EUROPAST WORKSHOP. From Memory to Museums: Challenges of Presenting Soviet History

Exhibiting history always poses challenges for practitioners at museums, as the memories of contemporary witnesses interact with the narratives of the exhibitions. In the case of the Soviet period of Lithuanian history, the treatment of its legacies is particularly difficult as the narratives posed in the exhibitions might conflict with the memories of their visitors. How can the difficult experience of occupation, deportation, and violence be combined with ordinary or even positive memories of everyday life? What objects from the Soviet period can be found in museum collections, and how does their selection (pre)determine the view of history in exhibitions? What are the possibilities of illuminating the recent past in a multifaceted manner without repeating old myths and creating new ones?

EUROPAST invites museum practitioners (curators, public relations representatives, guides, etc.) and those interested in museum activities to explore these questions together in an interactive workshop. Throughout the event, potential solutions to contemporary museum challenges will be discussed with the help of concrete objects. 

When: 13 May 2024, 9AM-3PM (Vilnius Time)

Where: House of Histories at the National Museum of Lithuania (T. Kosciuškos g. 3, Vilnius).