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A three-year interdisciplinary research project (2019–2021) revealed that staging difficult pasts through theatre, performance, and museum installations can challenge accepted narratives while evoking emotional responses. The study, involving Polish curators, artists, and scholars, examined global case studies—including the ESMA Memory Museum in Buenos Aires, where a performance by Wojtek Ziemilski used film and live condemnation to confront perpetrators of Argentina's Dirty War, and the Museum of Terror in Budapest, which links WWII commemoration with anti-communist struggles. Another project, 'We Walked Just This Way,' demonstrated how performative actions can bridge historical trauma across generations by recontextualizing artifacts like a replica corpse-transport truck. The research highlights the potential of transnational memory work to disrupt passive remembrance and foster critical engagement.
ChatGPT’s interpretation of contested memoryscapes favours the voice of current governments, capitalism and the far-right
Generative AI, such as ChatGPT-4o, exhibits a notable bias toward dominant political and economic narratives when interpreting contested memoryscapes linked to dictatorial regimes. A study analyzing responses about three Spanish-speaking memorial sites—Valley of the Fallen (Spain), ESMA Museum (Argentina), and Monument to Salvador Allende (Chile)—revealed a preference for perspectives aligned with current governments, capitalism, and far-right rhetoric, particularly in Spanish-language outputs. Using least-to-most prompting and Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), researchers demonstrated how AI can inadvertently reinforce power structures, posing challenges for unbiased heritage narratives. This finding underscores the need to critically assess AI's role in shaping memory politics and democratic discourse.
Clandestine Captivity, Testimony, and Construction of Truth in a Memory Site: Narrative Strategies and Memory Work at the ESMA Site Museum’s Permanent Exhibition (Buenos Aires)
A study of the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Buenos Aires reveals how narrative strategies and memory work shape public understanding of clandestine captivity, testimony, and truth construction. The research highlights the museum's permanent exhibition as a critical site for preserving and interpreting the experiences of victims during Argentina's last military dictatorship (1976–1983). By analyzing testimonial accounts, spatial design, and interpretive techniques, the study demonstrates how memory sites can both challenge official narratives and foster collective reflection. The approach combines qualitative analysis of museum exhibits with theoretical frameworks from memory studies and critical history, offering insights into the role of museums in constructing historical truth through storytelling.
Constant Consensus Building
Artistic practices play a pivotal role in fostering consensus and addressing intergenerational trauma in spaces of memory, such as the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory. This study demonstrates that through artistic installations and performances, public debate, conflict, and tension can be productively channeled to facilitate collective reflection on Argentina's traumatic past. The research highlights how these art-driven initiatives contribute to the transmission and processing of traumatic memories, ultimately supporting societal healing and consensus-building. The approach combines historical analysis with qualitative methods, examining the museum's development, social role, and its impact on public discourse.
Constant Consensus Building . Art and Conflict in the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory (Chapter 1)
Artistic practices at the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory, located on the former clandestine detention center during Argentina's dictatorship, play a pivotal role in fostering consensus while addressing intergenerational trauma. The study reveals that through installations and performances, art serves as a catalyst for public debate, conflict resolution, and the transmission of traumatic memories. This approach demonstrates how spaces of memory can leverage artistic expression to bridge generational divides and promote social healing.
Good and bad heritage
Heritage sites often evoke positive associations, but dissonant or 'bad' heritage—marked by tragedies such as genocides, human rights violations, and environmental disasters—challenges conventional preservation narratives. While some World Heritage sites, like Auschwitz or Hiroshima Peace Memorial, grapple with negative legacies, others, such as the Slave Route Project or Argentina’s ESMA Museum (a former clandestine detention center), actively confront painful histories to promote education and human rights. Toxic heritage, emerging from industrial disasters like Bhopal or Fukushima, adds another layer of complexity, requiring balanced approaches that address preservation, public health, and ethical considerations. The study highlights the tension within the World Heritage Convention when nominating sites tied to conflicts, underscoring the need for frameworks that acknowledge both the destructive and redemptive potential of heritage.
Representing the Material Infra-Ordinary of the Perpetrator
Artistic exhibitions at memorial sites challenge the stereotype of perpetrators as absolute evil by integrating their material objects into narratives, revealing a complex 'infra-ordinary' dimension. This study focuses on domestic spaces and private lives of perpetrators, contrasting them with propaganda monuments. Two examples—'Bilder, Stimmen und Klischees' at Ravensbrück in Germany and a permanent installation at the ESMA Museum in Buenos Aires—demonstrate strategies to represent perpetrators through mundane objects, uncovering layers of violence and authenticity. The research employs Georges Perec's concept of the infra-ordinary, arguing that trivial items expose deeper truths about perpetrator heritage.
