Director General of the War Museum Yuriy Savchuk took part in the conference "Filling Blind Spots 2.0: New Narratives and the Role of Museums in the Reconstruction of Ukraine."
The event was organized by the OBMIN Foundation, founded in the summer of 2022 as a platform for Ukrainian museums.
"Filling Blind Spots 2.0: New Narratives and the Role of Museums in the Reconstruction of Ukraine" is the third international conference from the foundation. 130 museums from all corners of Ukraine, as well as partner institutions of Poland, Germany and other countries, united to discuss the topics of decolonization and the response of museums to the challenges of war.
At the discussion panel, Director General noted: "The museum should talk to the visitor about the topics that concern him, and for this, museum workers should quickly master new approaches to museum presentation and communication, use modern technologies, be ready to collaborate with other subjects of cultural life, and most importantly - to international cooperation, which is the most effective tool for integrating museums into the global cultural process.
In the practical activities of the War Museum, it is extremely important to be the first in the process of documenting and covering the events of the modern war. That is why Museum carries out field expeditions to the liberated territories immediately after the retreat of russian troops. Museum exhibitions based on the collected artifacts and the results of photo documentation are created urgently.
I consider half-hearted or cosmetic changes, which lead only to the external renewal of museums without a fundamental transformation of their approaches and narratives, to be the main warnings regarding the matter of adaptation to the dynamic modern world. Instead, readiness for fundamental transformations, openness to cooperation at the national and international levels create favorable conditions for real European integration of Ukrainian museums."
The War Museum thanks the OBMIN Foundation for many years of cooperation and the opportunity to discuss professionally urgent topics of further development of Ukrainian museums at the international level.
