Memory is the Struggle for Justice in the Present. On Reading and Exhibiting the History of Sites
A Student Symposium in the context of the IZK Specialization Module Art-Based Investigation, convened by Rose-Anne Gush
With guest critics: Ahmad Darkhabani, Beatrice Forchini, Pieternel Vermoortel, Daniel Gethmann, Herwig Höller, Philipp Sattler
With works by: Lara Sofia Barata Santos, Sofia Cordeiro Charais, Lilly Antonia Isabella Czok, Bettina Deutsch, German Diaz Ripoll, Maximilian Hackl, Rebekka Hiemesch, Marija Jančić, Anđela Marinković, Claudia Ramajo Rosa, Inmaculada Santana Mesa, Theresa Schäfer, Mia Tomancok, Niklas Zeisler, Dora Zivadinov
16 December 2025, 10.00
IZK Research Space, Kronesgasse 5/III, 8010 Graz
All welcome!
How do art and architecture confront sites of historical atrocity, and can they contribute to contemporary struggles for justice? This course investigated the dynamic relationship between memory and history, exploring how artists and curators mobilize the past to engage with urgent present-day struggles, often within public space. We grounded our inquiry in specific examples from Graz and the surrounding region, including the steirischerherbst exhibition "Bezugspunkte 38/88", as well other examples across geographies, drawing connections between global histories and considering the paradoxes of presence and absence at historical sites. The course introduced forms of knowledge production that confront these hauntings, drawing on spectral methodologies to uncover the traces of what has been erased, forgotten, or silenced. Central to our investigation were core questions of method and positionality: how do we conduct historical research on a site? From where do we sit or stand when we think and write about history? We critically engaged with the archive - analyzing its limitations, its power to elevate certain perspectives while silencing others, and its role in defining who is considered a historical actor. We also explored strategies to resist, rupture, or disrupt its authority.
Through close readings of texts by theorists such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Avery Gordon, Marina Vishmidt, Robert Meister and others, alongside the analysis of artworks and exhibitions, students have developed critical skills in art research, interpretation and production. A combination of theoretical study, archival research, site visits, and artistic research allowed us to collectively explore key questions: What is the difference between "history" and "memory," and how do they collide in the public sphere? What infrastructures make art and memorialisation possible, or hinder it? How can art think through history and memory, and how might it contribute to transformative social and political processes?
Moving beyond the idea of art as a static object, we have framed artistic and curatorial practice as a living social process - a means to interrogate inherited narratives, give voice to subjugated histories, and "work through" the trauma of past and present atrocities. Students have developed research rooted in archives, exploring disciplined and undisciplined methodologies to map and plot counter-narratives. This collaborative course has emphasised critical discussion, research, and the development of our own artistic or exhibitionary projects using different media. Through this process, students were encouraged to think critically about the spectral dimensions of history and memory, and to develop appropriate methodologies.