The Ulster Museum: Northern Ireland’s Culture Lab

The history and development of the Ulster Museum as Northern Ireland’s national museum.

An architect's drawing of the Ulster Museum.
This research project explores the history and development of the Ulster Museum as Northern Ireland’s national museum.

From its origins in the collections of nineteenth-century learned societies to its recognition as a national institution through the Museum Act (Northern Ireland) 1961, the Museum has evolved alongside the political, social and cultural changes that have shaped Northern Ireland.

Drawing on institutional archives and research with former and current staff and stakeholders, the project examines how and why the Ulster Museum developed in the ways it did, and how its curatorial practices have responded to the particular contexts of Northern Ireland.

Looking forwards as well as backwards, the research will inform the direction of live redevelopment plans for the Museum in the medium and long term, realising the ambitions in the Ulster Museum Masterplan (2020) and aligning with the policy direction in Northern Ireland’s Programme for Government (2024-2027). 

For more information and link to application form: The Ulster Museum: Northern Ireland’s Culture Lab at University of Leicester on FindAPhD.com

National Museums NI Logo, University of Leicester logo, Research Centre for Museums and Galleries Logo and Arts and Humanities Research Council

Lead Supervisors

A woman stands outside of the Ulster Museum.
Hannah Crowdy (National Museums NI)
Prof Suzanne MacLeod (University of Leicester)
Professor Suzanne MacLeod (University of Leicester)
A woman stands outside of the Ulster Museum.
Hannah Crowdy (National Museums NI)