S5, E11: This is ourstory; what is yours?
This is our story; what is yours?
Tuesday 29th March 2022
A recent exhibition in Cambridge entitled Art, Conflict, and Remembering: The Murals of the Bogside Artists featured 12 striking murals painted on the gable walls of flats in the Bogside area of Derry/Londonderry between 1994 and 2006. The murals tell the story of the Troubles and are known as The People’s Gallery.
For the penultimate webinar of the season, and to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, we were joined by Adrienne Chaplin, the exhibition’s curator, and Tom Kelly, one of the Bogside Artists.
The Bogside Murals depict important moments of the Troubles, including the early Civil Rights marches, the Battle of the Bogside, Bloody Sunday, the Hunger Strikes, Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume and, not least, the deaths of many children, including family and friends of the artists.
Unlike most murals in Belfast and Northern Ireland, the series is not sectarian but draws attention to the effect of conflict on innocent citizens, especially children. Tom spoke about his own experience growing up in the Bogside during the conflict, how he got to make the murals and what they mean for the community today.
Important Moments: Tom Kelly speaking at one of the exhibitions.
Our guests:
- Tom Kelly (pictured above): Bogside Artists
- Adrienne Chaplin: Exhibition curator
