ICOMAM – International Committee for Museums and Collections of Arms and Military History

22 August 2022, 16:00–17:30, Prague Congress Centre

ON-SITE ONLY FORMAT

Organizing committee: ICOMAM

The Power of Museums

Presentation of papers in the field of the Power of Military Museums and History.

23 August 2022, 14:30–16:00, Prague Congress Centre

ON-SITE ONLY FORMAT

Organizing committee: ICOMAM

The Power of Museums

Presentation of papers in the field of the Power of Military Museums and History.

23 August 2022, 16:30–18:00, Prague Congress Centre

HYBRID FORMAT

Organizing committee: ICOMAM, DRMC

War and Heritage: The power of museums in preparing for and representing armed conflict

Around the world, museums are increasingly caught up in armed conflicts. Museum collections have been looted for sale in illicit markets, and, sometimes, even repurposed for the conflict itself. Although museums have a certain degree of legal protection under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the duty to respect museums and their collections is often ignored. Nevertheless, museum staff are implicated in many ways. Many museums are involved in positive training activities to increase fidelity to protect cultural property under international law. Their staffs may be involved in offering expert advice to militaries or in securing museum objects as a conflict nears the institution. Safeguarding collections during conflict, as well as the conflict itself, raise additional questions about curation and collections acquisition. How should museums respond during conflicts? What might they consider collecting? How are these collections exhibited subsequently? The aim of ICOM-DRMC and ICOMAM in this session is to examine the role of museums and conflict holistically, considering the different issues that museums must consider when facing these unthinkable, but frustratingly more frequent, scenarios.