On show at Nerve Visual, 80/81 Ebrington, Derry~Londonderry
1 May – June 17, 2018
Official launch events: 7 – 8.30pm Saturday 12 May
The Lost Moment looks anew at the Civil Rights movement in Northern Ireland fifty years on from the
marches and peaceful protests that immediately preceded the Troubles. Curated by Sean O’Hagan,
who writes on photography, art and culture for The Guardian and The Observer, the show places the
Northern Irish civil rights struggle in the context of the many international street protests that made 1968
such a tumultuous year.
Dr Martin Luther Kind addressing Civil Rights protestors © Steve Schapiro
From Paris to Prague, Chicago to London, mass protests reverberated across the world via the TV news. The
year of discontent began in Northern Ireland when activists organised civil rights marches against
discrimination in housing and jobs. Using the tactics of non-violent civil disobedience employed by Martin
Luther King Jr. in the American south, the marches unleashed a wave of Unionist counter-demonstrations.
The often brutal police tactics used against the marchers were caught on camera and broadcast around the
world, igniting global media interest in the Northern Irish civil rights movement. Though its legacy remains
contested to this day, the exhibition argues that this was the lost moment when the Troubles might have
been averted.
The exhibition features dramatic images by Steve Schapiro of the famous Selma to Montgomery civil rights
march in 1965, alongside work from three renowned Magnum photographers: David Hurn, Josef Koudelka
and Ian Berry. The Northern Irish civil rights struggle, from the first march in August 1968 to the Battle of the
Bogside in 1969, is captured though the work of Gilles Caron, Clive Limpkin, David Newell-Smith, Buzz
Logan, Barney McMonagle, Eamon Melaugh, Larry Dickinson and Tony McGrath. The exhibition also
includes projections, video installations, contemporary political posters and a wealth of other ephemera
from the time.
Policeman at the Civil Rights march from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry January 1969 © David Newell-SMiht /Guardian Newspaper
Police and protestors at Burntollet January 1969 © David Newell-Smith / Guardian Newspaper
Visitor Information – Nerve Visual
Exhibition at Nerve Visual continues until June 17, 2018.
Address: 80-81 Ebrington Street,
Ebrington, Derry~Londonderry, BT47 6FA
Open: Tuesday – Saturday 11am-5pm; Sunday 12-6pm
For details visit: www.nervecentre.org
The Exhibition will be formally opened as part of the Remote Photo Festival on Saturday May 12 at 7pm.
For details visit www.galleryofphotography.ie
The exhibition will be on show in Gallery of Photography Ireland 28 September – 4 November 2018
‘The Lost Moment’ is produced by Gallery of Photography Ireland in partnership with the Nerve Centre,
Derry~Londonderry. Supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade Reconciliation. The organisers thank RTÉ Archives, Remote Photo Festival, the Cain
Archive at Ulster University, Linen Hall Library, Belfast Archive Project and National Museums Northern
Ireland. Gallery of Photography is supported by The Arts Council and Dublin City Council.