When the common experience is becoming history : Selected examples of exhibition presentation of the latest history in the former Yugoslavia and Poland
Abstract
The process of musealization of the past is inherently based on the principle of selection, where the curator arbitrarily decides which part of the cultural heritage (understood both in terms of specific artifacts and general topics) deserves to be processed for its preservation for future generations and possible exhibition presentations. At the same time, that process always takes place in a certain tension between the professional view and the society's expectations.
This is all the more visible in the case of topics from contemporary history, whose museum presentation is inevitably confronted with the individual memory of visitors, their sentiments and resentments, and often the current political situation, which significantly affects the perspective from which this recent past is viewed. The paper focuses on the analysis of selected examples of museum presentation of recent history.
Using choosen examples permanent exhibitions and short-term exhibitions in the former Yugoslavia and Poland, we will observe what role work with the visitor's personal memory plays in the process of musealization of contemporary history, how it is reflected in the construction of individual librettos and which means of communication are used for this purpose by museum institutions.