How do museums and archives shape our collective memory? What role do they play in the construction of national and regional narratives – especially in societies characterized by conflict and structural violence? These questions were the focus of the Futuras Verdades forum, which took place on February 7, 2025 at the Museo Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá.
The interdisciplinary event brought together experts from museology, archival studies and decolonial studies to discuss the future of memory institutions in the context of the post-war period and the restoration of democratic structures in Colombia. In particular, cooperation between museums and archives was highlighted as a central pillar for the critical reappraisal of historical narratives. An important part of the program was the screening of the documentary film “Stolen Photo” by Kevin Coleman. It deals with the massacre of banana workers in 1928 and its representation in collective memory, showing how archives and historical images can become tools of resistance or forgetting. The screening was followed by a discussion with the director to deepen the debate on the role of archives and museums in the construction of historical narratives.
The event marked the beginning of the project Escuela itinerante de saberes curatoriales: extracción, colaboraciones y resistencias decoloniales 2026, which was initiated as part of a cooperation between the Museo Nacional de Colombia, the University of Kassel and the documenta Institut.
Participants in the discussion:
Ochy Curiel - Museo Nacional de Colombia
César Osorio - Archivo General de la Nación
Lorena Cely - ICESI
Liliana Gómez - CELA, University of Kassel, documenta Institut
Moderation: Laura Flórez - University of Kassel, documenta Institut