Join us online for this international conference on the theoretical and practical engagement with divergent interpretations of the past and their resonances across the cultural sector.
For two days, presenters from public history, memory studies, museology, and participatory design will trace intersections of agonism, constituent power, and horizontal politics to activate their potential for transforming institutionalised practices. From digitisation practices and virtual exhibitions, to navigating contested history and memory discourses, to mobilising craft and counter-framing design practices, the case studies demonstrate the breadth of opportunities to inform a participatory agonistic practice impacting mid to long-term strategies in cultural venues.
7-8 December 2023
In-person presentations. Online attendance
Please register to receive the Webex link.
Programme
Thursday, 7 December 2023
| 09.00 | Welcome and introduction from the organisers |
| 09.15 | Panel 1 / Demystifying museum procedures and harbouring divergence |
| Chair: Joella van Donkersgoed | |
| ‘But it’s tradition!’: Collecting and exhibiting traditions at the House of Alijn Sam De Schutter Affiliation: House of Alijn, Belgium | |
| Accommodating a history of differences Karin Hansson Affiliation: Stockholm University, Sweden | |
| 10.30 | Break |
| 11.00 | Panel 2 / The political spaces of museums |
| Chair: Camilla Portesani | |
| Moving beyond the model of the irenic museum. Study of the process of co-creating a digital experience for the Arts of One World collection at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Laura Delfino Affiliation: University of Montreal (QC), Canada | |
| Reconciliation between conflicting agendas at the art museum. Karen Grøn Affiliation: museum director at Trapholt Museums of Modern Art and Design, Denmark | |
| Agonistic Moments: The Case of Atelier Van Lieshout [online] Marco de Waard Affiliation: Amsterdam University College, The Netherlands | |
| 12.30 | Lunch break |
| 14.00 | Panel 3 / Agonistic memory practices in contested histories |
| Chair: Rhianne Morgan | |
| Navigating Contested History, Identity, and Cultural Expression in Post Conflict Northern Ireland William Blair Affiliation: Director of Collections, National Museums Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland, UK | |
| Somatography of memory sediments: Reinterpretation of time, place and memory Selma Ćatović Hughes Affiliation: American University of Sharjah, UAE | |
| 15.15 | Coffee break |
| 16.00 | Keynote: Museums and Conflict: Speculative Political Designs Helen Graham Affiliation: University of Leeds, UK |
| Chair: Violeta Tsenova |
Friday, 8 December 2023
| 09.00 | Panel 1 / Social justice and craft practices in transforming institutions |
| Chair: Myriam Dalal | |
| Co-knitting cultural heritage: Between conflict, commoning and feminine publics Birgit Eriksson and Tina Louise Hove Sørensen Affiliation: Aarhus University, Denmark | |
| Story Chair: Working to collaboratively craft infrastructures of inclusion in heritage venues with and for women in touch with the criminal justice system Angelika Strohmayer and Dawn Harrison Affiliation: Northumbria University [AS] and Changing Lives Women’s Criminal Justice Services [DH], UK | |
| Transforming Walls, Reversing Roles. Graffiti Art in Prison [online] Gabriella Cianciolo Cosentino Affiliation: Universität zu Köln, Germany | |
| 10.45 | Break |
| 11.00 | Panel 2 / Traces of counter-framing (urban) planning and social movements |
| Chair: Violeta Tsenova | |
| Engaging with Uncomfortable Emotions in Participatory Design [Online] Chioma Obasi Affiliation: Hasselt University, Belgium | |
| Countering as an Agonistic Practice of Designing Movements Noémi Zajzon, Anaïs Carlton-Parada, and Sharon Prendeville Affiliation: Loughborough University London, UK | |
| Throwing Books at Monuments: An agonistic urban planning intervention on contested (counter-) monuments in Montreal, Canada Louis-Thomas Kelly Affiliation: University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands | |
| 12.30 | Lunch break |
| 14.00 | Panel 3 / Horizontal approaches to memory practices |
| Chair: Helen Graham | |
| Mouffe and Memory Studies – A Partial Agonistic Turn? [online] Benjamin Nienass Affiliation: Montclair State University, USA | |
| Decentralizing memory practice: Towards an anarchist approach to agonistic memorialization Laney Lenox Affiliation: Independent, Germany / Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK | |
| Transforming Cultural Institutions with Fabrics: The Cultural Activism Practices of the Sewing Group Unión de Costureros in the Context of Colombia’s Post-Conflict Transition [online] Ricardo Velasco T. Affiliation: University of Minnesota, USA | |
| 15.30 | Closing remarks |