Congress

Museum, use of Theatre and Reenactments as Forms of Making History for Citizenship

2025-10-08 - 2025-10-10

Presentation

The Gernika Peace Museum Foundation is organising the International Seminar
Museums, the use of theatre and re-enactments as ways of making history for citizens
’, which will be held from 8 to 10 October 2025.

Over three days, national and international specialists will come together to share research, experiences and innovative methodologies that explore how theatre and historical re-enactments can transform the way museums connect with the public. This meeting will be a unique opportunity to enrich the debate and strengthen knowledge in a rapidly evolving field.

Hybrid Seminar: presential in Gernika and online.

PROGRAM

8th October

Place: Gernika Peace Museum (Foru Plaza 1, 48300 Gernika-Lumo)

12.00-13.15 Walking tour “Memoritour Gernika” to the shelters
13:15–14:30 Guided tour to the Gernika Peace Museum with Iratxe Momoitio

Place: Elai Alai Aretoa (Foru Plaza s/n, 48300 Gernika-Lumo)
16.30 – 16.45 PRESENTATION OF THE SEMINAR AND WELCOME
Iratxe Momoitio – Idoia Orbe (Gernika Peace Museum)

16.45 – 17.30 BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE
Presents: Rebecca Shelley. (Heterotopia)

  • Lauren Johnson (History Riot/The National Archives & Manchester Metropolitan University)
    “Integrating women’s histories into public history: Bringing our stories to life through heritage performance.”

17.45 – 19.45 DIÁLOGO SOBRE ¿QUÉ APORTAN LAS RECREACIONES A LOS CIUDADANOS, CÓMO LES ACERCAN A HECHOS HISTÓRICOS DESCONOCIDOS? EXPERIENCIAS, RETOS Y DILEMAS
Presents: Cristina Arana (Director of Gernika’s Culture House)
(Session in Spanish opened to a general public)

  • Germán Labrador Méndez (Instituto de Lengua, Literatura y Antropología del CSIC) El fenómeno Puy du Fou Toledo
  • Luis Jorge del Barco López (Expohistórica Belorado)
  • Aitor Miñambres Amezaga (Grupo de recreación del Museo Memorial del Cinturón de Hierro, Euskadi)

 

9th October

Place: Culture House of Gernika (Foru Plaza 2, 48300 Gernika-Lumo)
9.30 – 12.00 THE USE OF THEATRE AT MUSEUMS TO TACKLE DIFFICULT PAST
Presents: Iñaki Hernáiz Burundarena (Cátedra UNESCO de la Universidad de Deusto)

  • Dragan Kiurski (Museum Educator Senior, Dr of museology and heritology, The National Museum of Kikinda, Serbia).
    “Museum Theatre in the Service of Peer Education and Evoking Empathy: Two Sad Examples from War History”
  • Paula McFetridge (Artistic Director, Kabosh Theatre, North of Ireland)
    “Humanising the unexpected narrative”
  • Daniel Feliu (Museo de la Memoria de Rosario, Argentina)
    “Recorridos mediados teatralizados en el Museo de la Memoria de Rosario, Argentina. El teatro como estrategia de transmisión de pasados difíciles.”
  • Maider Maraña Directora de Baketik Fundazioa. (Basque Country, Spain)
    “El teatro forum: activación para abordar temas complejos”

12.00-12.30 COFFEE BREAK

12.30-14.30
HOW CAN MUSEUM THEATRE TRANSFORM PERCEPTIONS?

Presents: Iratxe Momoitio (Director of the Gernika Peace Museum)

  • Ellada Evangelou (Rooftop Theatre/CYENS Center of Excellence. Cyprus)
    “Interdisciplinary Approaches and Performance -making in museums in project Performing collection, performing archives: The creative afterlives of the Swedish
    expedition”
  • Rebecca Shelley (Co-founder and Co-chair at Heterotopia. Greece)
    “Using theatre and performance to work across multiple languages. How this supports inclusive museum practice and audience engagement”
  • Pierpaolo Piludu (Responsible of the theatre Company Cada die Teatro, Cagliary, Italy)
    “Theatre and memory: from the emotions on stage the understanding of the madness of war and its rejection”.
  • Mauro Antonio Simone – Andrea Marina Villamayor (Buenos Aires, Argentina, TeatroXlaidentidad) (online)
    “Actuar para no olvidar, actuar para encontrar la verdad”.

