Momentum 2024 | ICEE annual conference Estonia

The International Committee of Exhibition Exchange and ICOM Estonia present the International Committee for Exhibitions (ICEE) annual conference, Momentum: Exhibitions and Memory, taking place from 29 September to 2 October 2024 at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu, Estonia.

Momentum 2024 is a collaboration between the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, ICEE and ICOM-Estonia, developed following the successful 2023 meeting in Medellin, Colombia. Each day, the conference will discuss different central topics in moderated panels and keynote addresses. These themes include Memory and the Future of Museums, How Do Exhibitions Shape Memory?, and Exhibitions, Memories, and Indigenous Communities.

Every keynote session will include a moderated debate between two global thought leaders and a museum specialist. The unscripted talks will pose important queries, challenge assumptions, and invite audience members to participate.

In addition, the conference will feature the Exhibition Marketplace and seven exhibition-focused workshops. In the afternoon, attendees will tour nearby museums. This is a chance to learn about the creative ways that Estonian organisations are assisting their communities. There will also be celebrations and evening events.

“Momentum 2024 will be an extraordinary event because it brings together diverse global perspectives to explore how exhibitions can engage young people in shaping a more just future through our shared histories,” says Hillary Spencer, co-chair of ICOM Exhibitions.

“By hosting the conference at the Estonian National Museum during Tartu’s year as the European Capital of Culture, we aim to spark innovative discussions that challenge assumptions and foster deeper connections between the past and the future. This event will not only showcase groundbreaking exhibitions but also inspire meaningful dialogue and community engagement.”

Momentum 2024 welcome event

On Sunday 29 September, attendees can celebrate the opening of Momentum: Exhibitions and Memory at Tartu University Museum from 4 pm to 6 pm. Here, they can collect their conference badge and also enjoy drinks and light snacks while meeting the organisers. In addition, they will have exclusive access to the Tartu University Museum’s permanent exhibition, University of Our Lives, and the latest temporary exhibition, Hidden Worlds Expanding.

Marian Raisma, director of the Tartu University History Museum, and Hillary Spencer will give a welcome address.

Day one

The first keynote will take place on Monday 30 September, after a welcome from Hillary Spencer alongside Kertu Saks of the Estonian National Museum, Linda Norris from the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and Kai Lobjakas of ICOM Estonia.

In this keynote, called Exhibitions, Memory and the Future, Lebogang Marishane of Constitution Hill in South Africa and Amina Krvavac of the War Childhood Museum in Bosnia and Herzegovina will share their strategies, dilemmas, and hopes for creating future memories through exhibitions.

Hillary Spencer will moderate the conversation. This will examine how exhibitions can engage young people in thoughtful explorations of history to create more just futures.

This will be followed by concurrent workshop sessions. In Future Perfect Museums, with Hillary Spencer and Maggie Greyson of Futures Present in Canada, participants will be invited to embrace their organisation’s unique strengths and ask, “What if?”

Through futures thinking, they will collaborate with peers to envision their own Future Perfect Museum. They will also develop actionable strategies to bridge the gap between today’s realities and tomorrow’s possibilities.

Meanwhile, Creating Dialogic Exhibitions, with Linda Norris, will provide attendees with tools and approaches to develop exhibitions that encourage guests to consider and shape more just futures for all, drawing on examples from Sites of Conscience worldwide.

The role of memory in shaping the future

There are also two panel sessions. Firstly, Violence, Peace, Identity: Memories for the Future will include insights from Newcastle University’s Samantha Vaughn, Catherine Gilbert, Natalie Heidaripour and Yusuf Patel.

The panellists will explore the role of memory in understanding the past and shaping a better future. By comparing exhibitions from South Africa, Rwanda, Czechia, Northern Ireland, and the United States, they will examine how trauma and difficult histories are addressed. They will also look at how exhibitions use these memories to confront the past, foster empathy, and embrace diverse perspectives.

This is followed by Exploring Heritage and Social Issues Through Exhibitions with Niloofar Yazdkhasti of the Iran Dolls Museum, Jole Martinengh from Contemporanea Progetti, and Anna Dentoni of Promotori Musei Mare. This will discuss how museums and exhibitions raise awareness about heritage, social issues, and cultural evolution through three interconnected projects.

