Politics, Poetics and Cultural Heritage in a Deindustrialized Community. The „Museum 1871“ in Berisso (Argentina)
Mirta Zaida Lobato
Universidad de Buenos Aires
I want to analyze the relationship between community and museum, and the consequences of that relationship in heritage activity. There are many examples in the United Kingdom, Canada and Central Europe, similar to the Berisso experience in Argentina; based on the importance of a sense of place in the formation of group identities. In the particular case of Berisso Museum 1871, the museum exhibition draws on the feeling of nostalgia about past lives in the community and harnesses as a vehicle for political change and social integration. The idea of community is a key notion to create community identity through interpretation of history, memory and place. The community selects its own stories; choose the objects and images to provide its own interpretation of past events and experiences. I strongly believe that the Museum is related to the de-industrializing process that started in 1969 when the Armour meat packing house was closed. This process was strengthened when Armour plant was literally turned down brick by brick in 1985..
November 26, 2014