In collaboration with the Linen Hall Library in Belfast, Meridian International Center is pleased to present Troubled Images: Posters and Images of the Northern Ireland Conflict. The exhibition reflects the emotions and hopes of a deeply divided society in conflict. Explaining the purpose of the undertaking, Linen Hall Librarian John Gray states: "...our first intention was to open doors to understanding in an accessible way for our own community. In doing so we are also suggesting a way of acting that may have a wider international resonance. After more than thirty years of conflict, we need to lift the blanket of silence..."

The Troubled Images project, which includes the exhibition, catalogue and CD-ROM, won the Linen Hall Library the prestigious Christopher Ewart Biggs Literary Prize for 2003. The prize is awarded annually to individuals or organizations promoting peace and reconciliation in Ireland, a greater understanding between the peoples of Britain and Ireland, or closer cooperation between partners of the European Community.

The Linen Hall Library is the unique repository for the Northern Ireland Political Collection, which contains over a quarter of a million items - books, documents, cards, pamphlets, photographs and other printed materials - relating to the activities of all parties to the thirty-year conflict. The seventy posters on view are part of the collection of over 3,000 acquired by the Library from 1969 to the present. They represent a wide range of opinions on major events and individuals involved in the arduous years of struggles and the burgeoning peace process.

After its Washington, D.C. showing, Troubled Images will travel across the United States, circulated by Meridian's Traveling Exhibition Service. Host venues include New York, Denver and San Francisco.