Touring Exhibition Museums Matter: Accessing Ireland's Heritage
13 April 2011 - 27 May 2011
The Athy Heritage Centre -Museum will host the touring exhibition Museums Matter: Accessing Ireland’s Heritage, a cross-border collaborative project initiated by the Irish Museums Association (IMA), will be open to the public from Wed. 13th April to Fri 27th May 2011.
Highlighting the richness and diversity of museum collections across the island of Ireland, the exhibition demonstrates the wealth of enjoyment and inspiration that museums have to offer to people of all ages.
Dr Marie Bourke, Chair of the IMA, states: ‘Many people in the north and south of Ireland enjoyed visiting museums as schoolchildren. Perhaps they saw the Tara Brooch and Ardagh Chalice at the National Museum or paintings by Vermeer and Jack Yeats at the National Gallery, or participated in living history projects at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. At the IMA, we felt that we could present a glimpse of the wonderful treasures in our collections, providing colourful images of the objects we look after, and let people know better what we do and what we can offer them.’
Images from collections across Ireland – including folk life, archaeology, costume, natural history, transport, marine life, science and technology, fine art and the decorative arts – show the potential for museums to create opportunities for learning and engagement with the communities they serve. This exhibition will tour to libraries, museums and arts centres in Ireland over the next four years. In keeping with the theme of the project, every local venue will add their own precious objects to the display, just as a programme of activities will open up the collections to a much wider audience.
The exhibition is accompanied by a book (describing what museums do and illustrating the richness of their collections) activity sheets, a/v presentation, 4 handling collections, and associated activities, all available on the website: www.irishmuseums.org. It is funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Museums Council of Northern Ireland), and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.