Nancy Spero at the Orchard Gallery, Derry: Activist Strategies for Working with the Community in 1990s Northern Ireland

In the summer of 1990, American feminist artist Nancy Spero came to Derry, Northern Ireland, to install her mural Notes in Time on Women Part II in the heart of the Bogside area of the city. Made while the Troubles were ongoing, this installation in a charged public space on a wall which had previously been used for republican murals led to dissent from local residents who objected to this intervention into the community’s space. Thinking through the implications of the dispute, and looking to the role of the Orchard Gallery and Derry Frontline: Culture and Education, this essay considers how the project highlights the intersection of feminism, social justice, and institutional ambitions that were at work in Derry in the 1990s, exploring how art was seen by politicians, curators, and artists as a way to impact the experience of local communities and develop conversations about representation, justice, and equality.