In the afternoon, attendees will visit the Tartu Toy Museum. Here they will have a tour of its special exhibitions and then take part in breakout sessions.

Day two

On Tuesday 1 October, Amanda Mayne of ICOM Exhibitions and The British Museum will welcome attendees to Momentum 2024.

The morning keynote, How do Exhibitions Shape our Memory?, will be a conversation between Miles Greenwood of the UK’s International Slavery Museum and Olena Honcharuk of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre in Ukraine, moderated by Linda Norris.

Museum visitors bring their own life experiences into any exhibition. But how can a museum address the dilemmas of long-held perspectives shaped by colonisation, racism, gender, and class? Whose stories are told? Whose memories are honored? How can understanding context, agency, and voice help create new meanings and memories in our constantly changing societies?

By looking at these questions, the session will explore how exhibitions can challenge entrenched narratives, honour diverse memories, and create spaces for new perspectives that resonate with evolving societies.

Then, in one of two concurrent workshops, Nightscapes: Exploring Urban Memory, Karin Leivategija from the Estonian National Museum will present the ‘Who Claims the Night?’ exhibition. Leivategija, the exhibition’s head curator, will offer attendees a unique opportunity to explore the intersection of urban memory and nighttime experiences. This workshop will feature engaging discussions as well as a collaborative mapping exercise.

The other workshop is Advancing Digital Innovation in Memory: A Collaborative Workshop, presented by Dr Kate Marrison and Dr Victoria Grace Walden of the Landecker Digital Memory Lab at the University of Sussex.

Between 2022 and 2023, 100 international collaborators developed a set of recommendations to support digital innovation in Holocaust museums, memorial sites, libraries, and archives. This session invites individuals from the wider GLAM sector to collaborate on advancing these recommendations.

Lightning presentations

A series of lightning presentations will also take place on day two of Momentum 2024.

This includes The Amashi of Durban with Rebecca Naidoo from the Old Courthouse Museum in South Africa; In Other Words, Québec: Meeting Ground with Nicolas Gauvin of the Musée de la civilisation in Canada; Museums as Catalysts for Social Awareness: The Role of The Partition Museum, Delhi by Abhinav Sharma from the Indian Institute of Heritage in India; and Revolutionizing Cultural Heritage Preservation with Etienne Tellier from Iconem in France.

Other lightning presentations are Tokens of Power by Ken Ird from the University of Tartu Museum; Reshaping Memory with Kosjenka Laszlo Klemar of the Technical Museum Nikola Tesla in Croatia; Beyond the Frame: Charting the Spectrum of Preferences Between Digital and Traditional Museum Exhibitions by Zhi Ye from Kings College London in the UK; and Vårgårda Museum: Small Museum, Millions of Stories with Pia Hansson of the Bohusläns museum in Sweden.

After lunch, there will be a tour of Tartu City Museum and its special exhibitions, including discussion breakout sessions.

In the evening, attendees can join an event at the historic Lodjakoda Barge Centre, winner of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia in Architecture Special Award 2021. They can enjoy the Barge Centre sauna on the banks of the Emajõgi River, which is heated by leftover wood from shipbuilding. They can also sample traditional Estonian fare.

Day three

On Wednesday 2 October, Julie Leclair from ICOM Exhibitions and the Canadian Museum
of History will welcome attendees.

The third keynote for Momentum 2024 is called Exhibitions, Memories, and Indigenous Communities. This will be delivered by Chris Newell from the Akomawt Educational Initiative in the US and Taina Máret Pieski from the Sámi Museum Siida in Finland. Margaret Middleton, an independent consultant from the UK, will moderate the conversation.

Historically, Indigenous groups have not always been involved in the development of exhibitions about them, perpetuating the legacy of colonisation and displacement. Indigenous museum leaders are now changing the exhibiting process and bringing in viewpoints that challenge conventional practices. 

This keynote address will examine how to honour and include Indigenous memories, customs, and current experiences in exhibitions to create environments that respect Indigenous cultures and promote inclusive learning opportunities for all. The discussion will focus on museum executives who are embracing diversity in knowledge and elevating Indigenous voices to effect change.

Then, in a plenary session called What’s Hard Right Now: Memory and Exhibitions in the Baltics,
Kristine Milere from Art Museum Riga Bourse in Latvia and other speakers from the region will look at contemporary issues in exhibition development, storytelling, decolonisation, and more.

