Can museums act as mediators in Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace? This is ‘cautious optimism,’ says Sarah Allen, for a society still grappling with the legacy of its troubled past.
Today, 10 April, marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - a period of sectarian conflict and violent attacks in Northern Ireland that lasted from around 1968 to 1998, during which more than 3,500 people lost their lives.
Since the signing of the agreement in 1998, the question of how to represent this highly contested history has been the subject of an ongoing debate in Northern Ireland. The role of museums have become central to this debate, owing in part to the necessity for state-run and funded institutions to remain politically neutral and be equitable to Northern Ireland’s disparate communities.
Now, a number of museums in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere in the UK, are reflecting on how the Good Friday Agreement has transformed Northern Irish society, as well as telling the stories of those who brought a fragile but lasting peace to the region...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.
Today, 10 April, marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles - a period of sectarian conflict and violent attacks in Northern Ireland that lasted from around 1968 to 1998, during which more than 3,500 people lost their lives.
Since the signing of the agreement in 1998, the question of how to represent this highly contested history has been the subject of an ongoing debate in Northern Ireland. The role of museums have become central to this debate, owing in part to the necessity for state-run and funded institutions to remain politically neutral and be equitable to Northern Ireland’s disparate communities.
Now, a number of museums in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere in the UK, are reflecting on how the Good Friday Agreement has transformed Northern Irish society, as well as telling the stories of those who brought a fragile but lasting peace to the region...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.