Mayor praises new exhibition to aid truth recovery process
22 May 2026
The Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Ruairí McHugh, has praised the work of a group involved in an innovative and inspirational new project aimed at providing an outlet for people impacted by Mother-and-Baby Homes and workhouses.
The initiative has resulted in a moving exhibition titled ‘Unredacted: The Artist’s Book as Alternative Testimony’ unveiled last night in the Guildhall, where it will remain on display until May 27th.
In February the Mayor met with Professor Marie Breen Smyth and Danny Taggart from the University of Essex, to discuss how the project could contribute to the Truth Recovery process here.
The exhibition brings together artist books, photographs, news articles and personal artefacts created and selected by birth mothers and adult adoptees from the Derry area who have been affected by Mother-and-Baby Homes, Magdalene Laundries and Workhouses. Through creative workshops, participants have been able to explore and share their experiences in ways that offer an alternative to more formal and complex legal testimony processes connected to the upcoming public inquiry.
The project aims to provide survivors with a meaningful and reflective creative outlet while also raising wider public awareness of the ongoing Truth Recovery process and the importance of survivor voices within it.
Speaking after the opening of the exhibition, Mayor McHugh said: “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in delivering this important project, and especially the survivors who have contributed so courageously to the exhibition.
“This initiative provides a powerful and compassionate platform for people to share deeply personal experiences in a way that supports reflection and raising public awareness. The exhibition highlights the importance of ensuring survivors’ voices remain central to the Truth Recovery process, and I am proud to support its opening in the Guildhall this evening.
“Derry carries a direct connection to that history. St Mary’s Waterside Magdalene Laundry, operated by the Good Shepherd Sisters, was a place where many girls and women experienced hardship, stigma, and isolation. Bayview private nursing home has also been identified as a site connected to forced family separation and adoption practices. This is an opportunity to listen to voices that for too long were silenced or hidden from public view.”
The exhibition also reflects the unique significance of the city’s border location, recognising the lasting impact that cross-jurisdictional movement of mothers and babies continues to have on survivors and their pursuit of justice.
The exhibition can be viewed in the Guildhall until May 27, 2026, for information on opening times contact 028 71 376510