Rhythms of the Year

National Museums Northern Ireland

Stories of the World • Deliver a national network of innovative exhibitions of museum, archive and

library collections in the period 2011-2012• Develop online resources to support the development of and enhance the

exhibitions, and to showcase the programme’s reinterpretation and participation methodologies

• Engage new audiences with collections and to work with museums, libraries and archives by delivering series of community events across 3 years, to include creative workshops, object exploration sessions, talks and displays.

• Develop audiences of the future by delivering learning programmes to schools over 3 years.

• Develop new methodologies to reinterpret collections, and establish a body of knowledge about the collections involved in the programme

Cultural Olympiad • Welcoming the world will be the core value of the programme and its activities. The

project partners will work to welcome new audiences and users – both from its local communities and far afield

• Inspiring and involving young people. The programme will involve young people at every stage of the programme to explore, interpret and display the collections. The programme itself will be inspired by the young people’s creativity and fresh ideas.

• Leave a lasting legacy for the museum, library and archive sector of new ways of working, new partnerships and new audiences. For participating young people there will be a legacy of new skills and career development opportunities.

Key activities and timescale• 1. Exhibitions• Rhythms of the Year: our major exhibition opening in June 2012 at UFTM, followed

by a tour to other NMNI sites and local museums, concluding 2014.• Snaps for All Seasons: an online community gallery, launched in 2009, to be

developed into a touring photographic exhibition for local libraries and community spaces for 2011-2012.

• 2. Permanent Collection Reinterpretation • Rolling programme of cased displays in UFTM throughout 2009-2012, working with

local communities to test new interpretive approaches• 3. Contemporary Collecting

Seasonal Stories: oral history project with local community groups, carried out from 2010-2012.

• 4. Creative Programming• Series of multi-cultural events throughout 2009-2012, building up to a conjoined Party

in the Parks across NMNI’s open air and other museum sites, to celebrate the start of Festival 2012.

Core Delivery Partners

• National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI), comprising:

– Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (UFTM), Cultra, County Down– Ulster American Folk Park (UAFP), Omagh, County Tyrone– Armagh County Museum (ACM), Armagh City, County Armagh– Ulster Museum (UM), Belfast, County Antrim

• Northern Ireland Museums Council (NIMC)– Membership organisation representing Northern Ireland’s non-national museum

sector, currently made up of 38 Accredited museums

Local Delivery partners Cultural bodies• Arts Council NI • Artlinks (fosters awareness of Polish culture and community in Northern Ireland and holds

annual festival celebrating Polish culture)• ArtsEkta (promotes ethnic arts across Northern Ireland)• Armagh Planetarium• BBC Northern Ireland • Belfast Islamic Centre (fosters awareness of Islamic culture and community in Northern

Ireland)• Belfast Young Archaeologists Club • Down Young Archaeologists Club • Jews Schmooze (fosters awareness of Jewish culture and community in Belfast)• Libraries NI• Local museum networks (through core partnership with NIMC)• Open Arts (promotes the inclusion of disabled people in arts activities across Northern

Ireland)• Queens Film Theatre (QFT)

Local Delivery partners

• Educational bodies• Belfast Metropolitan College• Queens University Belfast (School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology;

School of Anthropology.)

• Youth and Community agencies / groups• Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) • Belfast Islamic Centre (BIC)• Omagh Ethnic Communities Support Group • The Participation Network

Other partners • Partnerships with local museums

• Libraries NI will facilitate partnerships with regional and local libraries

• NICCY is advising and supporting us as we develop best practice in our relationships and work with young people.

• The Participation Network is also advising on best practice and opening up communication channels with all facets of the youth sector. Through these channels we are also building relationships with numerous agencies and groups in Northern Ireland’s youth sector, including the Northern Ireland Youth Council, Youthnet NI and the youth club network.

Deliverables and their Scope

Exhibitions• Rhythms of the Year• Snaps for all Seasons

Digital Activity• Snaps for all Seasons online Gallery• Social networking• Seasonals stories Podcast

Deliverables and their Scope

Public Events• Party in the Parks