The Troubles Exhibition

The Arts Council N.Ireland Troubles Archive Exhibition was curated by Liam Kelly and Feargal O’Malley to accompany the launch of the Northern Ireland Troubles Archive, a new web-based resource that documents how the Arts responded to and reflected the Troubles from 1968 to 1998. The exhibition at Ormeau Baths Gallery offered the public an opportunity to see how arts practices are now being documented. A selection of art works engaging with social and political issues selected from The Arts Council’s collection included a range of works from less well known works by George Campbell and Padraig Timoney to the more familiar images of Rita Duffy and Victor Sloan and together with work by some invited artists such as Paul Seawright and Philip Napier provided an historical context to the Archive. The exhibition also included Una Walker’s Surveiller, an installation work which gives graphic expression and archival access to the range and frequency of visual art exhibitions held in Belfast from 1968-2001, essentially the period of the Troubles.