The Photo Album of Ulster

As part of the Museum’s ongoing collaboration with the Gallery of Photography we are delighted to present the first showing of The Photo Album of Ulster exhibition .
The exhibition features family photographs from Ulster and includes images from the albums of Rev Dr AE Scott, Minister of First Ramelton Presbyterian Church 1923-71. A Gallery Talk on the exhibition will follow the launch. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Reconciliation Fund, this cross- border, cross community phase of the project researches and explores specific themes of cultural identity, conflict and the effects of partition on border communities. The Gallery of Photography is working in partnership with organisations across the nine counties of Ulster to research individual family histories. Admission is free.

The Photo Album of Ulster project is part of a wider research project - The Photo Album of Ireland, a major archival research project inviting people from the island of Ireland to digitally share their family photographs. Photo albums give a fascinating insight into our private and public histories – revealing details about how people lived and worked that official histories often overlook. The project explores the social role of photography in documenting our lives and recording our memories – preserving this important material culture for future generations. This emerging democratic archive is a celebration of ordinary and extraordinary histories, viewed from the perspective of private individuals.

The Photo Album of Ulster – Your Photographs – Your Memories – Our Histories

Background

For the first phase of the Photo Album of Ireland project we invited 40 members of the public to contribute their family photographs, laying down a democratic base to actively include and cherish ‘ordinary’ quieter histories. The archive has, to date, scanned over 4,000 photographs spanning the history of analogue photography, from the earliest photographs taken in the 1850’s to the advent of digital photography in the early 1990’s. It includes an extensive range of images – from informal snapshots, studio portraits and ‘official’ photographs through to substantial family archives, many seen here for the first time. The project has the potential to develop into an important national and international educational genealogical resource.