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In 2021, the statue of Samuel von Brukenthal in Sibiu’s main square was vandalized with paint — an act that quickly sparked public debate about memory, identity, and contested heritage in Romania. The perpetrator, a 37-year-old local resident, was later identified and...
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The Riga City Council has approved the removal of three public monuments associated with Russian imperial and Soviet history: the statue of General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, and the monuments dedicated to writers Andrejs Upīts and Sudrabu Edžus. This decision...
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This study presents how a parametric digital twin was developed for Löfstad Castle in Sweden to support heritage preservation. Researchers installed 13 sensor boxes with 84 sensors throughout the building to monitor indoor climate conditions continuously. Using the...
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The last public statue of Vladimir Lenin in Finland has been removed by city authorities, marking a symbolic end to the country’s visible Soviet-era legacy. The monument, which had stood for decades, became increasingly controversial in recent years, especially after...
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This report explores how public art is researched and practiced in the Nordic countries and around the world. It was commissioned by the Public Art Agency Sweden and prepared by Södertörn University and Valand Academy to identify what we know, what we don’t, and where...
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This thesis looks at what “participation” really means in museums—not just as a project outcome, but as everyday work carried out by museum professionals. Based on ethnographic research at Fisksätra Museum (Sweden) and the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (Germany), the...
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This article looks at how Norwegian museums are adapting to a society shaped by migration and greater cultural diversity. It shows how museums try to include the voices and stories of immigrants in their exhibitions and collections, moving from older ideas of national...
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In 19th-century Scandinavia, museums were closely tied to the changing idea of what a “nation” meant. At first, “nation” was understood as a cultural community that could stretch across borders, which inspired the creation of Scandinavian ethnographic collections....
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Heritage—whether monuments, archives, artifacts, or traditions—shapes how societies see themselves. It passes down stories and values, often celebrating ideals like democracy or heroism while pushing painful histories, such as oppression or violence, into the margins....
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This article looks at how cultural heritage became a public human rights issue after the 2011 terrorist attack in Oslo, Norway, which damaged the Y-Block government building. The Y-Block became a symbol of public space and cultural expression, but a government...
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The Guardian reports on a mounting controversy in Denmark surrounding the removal of a 14-tonne statue known as the “Big Mermaid” (Den Store Havfrue). Originally created by artist Peter Bech in 2006 and later relocated to Dragør Fort, the sculpture has sparked...
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This article explores the construction of Finland’s national narrative following its independence in 1917, focusing on how the country has remembered and represented its traumatic civil war of 1918. Finnish historical memory has long struggled to integrate this...
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This article explores how two pioneering Mixed Reality Heritage Performances, including Sancho’s Journey at Marble Hill House in London, use smart AR glasses and live theatre to confront Britain’s colonial past. By immersing audiences in underrepresented narratives of...
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Held from August 31 to September 6, 2024, the How to Reframe Monuments workshop focused on five Soviet-era statues and memorials in northeastern Estonia—such as the removed Lenin statue in Narva, a WWII soldier in Sillamäe, and a Kreenholm strike monument. Organized...
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This article explores how artistic and activist practices in Sweden—and in contrast with Belarus—actively shape cultural heritage through community-led processes. Focusing on Swedish examples, such as grassroots memorials and emotionally charged public artworks, it...
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In Reading Museum Narratives, researcher Hagen Kjørholt presents a compelling narratological analysis of Holocaust exhibitions at the Jewish Museum Trondheim and the Oslo Jewish Museum. This study explores how historical narratives are constructed within museum...
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Russian authorities have added Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to their official wanted list, alleging criminal charges related to her government’s removal of Soviet-era World War II monuments in Estonia. This is the first known instance of Russia targeting...
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The National Museum in Oslo sparked public debate after removing Christian Krohg’s iconic painting Leiv Eirikson Discovering America from public view, citing concerns over its colonial symbolism. The decision was widely criticized as an act of “cancel culture,”...
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The Nordic Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, featuring The Altersea Opera by Lap-See Lam, enters the heart of an ongoing Nordic debate: who gets to define culture? Amid discussions in Sweden over establishing a national cultural canon, this multisensory...
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The article explores the controversy surrounding the public sculptures of Croatian artist Ivan Meštrović in Chicago, particularly in light of the sociopolitical shifts following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. In response to these movements, the City of Chicago...
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Cancel Culture Club & Spa is a performative and discursive project that brings together artists, scholars, and activists from across the Nordic region to critically examine the impact of cancel culture on artistic freedom. Addressing issues like censorship, public...
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In the Nordic countries, particularly Sweden and Norway, there has been a concerted effort to address controversial monuments through recontextualization rather than removal. For instance, Sweden’s Public Art Agency has implemented temporary public art...
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In 2017, the Norwegian government cancelled two planned national memorials for the 2011 terrorist attacks by Anders Breivik due to strong protests from local residents near the proposed site at Sørbråten, opposite Utøya Island. The residents objected to the lack of...
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Moving Monuments is a research project based at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen. It investigates how public statues and monuments from the Danish colonial era continue to shape memory culture today, both materially and...
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The project “AI Art Curation: Re-imagining the City of Helsinki” was developed for the Helsinki Biennial 2023, titled New Directions May Emerge. It uses artificial intelligence to reimagine the city of Helsinki through the lens of the Helsinki Art Museum...
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Summary for Posting: In winter 2023, Norway’s cultural sector was rocked by debates on woke and cancel culture, sparked by two incidents. The National Museum’s chief curator decided against displaying a painting deemed “colonial,” and Roald Dahl’s Norwegian publisher...
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In response to global protests in 2020, numerous controversial monuments were removed across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. While these actions sparked debates about cancel culture, the key question remains: can societies remove or alter public symbols without...
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The publication Decolonizing Colonial Heritage: New Agendas, Actors and Practices in and beyond Europe, edited by Britta Timm Knudsen, John Oldfield, Elizabeth Buettner, and Elvan Zabunyan, offers a comprehensive examination of how various stakeholders are actively...
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This article by Michael Booth challenges the utopian image of the Nordic region, including its approach to cultural and historical narratives. While not directly about monuments, it critiques the idealized perception of Nordic societies as models of democracy and...
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On October 16, 2024, the Riga City Council made the controversial decision to dismantle several monuments in the city, including that of Russian general Barclay de Tolly in Esplanade Park, as well as monuments to writers Andrejs Upītis and Sudrābus Edžus. The decision...