Unravelling Memories
Interdisciplinary theatre practices can effectively facilitate the exploration and processing of personal and collective traumatic memories, as demonstrated by the Intimate Model’s Lab. This innovative approach, developed by artist and researcher Patricia Gershanik, brings together individuals with lived trauma experiences, therapists, academics, and artists from diverse backgrounds to engage in a five-day immersive workshop. Through physical play, object theatre, writing, drawing, and plastic modeling, participants collaboratively transpose their experiences into tangible representations. The Lab’s methodology, tested across multiple international settings including the ESMA Museum (a former Argentinian extermination camp), highlights its potential as a tool for trauma-informed placemaking and collective memory work.
Memória das Ditaduras da Argentina (1976-83) e do Chile (1973-90): Convergências e Divergências em Instituições Latinoamericanas
Memorial institutions in Argentina and Chile, established during the Pink Tide era (late 1990s to mid-2010s), reflect both convergences and divergences in their approaches to memorializing dictatorial regimes. While both countries experienced heightened public discourse on human rights and implemented policies supporting these institutions, their narratives, architectural designs, and scopes differ significantly. The study argues that despite academic critiques of the Pink Tide concept, these memorials—such as Argentina's ESMA Museum and Chile's Museo Memoria y los Derechos Humanos and Villa Grimaldi—emerged from this period, marking a pivotal shift in Latin American public history.
Memory, Forgetting, and Denial
A comparative analysis of memory struggles reveals that Japan and Argentina share parallels with Germany in confronting historical state terror, particularly through institutionalized remembrance. The ESMA Museum and Memory Site in Argentina, established in 2015, serves as a permanent educational space designed to transcend political fluctuations by presenting factual narratives about its history as a clandestine detention center. This study highlights how such institutions destabilize denial strategies, which have intensified with the increasing labeling of historical events as genocidal. While official state denial of the Jewish Holocaust is rare, intellectual denial persists in other regions. The research approach involves examining specific denial tactics while emphasizing the broader implications for historical memory and education.
Museumification of Places of Memory in Iberoamerica
The museumification of places of memory, particularly in Iberoamerica, has been shown to effectively create emotional impact, mobilize society, and update narratives related to historical trauma. This process transforms cultural heritage into museum objects, preserving their value while focusing on victims' experiences, unlike traditional historical museums. The study highlights successful projects such as the ESMA Museum (Argentina), MUME (Uruguay), and Villa Grimaldi Memorial Park (Chile), which address generational shifts in commemoration and the recognition of human sacrifice. These initiatives blend tangible, intangible, and combined approaches, demonstrating their effectiveness in engaging society and reflecting on painful historical events.
On Crying Perpetrators and Subversive Laughter
Contemporary theatre and performance can serve as powerful tools for exploring transnational politics of memory and grief, particularly when engaging with difficult historical narratives. This study examines two site-specific interventions at the ESMA Museum (Buenos Aires, Argentina): The Impossible Scene by Wojtek Ziemilski and Recess: A Practical Guide for Trials Against Humanity, both from 2019. Through these works, the research demonstrates how performative installations and guided tours can subvert traditional memory practices, challenging perpetrators while fostering inclusive dialogue. The analysis suggests that such interventions offer a grounded approach to confronting historical atrocities, blending artistic expression with educational and therapeutic functions. Future research should further explore the intersection of museums, theatre, and justice in shaping collective narratives.
"Our Auschwitz is the ESMA": Preservation and the Holocaust at the former Higher School of Mechanics of the Navy in Argentina
The transformation of Argentina's ESMA, a former clandestine detention center under the military dictatorship (1976–83), into a UNESCO World Heritage Site reveals tensions between global heritage recognition and local demands for memory, justice, and reparation. This study shows how preservation efforts shifted from honoring victims' memories to safeguarding the site's physical structures, while also accommodating modern human rights activism. The analysis highlights contradictions in balancing historical protection with contemporary functional needs, illustrating how Argentine heritage discourse intersects with global Holocaust narratives. Successful UNESCO inscription underscores these dual pressures, reflecting broader challenges in preserving sites tied to atrocities.
Constant consensus building: art and conflict in the ESMA museum and site of memory
Artistic practices within the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory play a pivotal role in facilitating consensus-building around traumatic memories of Argentina's dictatorship. This study reveals how the museum, located on the grounds of a former clandestine detention, torture, and extermination center, leverages artistic installations and performances to foster public debate and intergenerational dialogue about historical conflict. The research demonstrates that these art-driven initiatives create spaces for tension and reflection, contributing to collective healing and reconciliation. By analyzing specific projects, the study highlights the transformative potential of art in addressing traumatic pasts and promoting social cohesion.
ESMA Museum as a Place of "Hot" Memory
The ESMA Museum, located within the former clandestine detention center during Argentina's last dictatorship (1975–1983), remains a powerful site of 'hot' memory. This study reveals that its transformation into a memorial space effectively evokes emotional responses in visitors, reinforcing societal reflection on human rights and historical accountability. Drawing on Jan Assmann’s concept of 'hot' memory, the research analyzes ESMA's content, policy context, and the tension between competing memory approaches to demonstrate its enduring role as a place of collective remembrance. By examining visitor experiences and institutional practices, the study underscores ESMA's significance in preserving trauma while promoting human dignity for future generations.
