Work of Memory and the Construction of the Museo Nacional de la Memoria in Colombia

• In Event: Arts, History and Memory

Abstract

As the negotiations in Havana continue, the Colombian government decreed laws and provided resources aimed to benefit the victims of violence. From this legal context, the construction of memory constitutes part of a general plan to assign responsibilities to the actors of the conflict, to dignify and symbolically repair the victims of violence, and to connect victims’ narratives with the everyday activities of those who have not directly experienced the armed conflict. In this context, the paper analyzes memory as both a concept and a government mandated process. In particular, the paper examines the manner in which memory—as a concept—is incorporated in the call for proposals, the final decision and the winner design the Museo Nacional de la Memoria. As the public usually encounters the materialization of memory in memorials or museums, it is important to question and analyze how the work of memory enters into dialogue with such monuments. Moreover, is it worth considering how and why memorialization becomes spatially located located in urban centers—far away from the conflict as the conflict continues in rural areas. The argument is that it is necessary to pay attention to some of the shortcomings and potential problems that exist in the gaps of the Museum project, and to critically think how the work of memory adapts to spatial and temporal contexts of a country that has been historically fragmented and affected by violence.

Author

• Felix A Burgos, UMBC