This year marks the fourth edition of the conference Repairing the Past, an initiative jointly promoted by the Department of Democratic Memory of Barcelona City Council, the Ethnological and World Cultures Museum, and the European Observatory of Memories (EUROM) of the UB Solidarity Foundation. The initiativa is moved by growing debates on the legacies and lasting consequences of colonialism, and the urgent need for reparative justice. It has become a space where various proposals and research related to the future of museums, public spaces, and memory and reparation policies have been explored.
The two-days event will focus on the intersection of colonialism and environmental issues, specifically examining the role that museums and scientific institutions have played in the exploitation of nature and wildlife. Discussions will highlight both the historical and ongoing impacts of this exploitation, highlighting how the colonial past continues to present challenges today—not only in how these collections are interpreted but also in shaping reparation policies. This debate is particularly relevant in the context of the broader ecosocial crisis, which encompasses protest movements that extend beyond colonial issues.
As part of the conference, there will be a screening of the documentary Rosinha e Outros Bichos do Mato (Rosinha and Other Wild Animals), followed by a dialogue with the director Marta Pessoa. The film offers a perspective on Portugal’s 1934 colonial exhibition and its legacy.
Organized by the Ethnological and World Cultures Museum and the European Observatory on Memories (EUROM) with the support of the Department of Democratic Memory of the City Council of Barcelona.
Cover image: Tervuren – Colonial Museum. Ethnographic Room (circa 1920).
Related videos
Agenda
The Catalan version of the agenda is available for download here (PDF)
Simultaneous interpretation will be available for all sessions (Catalan/Spanish into English and Portuguese)
Additionally, all sessions will be recorded and later published on the EUROM and MuEC channels and social media platforms.
Wednesday, November 6
5 pm – Welcome Remarks
- Carles Vicente, Director of the Ethnological and World Cultures Museum
- Jordi Guixé, Director of the European Observatory of Memories
- Raquel Gil, Councilor for Democratic Memory, Barcelona City Council
SESSION 1: Environment and Museums – Decolonizing Perspectives on the Crisis
5:15 pm – 7:15 pm
Moderator: Lluís Ramoneda (Ethnological and World Cultures Museum)
- Colin Luoma (Brunel University London): Reckoning with Colonial Conservation
- Josep Maria Reyné Vergeli (Institute for the History of Science, UAB): Ikunde: The “Animal Acclimatization and Experimentation Center” of Spanish Guinea – Research and Trafficking of Exotic Animals, Plants, and Ethnological Objects
- Martina Muñoz Ramon (Trafricants-UB) & Celeste Muñoz Martínez (Trafricants-UNED): Colonial Collections in Natural Science Museums and Their Traceability
- Paula Serafini (Queen Mary University of London): Activating the Museum: Performance Actions in the Ecosocial Crisis
Thursday, November 7
SESSION 2: Museums, Decoloniality and Documentary Cinema
5 pm – 6:45 pm
Screening of the documentary: Rosinha e Outros Bichos do Mato (Rosinha and Other Wild Animals)
- Director: Marta Pessoa
- Portugal, 2023 | Duration: 101 min
- Original version in Portuguese, with Catalan subtitles
Synopsis:
In 1934, during the Portuguese Colonial Exhibition, Rosinha—a woman from what was then Portuguese Guinea—was displayed as an exotic “trophy” by the New Portuguese State. Using archival footage from this event, Marta Pessoa critically examines this colonial spectacle. She expands her focus to explore the objects of memory and the spaces museums allocate for conservation, exposing the persistent repetition of “Rosinhas” in colonial war photographs and the imperialist ideologies that linger, embodied in the display of dissected animals.
7 pm – 7:45 pm
Conversation with director Marta Pessoa and filmmaker Miguel Àngel Rosales.
More pictures on Flickr
Survey
This activity is co-financed by the European Commission and for its evaluation we kindly ask your collaboration in filling out this survey. It will take about 10 minutes, and you will need the information indicated below. Thank you very much!
- Reference of the Project: 101140481
- Kind of activity: Mutual Learning
- Title: Repairing the past 2024
- Date of the activity: November 6, 2024
- Duration of the event in days: 2
- In Person
- Ethnological and World Cultures Museum