Here I am in the Mid-Antrim…and at another beautiful museum! The Mid-Atrium Museum at The Braid is another interesting (and free!) look into Northern Ireland’s past. The exhibit at The Braid details the Mid-Antrim area from the earliest known humans (Mesolithic, including the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, respectfully), to present-day activity in Northern Ireland. They had some truly lovely artifacts from each period, and the interactive exhibits made for a great learning experience.
Perhaps my favorite part of the exhibit was the last room, where a 5-Screen presentation was being shown on a loop. These screens had pictures and video from the invention of the video camera to the early 2000’s. What made this installation unique was that it showed Northern Ireland and British news/politics and social events, but also events that occurred worldwide. Each screen played a separate clip in chronological order, overlayed with one or two sound bites. What resulted was a beautiful, human tapestry of sights and sounds from Northern Ireland and the world.
I can’t tell you how moved I was watching clips from the Vietnam War overlayed with that of Woodstock, or watching the horrific events of September 11th play out next to video of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The juxtaposition of horror and innocence, joy and sorrow was an absolutely incredible way to show how very human we all are, regardless of race, gender, age or station. I wish there were more installations like this world round!