Future Heritage Collection-Office speculates on how to decolonize the history of national museums. The project was aimed at raising awareness of the acute crisis that is afflicting the country’s cultural institutions and relating it to an understanding about politics of cultural heritage more broadly. Future Heritage Collection-Office personalized the loss which happens when the cultural institutions of a city, region, or country like Bosnia-Herzegovina are no longer able to gather and protect cultural heritage systematically.
The premise of the project was to create a participatory atmosphere by asking citizens and visitors of Sarajevo to select artifacts that they personally consider to be an important part of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s cultural heritage. Sarajevo’s citizens were invited to become collectors of their own cultural heritage by bringing in contributions for the Future Heritage Collection. It was left up to the will of the participants to contribute either recognizable objects of art and culture, and/or objects of everyday life like household goods, furniture, items of clothing, handicraft, books, or poems. The collection event included a public discussion with invited artists and cultural workers from Sarajevo. In a separate venue, the JAVA Gallery in Sarajevo, I set up a temporary Future Heritage Collection-Office, where the collected objects were photographed, cataloged, and exhibited during the international theater festival MESS in Sarajevo. After the exhibition, the objects were returned to their owners.
The project builds on the concept of my previous Future Heritage Collection #1.
Concept, design, and artistic direction: Azra Akšamija
Production: Lejla Hodžić (conceptual contributions, local curation), Rotor-Center for Contemporary Art Graz (conceptual contributions), JAVA Gallery Sarajevo (space), Sandro Drinovac (graphic design, posters), Dina Cerić, Semir M. Dedeić (FHC office staff), Esma Zlatar (translations)
Photographs: Velija Hasanbegović
Sponsoring: “Year of Commemoration 2014” by the Office of the Regional Government of Styria, Department Culture, Europe and International Affairs.
Participatory project series, posters, workshops
Commissioned by <rotor> Center for Contemporary Art Graz, AT
Materials: temporary office, participatory collection of objects, forms, tags, photographs, posters, website, postcards
Dimensions: variable