Poetics of Memory on Dictatorships
Memorial museums in Latin America strategically blend local and global museological techniques to address dictatorial violence, aiming for international recognition. Research shows these institutions—including the ESMA Museum in Argentina—combine Latin American narratives with Holocaust tropes in their exhibitions, display methods, and digital platforms to attract a worldwide audience and gain prestige from organizations like UNESCO. The study highlights how vernacular language, visual aesthetics, and interpretative texts serve dual purposes: preserving regional memory while aligning with universal human rights discourse.
Introduction: Museums and Monuments: Memorials of Violent Pasts in Urban Spaces
This study reveals that memorialization practices in urban spaces are significantly influenced by transnational perspectives and cosmopolitan memory, which shape how contested histories are represented and debated. It explores the role of museums and monuments as political tools that construct historical narratives through preservation, education, and public exhibition, often reflecting complex social dynamics and power struggles. The research employs an interdisciplinary approach, analyzing case studies from Europe and the Americas to examine theoretical and methodological frameworks in memory studies. Key questions addressed include the motivations behind portraying contested history, the impact of transnational influences on memorialization practices, and how political forces and civil society activists shape public debates about representing a violent past.
Writing and Reading Memories at a Buenos Aires Memorial Site: The Ex-ESMA
The Ex-ESMA, a former clandestine detention and torture center turned memorial museum, undergoes continuous transformation to shape visitor experiences and collective memory. Research reveals that museological interventions—such as rethinking the museum's script and visit formats—alter how visitors interact with the space, influencing their emotional engagement and understanding of Argentina's dark history. The study traces evolving debates on what should be included or excluded in memorialization, reflecting shifts in official policies and societal perceptions. By analyzing curatorial intentions and visitor responses, it highlights the dynamic interplay between memory construction and spatial design in sites of historical significance.
Building Memory
Spaces of memory and museums, such as the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory in Argentina, serve as powerful tools to challenge historical silence and impunity surrounding state-sponsored violence. These sites reframe narratives through a politics of truth, countering the lack of documentary evidence left by U.S.-backed Latin American military dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s. The dynamic process of memory-building is shaped by ongoing political debates, social movements, and justice policies, reflecting a multifaceted approach to confronting past atrocities.
Construcción discursiva de memorias del pasado reciente en medios argentinos
Media discourses in Argentina between 2004 and 2008 revealed contrasting narratives about the transformation of ESMA (Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada) into a Museum of Memory, highlighting divergent interpretations of recent military history. The study found that national newspapers Página 12 and La Nación constructed distinct meanings around the site's past as a clandestine detention center under military rule, reflecting broader societal debates on memory and historical accountability. This comparative analysis demonstrates how media discourse shapes public perception of traumatic pasts, offering insights into the discursive construction of collective memory.
The ESMA: From Torture Chambers into New Sites of Memory
The ESMA Museum and Site of Memory, formerly a clandestine center for detention, torture, and extermination during Latin America's authoritarian regimes, has evolved into a significant site of commemoration. This study argues that such sites serve as 'lieux de mémoire,' hybrid places where memory, history, and architecture intersect to challenge hegemonic narratives. Drawing on Pierre Nora's framework, the research explores how these spaces resurrect old meanings while generating new ones, yet it also critiques his binary between archival and non-archival practices. The analysis employs a mix of historical narrative and performative embodiment to examine the ESMA's transformation from a site of state violence into a symbol of resistance and remembrance.
Argentina’s former secret detention centres: Between demolition, modification and preservation
Debates over the preservation, modification, or demolition of Argentina’s former secret detention centers—such as ESMA (Navy School of Mechanics), Rosario Memory Museum, and El Pozo—reveal deep-seated political and social tensions. These sites, once symbols of state terrorism during the 1976–1983 military dictatorship, embody conflicting national memories. The study compares proposals from human rights groups, arguing that their fate reflects broader struggles against globalization and neoliberalism. By analyzing architectural debates, the research highlights how these spaces serve as alternative sites for collective memory, challenging dominant narratives.
Returning to the Site of Horror
Debates surrounding the transformation of Argentina's former Naval School of Mechanics (ESMA) into a 'Space for Memory' reveal a lack of consensus on how to adequately commemorate sites of state terrorism. This absence of closure presents an opportunity to critically examine the politics and material poetics of contemporary memorial museums, particularly in relation to postmemory, secondary witnessing, and the politics of empathy. The study analyzes key arguments in this debate, highlighting their implicit or explicit attitudes towards museal forms and their broader implications for understanding collective memory and historical trauma.
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