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The Braid: Arts Centre and Mid-Antrim Museum Ballymena, Co Antrim
The Mid-Antrim Museum at The Braid enables visitors to discover the past and understand the present, particularly how certain key events in Irish history continue to shape aspects of contemporary cultural and political identity in Northern Ireland. Artefacts of local and national significance are shown alongside interactive displays, highlighting the history of the region. The aim is to reflect how local stories are part of larger stories.
The Museum’s Community History Programme ‘Making History’, funded through the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland, has been designed to enable a diverse range of local groups to explore and reflect on their history and cultural identity. The material created is being presented in a special exhibition in the Museum this spring. The Mid-Antrim Museum is the hub of a regional service provided through a partnership of four local authorities: Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey. Some of your comments: Visiting the Braid not long after it opened I found the experience delightful on many levels. Firstly, its ideal position within the centre of Ballymena reaches out to the local and tourist community, ticking all boxes for accessibility and location. Secondly, the striking architecture combines contemporary modernist design, with a welcoming, user friendly and informative facility. I found the exhibits interesting and projected, what is the cornerstone of a modern Northern Ireland, the idea that the Braid is a "shared space" educating and informing the public about our shared past and providing a cultural venue for our shared future. Beautifully designed building outside and inside and very relaxing to visit and explore. The staff are very helpful and kind, they make you feel welcome. This is one building Ballymena got right and richly deserving of an award. I thought the new museum was a very stimulating space … the mix of objects, images and inter-actives really bring history to life. The way the story of mid-Antrim is told within a wider setting helped me understand the links between local and national history...it was interesting to see how events in the past still have an effect on us today. One of the inter-actives used banners to explore the Orange and Green traditions, I thought this was really effective. All in all, a great complex. I have had the good fortune to visit many wonderful museums over the years and across Europe. However for my family local museums often have been ‘behind the times’, tired places which lacked any lustre or sense of purpose. That is NOT true of the Braid. Never have I been to such a vibrant and open museum with a real feeling of place and purpose. It’s local, it’s not huge, but it manages to use its very walls (well, a large glass window) as well as the many exhibits, to create a real sense of understanding of where it is and what it is showing. You are not left feeling you have walked around a building with a random collection of ‘old’ things in it, as is all too often the case in many grander establishments. Braid is not simply a museum it’s a reflection of local community and a shared heritage, a message Northern Ireland at least still very much needs. An excellent time was had by all the family, and its location and amenities are very good. As a citizen of Ballymena l am very proud of our Braid Art Centre. The structure of the building is delightful, with its glass wall, especially at Xmas with its fairy lights. The museum inside is well laid out to interest all age groups. Since its opening it has had 100,000 visitors, and 300 events. The venue hosts a variety of exhibitions and programmes, work by local and international artists, contemporary dance and chamber music. The Council is to be commended for their vision and pro activism in developing the complex at a time when there was so much political unrest in our province. First its location: situated in the middle of Co. Antrim, positioned to serve a large I visited the museum last summer and was very impressed with the design and the displays. This is the first time our town has had a proper facility to celebrate its history and culture. We in Ballymena, are very proud of our new museum and arts complex. It brings many visitors from all over the world. Recently, I took a group of retired lady teachers on an introductory tour of the centre. Mr. William Blair gave the ladies a personal conducted tour where he explained how to use the modern technology which enables one to access the exhibits fully. Everyone was delighted and said they would be back time and time again to see the existing exhibits and to look out for new ones. The building is very user friendly with a bright and cheerful atmosphere. The restaurant, toilet, shop, information area and the auditorium are a prime example of an excellent facility for any town or city.
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The Braid, Ballymena’s £20 million new arts and civic centre and venue for the new Mid-Antrim Museum, is a radical innovation in cultural provision for the north-east region of Northern Ireland. It includes exhibition galleries, a theatre and multi-purpose studio theatre, arts workshops, a Learning Zone, collection stores, a conservation laboratory, a shop, café and tourist information centre.
The Braid features four specially commissioned public art installations from internationally recognised artists. The Arts Centre hosts a variety of exhibitions and programmes, including work by local artists and arts students, contemporary dance and chamber music. The Children’s Arts Festival held in October attracts talent from local, national and international performers.
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