, Northern Ireland Museums Council and Northern Ireland Screen and is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Kick the Dust programme.

The project prides itself on its youth-led approach, ensuring museums are spaces where young people’s voices are heard, where their ideas are realised and where their heritage can be creatively reimagined, remade and replayed.

To showcase the project as it comes to an end, a group of young people who have been active contributors to RRR were recruited to engage in a co-curation process, resulting in this first-of-its-kind, co-created exhibition at The Ulster Museum.

The exhibition features a range of digital interactives and creative activities including a VR experience, a bespoke AR app and projection mapping, to engage visitors with collections under the themes of Climate Justice, Arts & Wellbeing and LGBTQIA+ Rights.

Against The Image: Photography. Media. Manipulation.

Ulster Museum, in partnership with Belfast Photo Festival 2022 have developed an exhibition which examines the authority of the photograph in our era of mass media and mass (mis)information.

The way we consume news and media imagery has evolved, with access to the world seemingly at our fingertips: is what we see the reality?

Artists are exposing this tension: between the truth of events and how they are presented. Responding to various global events and conflicts, the artists included in this exhibition challenge and expose photography’s highly subjective and mediated nature. They do this by subverting the medium itself -working onto the surface of, distorting, or otherwise manipulating images – to expose narratives that often go unseen or in some ways resist representation. In doing so, they encourage us to question what photographic practice is in the modern age and reflect on how we absorb media in our daily lives.

This exhibition is supported by The Northern Irish Art Network.

Inclusive Global Histories

Inclusive Global Histories is the start of a journey that Ulster Museum is taking towards decolonisation, diversity and inclusion.

Through this exhibition, Ulster Museum is re-evaluating its World Cultures collection, to better understand the complex global stories of some 4,500 items – how and why they came to be in Northern Ireland, the ways in which they connect to our audiences and what the options might be for these items in the future.

Working in partnership with others, Ulster Museum is re-examining its collections and sites and seeking to address racism and exclusionary practices. The aim is to help highlight and redress the injustices of the past and face up to uncomfortable truths. Through Inclusive Global Histories, Ulster Museum will bring marginalised voices and stories to the fore, exchange ideas, and learn from others to encourage mutual respect and understanding.

The exhibition is divided into three sections;

  1. Telling stories from the past
  2. Challenging our present
  3. Shaping our future

Special thanks to partners, African Caribbean Support Organisation of Northern Ireland (ACSONI), Belfast Multi-Cultural Association of Northern Ireland (BMCA), Active Citizens Engaged (ACE), Digital Benin, Devolving Restitution, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

Environmental Workshop

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council are hosting an environmental workshop at Antrim Castle Gardens on the 21st September which is aimed at young people aged 16-21 years from local youth organisations.

The workshop will include a range of activities to include;

  • Light supper on arrival
  • Short presentations on the environment and sustainability from Environmental Health
  • A tour of the Gardens by Antrim Castle Gardens’ Head Ranger
  • Ceremonial tree planting with The Mayor, Alderman Steven Ross
  • 1 million trees presentation, which includes a tree for each participant to take home
  • Input from The Executive Office, T:BUC Trees

 

Green & Blue

Green & Blue explores the painful and humorous realities faced by the individuals who patrolled the border during the height of the conflict.

Written by Laurence McKeown, Directed by Paula McFetridge

An officer from the Royal Ulster Constabulary in his green uniform and Eddie from An Garda Síochána, resplendent in blue, communicate via crackly radios until an explosive incident forces them to meet across a field only farmers know the location of.

Focusing on what it’s like to be hunted when you’re protecting a man-made line on the ground, the play looks at the societal and human cost of borders.

Green & Blue is based on real-life interviews with former serving officers.

 Higgins and Doran give engaging performances as the men unable to cross a line that only wise men and farmers can see. It’s a simple but effective way of exploring two sides of one conflict. – BELFAST TELEGRAPH

Written by Laurence McKeown

Directed by Paula McFetridge

Performed by Vincent Higgins & James Doran

Showcase video: NACN – Creative Diversionary Youth Programme

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council have supported the delivery of a number of Youth Programmes that contribute towards the progression of young people and in creating a more peaceful Borough.

This video showcases the Creative Diversionary Youth Programme delivered by Newtownabbey Arts and Culture Network (NACN).

For more information contact Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Good Relations team via goodrelations@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk

Showcase video: Summer Outreach Diversionary Programme

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council have supported the delivery of a number of Youth Programmes that contribute towards the progression of young people and in creating a more peaceful Borough.

This video showcases the Summer Outreach Diversionary Programme delivered by Ionad Teaghlaigh Ghleann Darach.

For more information contact Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Good Relations team via goodrelations@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk