The Art Newspaper

Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland reopens with Sean Scully retrospective

After a three year closure and £17.2m refurbishment, more of its permanent collections are on show

By Martin Bailey | Web only
Published online 29 Oct 09 (Museums)

Peter the Polar Bear, one of the most popular displays at the Ulster Museum, getting a touch up from Curator of Vertebrates, Angela Ross, before he went back on view

belfast. Ulster Museum reopened on 22 October, following a three-year closure for a £17.2m refurbishment and its collections of art, natural history and Irish history have be redisplayed. To create a welcoming entrance area, the roof has been raised to create an atrium between the original 1929 building and a 1972 extension. This has also increased gallery space in the museum by a quarter and the display is denser, so more of the collection is on show. Most of the costs were met by Northern Ireland’s Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (£11.2m) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (£4.7m).

For the opening, the nine fine art rooms on the upper levels has been devoted to a Sean Scully retrospective, with 90 works (the Dublin-born American abstract artist who has twice made the Turner Prize short list). After it closes in February, these galleries will present highlights from the permanent collection. Although it includes old masters and the 19th century, the museum’s strength lies in modern Irish and British art.

The history galleries run from prehistoric Ireland to the years of violence known as the “Troubles” (1971-98). Northern Ireland’s sectarian conflict was not previously dealt with by the museum, and the sombre new presentation comprises black and white photographs and text, without artefacts. The Ulster Museum, part of the National Museum of Ireland, hopes that visitor numbers will rise from 220,000 to 400,000 a year.

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