Agenda
Webinar on Monumental Matters with the participation of Ann Rigney
Monumental Matters: How do our national monuments reflect society?
The International Heritage Cooperation programme of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) and the ErfgoedAcademie are organising a two-part online exchange titled “Monumental Matters: How do our National Monuments reflect society?”. Attending both sessions is encouraged.
Each session will begin with a series of short presentations offering inspiration for a discussion between different actors within the heritage field (policy makers, scholars, activists, community initiatives) that are rethinking monument designation and interpretation.The sessions aim to foster an international exchange of knowledge and experience. Especially regarding how national monuments are managed and given meaning by different groups in society. This exchange is part of a research project that is being carried out at the RCE on multivocality and the Dutch national monument list.We encourage professionals, activists, artists and scholars to join who are working on the issues that will be addressed. However, anyone with an interest in these topics can join. For each session the goal is to foster an active discussion between participants. Participants are encouraged to join both sessions. The sessions are online and will be held in English.
Session 1: National monument designations and lists20 November 2023, 14.00-16.00 CETThe first session will focus on national monument designations and lists. During this session, we will discuss how to engage with the often exclusionary or top-town nature of such systems and consider how multivocality and inclusivity can be implemented in this context. The confirmed speakers for this session are Ben Mwasinga (Senior Manager at South African Heritage Resources Agency/SAHRA), Prof. dr. Maria Grever (Research Fellow at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences /KNAW), Gary Younge (Prof.dr. in Sociology and Journalist, UK), and Katrijn D’hamers (Diversity and participation advisor at FARO Flanders, Belgium).
Session 2: Interpretations of monuments27 November 2023, 14.00-16.00 CETThe second session will focus on the interpretation of monuments and discuss the ways different perspectives as well as untold histories can be recognised and shared. This includes thinking about how counter-histories can challenge and enrich dominant narratives, in order to give a new meaning to protected built heritage. The confirmed speakers for this session are Gareth Lopes Powell (Missing Pieces Project Officer at Historic England), Paul M. Farber (Director at Monument Lab, US), Prof. dr. Ann Rigney (Chair of Comparative Literature at Utrecht University), and Jennifer Tosch (Black Heritage Tours).