The new special exhibition at the Ulster American Folk Park, ‘Bad Bridget’, tells the story of women from Ireland who migrated to North America during the 18th and 19th centuries and the challenges they faced. For many women the American Dream became a nightmare of poverty, criminalisation, and discrimination. Often depicted as troublemakers, lone women were described as ‘Bad Bridgets’.
Illustration by Fiona McDonnell
The exhibition is based on the research work of Dr Elaine Farrell and Dr Leanne McCormick who released a podcast and book of the same name. The podcast seeks to bring the stories of the women to life through dramatic reading and exploration of archive sources and historic records, recounting the experiences of individual women.
To appeal to the target audience of young adults and to give character to the story, a highly graphic, almost comic book like illustration style was chosen. The work of artist and illustrator Fiona McDonnell was considered ideal for the project, bringing a mix of graphic impact, characterful representation, and detailed story-driven illustrations. Our team worked closely with the client and Fiona to develop each illustration brief so that if represented the key points in the story and allowed details and characters from the narrative to be picked out from final images.
The visitor experience is primarily realized through a mix of object display and large-scale graphic illustration which are in turn supported by simple interactive, audiovisual points, and smell stations. Together these media provide a rich, multi-sensory experience for visitors that provides an insight into the experience of our ‘Bad Bridgets’
150 objects were identified by the client curatorial team to support the narrative and bring authenticity to the story. Showcase locations were planned to link objects to the stories with detailed in-case object layouts going through several iterations to inform the final object selection. Simple mounts were constructed by NMNI’s conservation department with Redman Design designing, manufacturing, and installing bespoke mounts for specific objects. Our design and on-site mount-making and installation service allowed our vision for the object display to be fully realized in the most cost-effective way possible.