This workshop will focus on how colonial history can be translated and displayed in a museological space. Decolonizing museums is not an easy exercise, as there are no unambiguous or universally applicable solutions and answers available. The reopening of several museums, e.g. the Africa Museum in Tervuren in Belgium as an emblematic example, revealed many issues and provoked public debate. Who and for whom should these exhibitions be designed? How are counter-histories, hidden histories and divergent opinions, stories and legacies presented in an inclusive, objective and humane way? How can a new perspective and vision on colonial history and its legacy be developed within the museum structures and collections that are a direct product of colonial activity and thus inherently embody this mode of thinking?
This workshop is open to all students with an interest in public history and exhibiting colonial history in a museum context. More concrete information about the content and structure of this workshop will follow later. Interested students are invited to discuss a particular collection or museum as a case study, or to consider more overarching questions such as how African history, architecture and urbanism can be transferred to a museological space. Presentations on experimental forms of exhibiting and public participation as a forum and catalyst for debate will also fit within this workshop.
This workshop is open to all students with an interest in public history and exhibiting colonial history in a museum context. More concrete information about the content and structure of this workshop will follow later. Interested students are invited to discuss a particular collection or museum as a case study, or to consider more overarching questions such as how African history, architecture and urbanism can be transferred to a museological space. Presentations on experimental forms of exhibiting and public participation as a forum and catalyst for debate will also fit within this workshop.
Johan Lagae is a full Professor at Ghent University and currently teaches 20th century architectural history with a focus on the non-European context. He obtained his PhD degree in 2002 with a study of 20th century colonial architecture in the former Belgian Congo. He spent two months in 2007 as a Chercheur invité de la Fondation de France at the Institut National de l’Histoire de l’Art (INHA) in Paris. He was on the editorial board of OASE for seven years. Together with Mercedes Volait (INHA, Paris), he led the European Community-funded COST-action IS0904 project ‘European Architecture beyond Europe’ from 2010 to 2014.
His research interests include colonial and postcolonial architecture; urban planning and urban history in (Central) Africa; colonial-built heritage; and colonial photography. He has published articles in Cahiers Africains, the Journal of Architecture and Third Text, among others. He has also authored and edited several books. Moreover, he has been involved as a (co-)curator in several national and international Congo- and Africa-related exhibitions.
His research interests include colonial and postcolonial architecture; urban planning and urban history in (Central) Africa; colonial-built heritage; and colonial photography. He has published articles in Cahiers Africains, the Journal of Architecture and Third Text, among others. He has also authored and edited several books. Moreover, he has been involved as a (co-)curator in several national and international Congo- and Africa-related exhibitions.
WORKSHOP IMAGE
View on the re-opened AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, as seen from the new visitor center.