Presumption to Responsibility. Museums and contested history. Saying the unspeakable in museums

International conference

Organisators:
ICOM Czechia, ICOM Austria, ICOM Slovakia

Place:
Czech Republic, Moravian Gallery in Brno

Date:
22.-24. 11. 2017

Museums are significant movers of society. The selection of themes and the manner of interpretation may influence whole generations. The international conference entitled Presumption to Responsibility. Museum and Contested History. Saying the Unspeakable in Museums, co-organized by co-organized by national committees ICOM Czech Republic, ICOM Slovakia, ICOM Austria, was devoted to the manner museums interpret complex stories of our past. The society itself finds it very difficult to discover a way towards them every now and again; therefore, it is museums’ mission to initiate discussion and reflection.

The mission of objects that are housed in museums is to document our cultural and political heritage. Objects selected by museum curators give themselves evidence about our ability to objectively document history. However, history is frequently perceived differently since it is a live instrument. It defines people’s identity; each of the individuals defines themselves through significant and landmark historic events.

The manner in which museums display and depict controversial history and traumatic memories suggests how and if we are able to interpret events the society in question does not necessarily take pride in, or would preferably erase from its history. Museums have opportunity to provide different perspectives, and move visitors to think beyond the scope of their experiences.

Museum objects themselves are extremely merciless. They are what they are; not a thousand words help us change their heart of matter. Unless we destroy them, they will present a solid base we can build our society on and raise its quality. A financial crisis can change our lives over the night, a political situation can change faster than we are able to admit, the cultural heritage, however, remains unchanged; we may rely on its stability in any crisis we might be faced with.

The opening ceremony was attended by Bettina Leidl, the Vice-Chair of ICOM Austria; Dušan Buran, the Chair of ICOM Slovakia – National Committee; and Martina Lehmanová, the Chair of ICOM Czech Republic – National Committee. The Conference welcomed keynote speakers such as Sally Yerkovich, the President of ETHICOM – ICOM International Committee for Ethics; Daniel Herman, the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic; the Closing Ceremony was be attended by Peter Keller, the Director-General of ICOM.

The Conference had been attended by delegates from eleven countries; participants from Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, the United States, Japan, Hungary and Poland will present their conference paper along with representatives from organizing countries.

What will present the culmination of the Conference is a final discussion on complicated themes on history prepared by the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes’ professionals, which takes place on 24th November 2017 from 3.20 p.m. and accessible to the public.

Acknowledgements: The Conference Presumption to Responsibility. Museum and Contested History. Saying the Unspeakable in Museums. has been financially backed by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and ICOM-International Council of Museums, supported and assisted by the Moravian Gallery in Brno; the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes; the Moravian Museum in Brno, the Brno City Museum; the Technical Museum in Brno; special thanks go to the company Ricoh.

Preliminary programme: ZDE

Daniel Herman, minister of culture, Czech Republic

Martina Lehmannová, ICOM Czech Republic

Bettina Leidl, ICOM Austria

Dušan Buran, ICOM Slovakia

Sally Yerkovich, ETHICOM

Dorota Folga-Januszewska, ICOM Poland

Daniel Longeman,

Registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScb5FP03UmGlU3NmiSniYnAcudNcS8GgclLtSZ_kS0JqdIUmQ/viewform

Theses:
Since once selected, items included in museum collections themselves suggest they are account of our ability to objectively document our history.  Exhibitions or numerous publications show if and how we are able to interpret events the particular society does not necessarily take pride in, or would preferably erase it from its history, including physical artefacts.

Among the most popular exhibitions held in museums are those that chart accounts about the times a visitor could either experience alone or through the members of their family (parents or grandparents) therefore arousing personal feelings. What is the ability of museums to show live / experienced history like?

The issue seems to be even more than burning since it is just the 20th century that is our experienced past, those old days that have been one of the most complicated and tragic periods in the human history so far, when events would take interpretative turns under the baton of totalitarian regimes for decades. In addition to artefacts from World War 1 and World War 2 also the ones relating to migration (exile) or political regimes in Eastern Europe in the second half of the century are becoming objects of musealisation.

The forthcoming conference is expected to focus on interpretative attitudes of today’s museum professionals to those periods of history that are broadly perceived negatively or “rather negatively” or controversially by the public for whatever reason.

Museum objects themselves are extremely merciless. They are what they are; not a thousand words help us change their heart of matter. Unless we destroy them, they will present a solid base we can build our society on and raise its quality. A financial crisis can change our lives over the night, a political situation can change faster than we are able to admit, the cultural heritage, however, remains unchanged; we may rely on its stability in any crisis we might be faced with.

REGISTRATION PAYMENT
ICOM Members:
ICOM Early Bird (registration until 15.10.2017): 50,- EUR
ICOM Registration (after 15.10.2017): 60,- EUR 

Non ICOM Members:
Early Bird (registration until 15.10.2017): 60,- EUR
Registration (after 15.10.2017): 70,- EUR
STUDENTS special tarif(any time): 40,- EUR

Pay the registration fee via bank transfer, please!
IBAN: CZ4801000000000029230061
BIC/SWIFT: KOMBCZPPXXX

Creditor´s name: Cesky vybor ICOM
Creditor´s country: Czech Republic

 The Remittance information: Your name + Name of Your institution