Co-creator Ciaran Deeney writes about National Treasures, the popular multi-platform 'social history' project that became a popular RTÉ series, four public roadshow events, an exhibition in the National Museum of Ireland, a crowd-sourced website - and now a book, featuring over 200 of the items submitted by the public for the project.
National Treasures is a social history project authored by members of the public. It was created by myself and David Clarke (my colleague from EZ Films) and it started out as a few simple questions... What if we were to explore the history of a country solely through objects in the hands of ordinary people? What if we were to ignore monetary value and explore treasured objects based on their emotional and historical value alone? What if we were to create an exhibition showcasing these items, one that emphasised the voices of the owners themselves?
Watch National Treasures here, via RTÉ Player
Using those questions as a starting point, we approached RTÉ and the National Museum of Ireland to see if we could wrap an idea around these questions to create a project together. It was a unique partnership between two of Ireland’s biggest institutions and a unique opportunity for all involved.
From our point of view, our goal with National Treasures was to create a history project that would be accessible to all, positive as an experience and one that felt like a contemporary approach to history gathering. Inclusivity was of utmost importance and really drives the project forward. By keeping a very broad remit for objects sought and by not applying a competitive approach to the TV show, the tone was one that invited people to participate in a very open and embracing way. For National Treasures, there should be no barrier to participate. One history is not better than another history. Your history, no matter what it is, is valued. The result of this approach would end up being volume, a scale of active engagement with the project which was probably unprecedented in this country for a project like this.
The National Treasures project was launched in September 2017 and by submitting via our website and coming along to roadshows held in Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast, over 6,500 fascinating objects were revealed and archived. The TV series is where the power of the idea came together and informed the creation of the exhibition. We are very grateful to the presenter John Creedon, the team of fantastic curators and the wider production crew that transformed an idea and a few questions into a TV series that lit up homes all across Ireland earlier this year.
Watch: Ireland's Football Souvenirs - from National Treasures
Reflecting on the project as a whole, what’s satisfying is that the audience were brought on a very unique multi-platform journey. Starting with a website, then turning into a series of roadshows, a TV series, an exhibition and now a book, that journey felt natural, intuitive and at no point was it "just for TV". Being participatory, the project’s authorship was wide open and audiences played a vital part to the creation of each platform.
That’s what’s really exciting about the National Treasures project. Via the collective effort of thousands of people, it explores how interconnected our lives are via history and via objects that resonate. Big, small and hidden histories are revealed using the model and by consequence it emphasises just how much the personal and national intertwine.
We hope that the latest chapter in the project, a National Treasures book exploring 200 of the most diverse objects crystalizes that sentiment. As an object in itself, hopefully this book becomes one that is in turn treasured by lovers of Irish history all over.
The National Treasures book is available in all good bookshops now - get your copy here.
