Built heritage in focus at museum exhibition

‘Ways of Seeing: A Sense of Place’ is a community engagement project led by the Mid-Antrim Museums Service (MAMS).

It is designed to encourage awareness of built heritage through local histories and stories, stimulated by art collections held within the service.

Building Legacies, a collection focusing on the architectural heritage of Sir Charles Lanyon in Mid Antrim, will come to the local venue in August 2015.

Meanwhile, the main exhibition outlining the overall project and its outcomes will be on display from September – October 2015.

The touring exhibitions are also due to appear at the Mid-Antrim Museum, Ballymena; Museum at The Mill, Newtownabbey; and Larne Museum and Art Centre.

In charge of the project is Greenisland woman Beth Frazer. “Through the centuries architecture and the environment have been depicted through art in its various forms,” she said.

“MAMS art collections reflect this, holding art works of provincial significance, principally from the 19th and 20th Centuries. The content of these works have led to various community engagement sessions throughout the project.

“These have included exploring the life and work of Sir Charles Lanyon, a bus tour of Lanyon’s architecture in Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey, guided tours of Carrick Town Hall and its art works, and groups creating their own art works around the theme ‘A Sense of Place’.

Beth added: “It has been a pleasure working with groups in Carrick exploring regional identity and locality through the area’s built heritage and museum artworks.

“Through the project I am keen to gather group contributions on the artworks and buildings which will be used in a project exhibition. It is great to see how groups viewing our museum artworks stimulate such discussion, debate and stories.”