Immigration museums: new museographies, old paradigms

ABSTRACT

As memorial institutions, museums play a big role in identity construction, with representations of the past and the cultural heritage being essential to developing national/regional identities. Transforming old representative facilities of immigrants - such as Ellis Island in New York - into “memory sites” shows a certain transformation in attitudes towards immigration, which has changed the status of “diaspora” and evidenced cultural identities. Due to the recognition of the heritage value of the memories, new discourses about immigration and identity were created: the memories, often forgotten - many times voluntarily -, find their place in museums and allow the construction of narratives about immigration from personal accounts. However, exhibiting immigration history continues to be a challenge within international museum spaces, raising various questions: What is immigration heritage? How to exhibit immigration? Do attempts at representing immigrants in these spaces mirror a national paradigm? Immigration museums represent a variant of the society museum by the participatory approach and the initiative to create a link with communities of immigrant origin. By constituting a local heritage on immigration, the museum has developed an approach with immigrant communities, highlighting its memorial and inclusive character. It is an interdisciplinary approach, which is favored by the best museums and suitable for new spaces intending on approaching the theme. In this article, we aim to consider the constitutive characteristics of immigration museums and the importance of oral history (personal accounts of immigrants), memorabilia, and contemporary art in developing exhibitions that plan to create a certain form of empathy in the visitor.

KEYWORDS:
Migration; Museums; Exhibitions; Museography; Contemporary Art