Research project Rethink and Reload – Monuments in 21st Century Democracies
Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice in Vienna. Artist is Olaf Nicolai, 2014. Photo: © C.Stadler/Bwag / Wikimedia Commons
Monument making in contemporary democracies is characterized by two trends: monuments that have fallen out of favour are removed, restaged, and recontextualized but the genre has also been reassessed and reinvigorated through the creation of new designs and uses. This international, interdisciplinary cooperation between an art historian (Tanja Schult, Stockholm) and a historical geographer (Tim Cole, Bristol) treats the seemingly opposing developments as indicators of a democratic shift within monument making, and more broadly in society.
The statue of Edward Colston in a storage in Bristol (Photo: Tim Cole). The second picture shows the empty pedestal of the statue of Edward Colton in Bristol, the day after protesters felled the statue and rolled it into the harbour. The ground is covered with Black Lives Matter placards. (Photo: Caitlin Hobbs / Wikimedia Commons)
Through a macro study of global patterns, and a series of micro studies from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, this research brings both trends together and investigates how they align with changing expectations of the role of citizens within democracies as agents who actively shape collective memory and urban space. Drawing on field studies, archival and media sources, interviews with artists and commissioners alongside audience reception, the project uncovers different strategies used to express, negotiate and develop ideas of democratic representation and participation through monument making.
At a time of enormous interest in monuments and democracy, this project will provide a comprehensive investigation of monuments’ democratic potential. By examining the interplay of monuments, public space and changing ideas of the role of citizens, it will convey new knowledge on the monument genre, as well as important insights into democracy’s current crisis and resilience.
Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Military Justice in Vienna. Artist is Olaf Nicolai, 2014. Photo: Tanja Schult
Outreach
Conference in Stockholm, 2024
On September 23-24, in collaboration with the Swedish Arts Council, the conference Biographies and Methodological Approaches was organised within the international research network The Everyday Life of Urban Monuments. Speakers were Magnus Rodell, Södertörn University, Tanja Schult, Stockholm University, Tim Cole, University of Bristol, och Annemarie de Wildt, Amsterdam Museum.
Conference Participation, 2023
In Fall 2023, Tanja and Tim attended the international conference Monumental Developments organized by Brenda Schmahmann, which took place at the University of Johannesburg between the 8th and 11th November.
Tanja’s talk was entitled: “Contemporary Monuments as Placemaking: Exercising Democratic Citizenship”, and Tim’s “On the Plinth/Off the Plinth: Re-imagining the monument in turn-of-the-century-London and beyond”.
After the conference, they travelled to Pretoria and Howick to study several Mandela monuments which Tanja talked about at the conference Visual Redress in Africa held at Stellenbosch University, 7th to 8th December 2023.
Conference in Vienna, 2023
Tanja Schult was one of the speakers at the conference 100 | Fachgespräch Denkmalsturz und Diversität der Denkmallandschaft, in Vienna Austria 24 May, 2023. Her paper title was Denkmäler in Demokratien – Demokratische Denkmäler.
Programme on the conference website
Panel discussion in Bristol, 2023
Tim Cole participated in an open talk 24 May, 2023, at MAYK in Bristol together with artist, activist and elected representative Cleo Lake, and sound artist, poet, and writer Ralph Hoyte about contemporary issues and questions relating to memorial, public space, and the place of art interventions relating to difficult histories in Bristol, and the UK.
Zitadelle Spandau in Berlin, Germany. Photo: A.Savin, Wikicommons
Conference in Berlin, 2023
The international symposium "Rethink and Reload" was arranged by Tanja Schult and Urte Evert (Director of the Zitadelle) 29–30 June, 2023.
This conference was dedicated to the multifaceted culture of monuments in contemporary democracies. It considered the overthrow and new settings and genres of monuments as two inseparable sides of one development: the effort to make our increasingly diverse democracies more democratic.
Conference info on the H-Soz-Kult website
Workshop talks, 2022
Tanja Schult and Tim Cole talked at a workshop in Vienna 20 October, 2022, arranged by Grüne Bildungswerkstatt Wien. See their talks on Youtube: