1-2 March 2024, Holocaust Centre North, Huddersfield, UK
*Submissions deadline extended until Friday 19th January 2024.
What are the challenges of exhibiting, responding to and discussing the Holocaust and other genocides in public and artistic arenas? What can we learn from each other about how to investigate and present these traumatic and contested histories?
Join us as we explore the answers to these questions at Holocaust Centre North, located on the campus of the University of Huddersfield. This workshop has been inspired by our Memorial Gestures Artistic Residency programme, which supports artistic and creative responses to our collections.
We welcome submissions from those who may wish to discuss a finished product, such as a research project, exhibition, or artistic output, alongside those whose wish to reflect on how their efforts have been delayed, interrupted or obstructed by ethical and curatorial challenges arising from the Holocaust. We hope that this inclusive invitation will foster discussion around innovative and original approaches that challenge conventional narratives of the Holocaust.
We welcome all disciplines and backgrounds, including those from museums and heritage curation, artists or creative practitioners, academics in all stages of their careers (including postgraduate students), and independent researchers. Proposals are flexible; they may be based on ongoing projects, digital outputs, exhibitions, research, dissertations or placements, including volunteering and artistic work.
This two-day event will be a valuable forum for participants to share their experiences when engaging with difficult, contested histories and narratives. Topics could include:
- Sharing memories and representations about the Holocaust and genocides, including survivors’ memories and intergenerational memories
- Exhibiting photography and visual histories of the Holocaust and genocides
- Curation and artistic responses to the Holocaust and genocides, including exhibitions, displays, museums, artistic performances and any other creative responses
- Legacies of the Holocaust including (trans- and inter-generational) memories and representations in culture (film, books, literature)
- Role of social media and digital technologies when curating and representing the Holocaust and other genocides
If you are interested in delivering a 15-20 minute talk, please send a brief summary of your topic, including a title, brief bio, institutional affiliation (if any) and 150-word abstract to hcn@hud.ac.uk. If you are a freelancer or artist, please send in a portfolio or examples of your artistic work (e.g., weblink to your work). You are welcome to present examples of your work as part of your talk at the workshop on the day. Proposals are due by 15 January 2024.
We have a limited number of bursaries for travel and overnight accommodation for participants. To apply for a bursary, please provide a brief budget and short explanation about how this money would enable your participation. Please submit this alongside your proposal by 15 January.
We are delighted that Dr Stefan Hördler, Lecturer at the University of Göttingen and Visiting Professor at the University of Huddersfield, will be our keynote speaker. Hördler is a leading expert in Holocaust photography, having recently cowritten a book about Lili Jacob’s famous Auschwitz album. Previously he worked at universities and research institutes in Germany, Austria, and the United States. Hördler is the author and co-editor of numerous international publications and prize-winning books, and participates in several international academic advisory boards. For the past decade, he’s served as an expert consultant in various international investigations and court cases against former Nazi camp personnel.