Walking the Colours
In seeking to support community dialogue around banners and parading, Walking the Colours required considerable investigation into the different types of parading or marching activity and then enlisting local representatives to further reveal histories of local organisations and collections.  The facilitated exhibition tour and workshops were then able to encourage and support dialogue within the context of opportunities to understand that there are many different ways to “walk your colours”.  Underpinning the learning objectives was the interactive “banner for the future” capturing participants responses during those workshops.  This learning activity helped the museum to measure evaluation through qualitative responses.

Project Aims

To encourage dialogue around the role of parading in Northern Ireland and how the exercising and expressing of this cultural tradition exacerbates local conflicts and forces other communities into invisibility

To work in partnership with local communities in exploring and sharing their traditions and heritage

To place local parading and banner traditions in an international context through the exploration of other community conflicts and associated textile traditions

To develop cross-border links with Donegal and Monaghan Museums

Project Results

Major touring exhibition visiting venues across the cluster area featuring materials supplied by a wide range of community groups

Programme of facilitated workshops with tour of the exhibition with historian and discussion with mediator

Cross border exhibitions and workshops in Donegal and Monaghan

New learning resource publication and on-line

Access to the exhibition and workshop resources have supported programmes delivered by Good Relations and other PEACE III projects

Scope of local activity revealed increased understanding of cultural traditions