The conference “Remembrances of Things Lost: triggering the memory of the historic house through loss (and regain)” will be held at the Yugoslav Film Archive and will include many offsite house and museum visits.

The theme of the conference is the role of the private (family-held) or state sector house museum when it comes to unveiling and securing the memory of permanent loss due to war, state confiscation, colonialist actions and more. What is different yet at the same time,  common denominators worldwide for historic houses when it comes to keeping the fire of remembrance current and important in the present time? What are the means to keep the fire of remembrance alive? How can historic house museums save their lost history which is embedded in the walls and contents of a home? Is the physical non-existence of the memory-holder i.e. objects so important that they cannot be replaced by a mere narrative or a copy? Can we all worldwide benefit from the use objects to trigger the memory and in that manner, keep stories alive even upon exiting the historic house? What happens when those objects are no longer in the house? What are we choosing to remember and what to forget? On the one hand,  questioning the selected memory – is it still corresponding with the audience, or does it respond to community concerns? On the other hand, the importance of curating the forgotten, when the message of the forgotten is maybe more important to be closely investigated today and can help in healing the community.

More information and the call for papers, coming soon.

Partners and Sponsors: ICOM-Serbia, DEMHIST, Ministry of Culture of The Republic of Serbia