Collecting the Past / Making the Future
National Museums Northern Ireland, Ulster Museum 
25 May – 19 September 2021

A project with Simon Leach Design
Curated by NMNI and Nerve Centre
Exhibition build by Marcon
AV installation build by Setworks
Graphic production by Minprint
Photography by Simon Leach, Johnny Frazer, Making The Future
#MakingTheFuture

A digital  version of the exhibition was created by Making The Future
Visit here: Collecting the Past / Making the Future

This exhibition was the Ulster Museum’s major exhibition for summer 2021. It explored the impact and legacy of the act of Partition 100 years ago and provided opportunities for visitors to engage with the past, learn how it has shaped our present and to project ideas for the future.  

The exhibition design reimagined the galleries as the museum’s object stores, harnessing a visual language of archival boxes and index labels to present groups of objects for visitors to interpret in ways that were most meaningful to them. The exhibition  juxtaposed themes and objects to encourage debate and challenge preconceptions. An audio installation of community-led  interpretation made narrative connections across time and physically within the gallery spaces, linking past, present and future. Visitors also had the opportunity to have their say on issues they feel will be important in the next 100 years.