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Paper Short Abstract:

We are interested in powerful and transformative museum experiences that linger in the visitors’ minds, even long after the initial visit. Our poster is a memory call that allows conference participants to share their unforgettable, even transformative, encounters with museums.

Paper Abstract:

Powerful and transformative museum memories: A memory call by the Uncomfortable Museum project

Museums have always been perceived as places of public learning or even change agents capable of modifying societal attitudes, values and norms. We are interested in powerful and transformative museum experiences that linger in the visitors’ minds, even long after the initial visit. Examining this transformative potential is, however, very complex. One of the driving forces behind the Uncomfortable Museum project is the desire to understand the potential different critical exhibitions, artworks, and other engagements mediated through the museum can have in changing societal attitudes and cultural norms. What do museum visitors actually experience in museum environments, what kind of experiences stay or linger in visitors' memories, and how do different experiences transform into changed attitudes or values? What makes some experiences so powerful that visitors keep reflecting back on them?

There are, however, very limited methodologies designed to track changes that will actualise only weeks or even months after the initial visit. Our poster is part of a methodological experiment aiming to address this challenge with a memory call. The poster 1) outlines the methodological and theoretical background of our approach and 2) offers conference participants an opportunity to also share their own memories of unforgettable, even transformative, encounters with art, ethnographical, historical, or natural history museums. Respondents can post their memories either on-site or online.