After lunch, attendees can explore the Marketplace of Exhibitions, sponsored by Teo and Expona Exhibitions. In this session, they will discover the latest in exhibition development. They will also hear calls for partners and explore exciting hosting opportunities from a global community of content producers. It will feature online and in-person presentations.

The Marketplace will feature exhibitions from Universcience, Royal Ontario Museum, Melbourne Museum, Muséum d’histoire naturelle, American Museum of Natural History, Musee de la civilisation, Nomad Exhibitions and many more!

What’s new in exhibitions?

The afternoon sees three more interesting workshops running concurrently.

In Essentials of Traveling Exhibitions: From Concept to Execution, Julie Leclair and Amanda Mayne will share their extensive experience in managing and touring exhibitions, both large and small. Participants will gain valuable insights into the key aspects of planning and executing a successful travelling exhibition. This will include topic selection, vendor agreements, touring artefacts, logistics, rental agreements and more.

Meanwhile, in Sustainable Exhibitions: A workshop exploring how to reduce the environmental impact of exhibitions, attendees will hear from Elise Foster Vander Elst, head of exhibitions and environmental impact lead at London’s Design Museum and Lorraine Finch, chair of the Institute of Conservation’s Sustainability Network.  

This workshop will answer the crucial question: how can a museum create exhibition sustainability strategies? It offers practical ideas to address the climate issue and prepare organisations for the future.

In Exploring Playful Engagement, Ed Rodley from The Experience Alchemists will explore playful engagement in cultural settings through four interrelated concepts essential for creating compelling, memorable experiences. Attendees will delve into sensory immersion, emotional evocation, narrative transportation, and playful participation as key components of effective visitor engagement.

Participants will learn to apply these four concepts to create transformative experiences for in-person and online audiences.

Celebrate Momentum 2024

An evening reception will take place at the Estonian National Museum. This is a chance for attendees to thank the Estonian hosts and toast friends old and new. They will also discover the location of the 2026 conference.

Nomad Exhibitions will then host the We Claim the Night Party! at the Estonian National Museum to close this year’s event.

About the organisers & partners of Momentum 2024

The ICOM International Committee of Exhibition Exchange

ICEE is a group of risk-takers and visionaries that includes museum directors and content developers. As a voice for change in museums, ICOM, and the exhibits community, ICOM Exhibitions foster meaningful experiences and conversations between individuals and organisations. It emphasises content creation, exhibition development, strategic partnerships, collaborations, and cross-cultural engagement.

The Estonian National Museum

The Estonian National Museum is an anthropological institution that opened in 2016 in a brand-new structure. It focuses on the daily lives and cultural shifts of Finno-Ugric and Estonian peoples. The museum has extensive collections and departments dedicated to professional conservation, research, and education. Its primary objective has been to increase its impact on society by encouraging more diverse communities, cultural groups, and memories to participate in its events and by acting as a catalyst for heritage-based innovation.

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is the only worldwide network of historical sites, museums, and remembrance projects that links historical struggles to current human rights movements. It helps these organisations develop impactful memory campaigns that bring attention to difficult truths and push for actions to bring about justice, whether in the recent or distant past.

ICOM Estonia

With over 250 individual and ten institutional members, ICOM Estonia boasts a robust network of Estonian museum professionals. In addition to hosting local and international seminars, ICOM Estonia also arranges Museum Day activities. The four workgroups’ primary current topics are environmental sustainability, restitution, museum ethics, and museum terminology.

Nomad Exhibitions

Nomad Exhibitions is a company that creates temporary, touring, and permanent exhibitions for galleries, museums, and other cultural institutions worldwide. It is dedicated to providing access to excellent collections, innovative design, outstanding curation, remarkable collaborations, and environmental responsibility on a global scale.

Teo

Teo is committed to assisting the global touring exhibition community by promoting new relationships, communication, knowledge sharing, and best practices. It is a global living resource for international touring exhibition hosts, producers, and suppliers. Teo facilitates the sharing of best practices and the development of new international collaborations in the field of international travelling exhibits.

Expona Exhibitions

Expona Exhibitions manages everything from project management to content development. It is an expert in creating, co-producing, and touring exhibitions for museums and exhibition centres. Additionally, it provides customised design services, including creative graphic design.

To register for the event, or find more information, please click here.

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