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).
09:00-09:30 Welcome address
09:30-11:00 Workshop
11:00-11:20 Coffee break
11:20-12:30 Discussion
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Visit to the exhibition "Trapped (with Central Heating)" and a discussion.
Previous workshops:
Date: 29 September 2023
Venue: The National Museum of Lithuania, The Old Arsenal (Arsenalo street 3, Vilnius)
EUROPAST Workshop: Contested History in Museums
An increasing number of researchers and practitioners agree that museum visitors are not only passive consumers of history, but can also contribute to its creation, preservation and communication. This opportunity becomes extremely significant when developing museum narratives about complex historical periods that receive controversial public assessments. How can we ensure that these narratives include different voices and help to unite rather than divide various groups of society?
This EUROPAST workshop seeks to enhance the competencies of museum employees (in particular, curators, guides and educators, communication and marketing managers) and decision-makers relevant for the construction of narratives about controversial periods of history and for initiating co-creation projects. The event will explore the concept of public history and its practices, the current state of the politics of history, stakeholder engagement and similar topics.
Dr. Kristiane Janeke delivered the keynote speech and led the workshop. She is a historian and practitioner with much experience working in German and international museums and deep knowledge of the specificities of Eastern European museology. Her interests include the politics of history, culture of remembrance, museum studies, intercultural communication, German-Eastern European cultural exchange, presentation of war in museums, exhibition, and museum management.
After the workshop, expert recommendations for public history practitioners were created. See and download them below:
PRESENTING “CONTESTED HISTORY” IN MUSEUMS: Recommendations for Practitioners 2023.
Partner of the workshops – the National Museum of Lithuania. Workshops are part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). EUROPAST is carried out collaboratively by Vilnius University (coordinator, Lithuania), Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (Germany), Lund University (Sweden), and Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH, Luxembourg). To learn more, click here.
