Troubles Art moves to Armagh County Museum following 18 month cross border tour

Troubles Art, the acclaimed exhibition from National Museums NI, will go on display at Armagh County Museum from Friday 28 February, the last venue to host the exhibition as part of an 18 month tour of border museums and galleries. The major exhibition features artists' responses to the Troubles in Northern Ireland and border counties.

The touring exhibition comprises over 20 works, including paintings, drawings and photographs, from renowned artists such as Geordie Morrow, Rita Duffy and Joseph McWilliams. It explores a broad range of themes which are universal to conflict – such as suffering and loss, violence and destruction, imprisonment, sectarianism, traditions, territory, and life in the midst of turmoil.

The exhibition includes National Museums NI’s most recent acquisitions, including a series of images from acclaimed Magnum photographer, Donovan Wylie. Maze Demolition Series [Diptych], 2007 is Wylie’s record of the physical structure of the Maze prison over a six-year period, during its closure and eventual demolition.

Visitors to the exhibition will also be able to view artwork from artists Joseph McWilliams (Rendezvous with Rainbow, 1976) and Victor Sloan (Holding the Ring, Portadown), based on an image for Sloan’s 1991 Circus, Portadown series.

Before going on show at Armagh County Museum the exhibition has previously toured to Nerve Visual in Derry~Londonderry, Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Enniskillen Castle Museum and the Market House in Monaghan.

William Blair, Director of Collections at National Museums NI, said: “National Museums NI is delighted to see Troubles Art continue to tour different museums and venues as part of the Making the Future project. It is great to share some of National Museums NI’s collections with Armagh County Museum and to bring these thought-provoking works of art to an even wider audience.”

He added: “Through the unique perspectives of artists, the exhibition offers opportunities to consider the Troubles and its effects and provide avenues for exploring the legacy of our past in new and engaging ways which we hope will better inform our future.”

Sean Barden, Curator, Armagh County Museum said: “It’s a pleasure to be involved with the Making the Future Project, in particular with Troubles Art. It’s a great way to make national collections more accessible to the people of Armagh and surrounding areas.”

The Troubles Art exhibition will open at Armagh County Museum on Friday 28 February and will remain there until 24th October 2020. Admission to the exhibition is free.

Armagh County Museum is open Monday to Friday, 10am - 5pm and on Saturday from 10am - 5pm (closed for lunch from 1pm - 2pm). For more information visit www.makingthefuture.eu.