FEATURE
Their Past, Your Future
Commemorative museums are becoming dynamic public spaces where visitors can learn, reflect, engage and aspire to a brighter future. Helen Patenall rounds up a selection of the latest memorial attractions
“T
he best memorials are not objects we visit once, contem- plate, and file away. The best memorials evoke reflection
and commemoration, but are also living, dynamic public places that engage with all generations in the community.” That’s the ideology behind Sleuk Rith
Institute in Phnom Penh. Although a commemoration of Cambodia’s destruc- tion at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, Sleuk’s founder has conceived a dynamic public space where new generations of Cambodians and international visitors can contemplate the genocide as a pathway to enlightenment, empowering the country to move towards a brighter future whilst pro- moting Cambodia as a tourist destination. Similarly, the mindset behind the June
4th Museum in Hong Kong is not solely to commemorate those who died during the 1989 Tienanmen Square protests, but the creation of a politically motivated vehicle aimed at publicly verifying the truth behind the Chinese government’s military crack- down on unarmed civilians. It provides a forum for the protest against China’s role in Hong Kong and the pursuit of democracy.
136 ATTRACTIONS HANDBOOK 2015-2016 Across the Atlantic, Washington’s impend-
ing National Museum of African American History and Culture incorporates two roles: as a traditional facility for documentation of the African American struggle for freedom, and as the only museum in the world exclu- sively showcasing and celebrating the lives, art and culture of African American people. In response to more recent tragic events,
Sleuk will offer a public space where visitors can contemplate the genocide
In a different vein, the conversion of
Hitler’s former House of Responsibility in Austria into a heritage centre and the construction of a museum in Predappio in Italy intend both to educate visitors about the reality of Fascism and to rid these towns of their status as the birthplaces of dictators – and consequent attraction for neo-Nazi pilgrimages. Elsewhere in Europe, the Munich Documentation Center has been established not only as a place for reflection on Hitler’s rise to power, but to explore Germany’s predicament in dealing with its past by virtue of research and discussion.
the 9/11 Memorial Museum ”Demonstrates the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the museum attests to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirms an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.” Commemorative museums tread a con-
troversial path – to lay tribute, to document history, and to provide a place where visitors can come to terms with traumatic events. The design and approach of these ‘attrac- tions’ can influence how society deals with tragedies in our interdependent world.
■■About the author: Helen Patenall is the Handbook Editor of Attractions Management Handbook.
helenpatenall@leisuremedia.com
www.attractionshandbook.com
PHOTO: © ZAHA HADID
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