On January 28, the Donetsk Regional Museum of Local History held its first meeting of the year in the series "About the Museum Over Coffee," dedicated to discussing the museumification of industrial heritage in Ukraine.
The purpose of the event was to reflect on the museumification of industrial heritage as a way of preserving historical memory, cultural identity, and local and national identity in the context of contemporary challenges.
The speaker at the meeting was Iryna Sklokina, a candidate of historical sciences and researcher at the Center for Urban History (Lviv). Her research interests include industrial and Soviet heritage, social history, museums, and memory studies. Iryna Sklokina is co-director of the project "De/archiving Post/Industry," which received the prestigious Europa Nostra European Heritage Award in 2021.
The conversation focused on discussing key approaches to working with the industrial past. The participants looked at contemporary practices of transforming abandoned industrial sites and "rust belts" into cultural hubs and innovative spaces. Special attention was paid to the challenges of preserving industrial heritage in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as rethinking the Soviet heritage.
The meeting also emphasized the deeper meanings of museumification, since industrial heritage is not only architecture and equipment, but above all the stories of people, local identity, and an important component of the processes of decolonizing the past.
The meeting once again demonstrated that professional dialogue, exchange of experience, interregional and international cooperation are key tools for rethinking complex heritage and forming new museum narratives.
The Donetsk Regional Museum of Local History thanks Iryna Sklokina for her insightful conversation and all participants for their professional and interested discussion.