14.30-15.30 BREAK FOR LUNCH

Place: Culture House of Gernika (Foru Plaza 2, 48300 Gernika-Lumo)
15.30 – 18:00 THE USE OF DRAMA/THEATRE TO REACH NEW, YOUNG AND VULNERABLE MUSEUM AUDIENCES
Presents: Andreas Schäfter (Gernika Gogoratuz. Peace Research Center)

  • Alison Ribeiro de Menezes (Professor of Hispanic Studies, University of Warwick. Great Britain)
    “Developing REWIND to promote memory and Human Rights”
  • Arantxa Iurre (Dramaturga, directora, actriz y socia del espacio Utopian. Euskadi)
    “El arte que cambia el mundo”
  • Foteini Venieri (Researcher, co-chair of Heterotopia, Greece)
    “Online live museum theatre program developed for the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments, addressed to Roma students”
  • Thomas Olsen (Library Manager, Storyteller, and producer. Malmö, Sweden)
    “Managing expectations; Building your programme from the ground up with inclusion and accessibility”
  • Josemi Gaston (Director del Instituto Navarro de la Memoria, Gobierno de Navarra, Navarra, España)
    “Transmitir memoria crítica a través del teatro: el programa educativo Teatro con Memoria”
  • Begoña Guzman (UN Etxea, Euskadi)
    “Teatro, diversidad y derechos: activar la participación desde los museos”

18.00- 19.30 THE ROLE OF THE ACTOR/REENACTOR/INTERPRETER AS A PERSON WHO TRANSMIT PASSAGES OF HISTORY
Presents: Idoia Orbe. (Head of the educational department. Gernika Peace Museum)

  • Angela Pfenninger (Museum-Theatre-Events, Germany)
    “What do we stand for? Thoughts about value-based interpretation”
  • Àgia Luna (Directora de ARTIXOC-Escena Histórica. Catalunya, Spain)
    “En temps del Sr. Muñoz y la Rumba de Bon Pastor”
  • Izpiñe Soto Rodriguez (Dramaturga, creadora, directora de escena y actriz en Hortzmuga Teatroa, Euskadi)
    “Contar la historia entre muchas: teatro, memoria y participación de la mano de Hortzmuga Teatroa”

 

10th October

Place: Culture House of Gernika (Foru Plaza 2, 48300 Gernika-Lumo)
9.00 – 11.30 THEATRE, PERFORMANCE, REENACTMENTS, AND MUSEUMS
Presents: Iratxe Momoitio (Director of the Gernika Peace Museum)

  • Everardo Perez-Manjarrez (Harvard University) – Mario Carretero (FLACSO-UAM)
    “Can a Reenactment change how we see History? Reflections from the schoolyard”.
  • Elena Pol (Interpretart, Madrid, España)
    “From Colonial Williamsburg to Fort Langley: Living history and reenactments on learning history”
  • Mikel Asensio (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, España)
    “Between theatre and historical reenactments: Memory and identity at the National Museum of Roman Art”
  • Idoia Orbe (Responsable del área educativa) – Iratxe Momoitio (Directora del Museo de la Paz de Gernika, Euskadi)
    “Gernika udaberri haretan: recreation about the Spanish Civil War done by the Gernika Peace Museum”
  • Mihaela Gavrilia Universitá di Roma
    “Narrating war, shaping peace through audio storytelling” (Online)

11.30-12.00 CONCLUSIONS AND END OF THE SEMINAR

COMPLEMENTARY VISIT TO BILBAO (previous registration required)
13.30-14.30 Harrobia-Eskena, Amaia Ibáñez Zalba
14.30 -17.30 Visit to the old part ofBilbao

***The seminar will be hold in spanish and english with no simultaneous translation but some kind of help
to understand. Sorry for this inconvenience.
Apologies for any inconvenience.

 

Contact

zuzendaritza@bakearenmuseoagernika.eus

Registration
Access to the online conference

Online access

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82613030584?pwd=CpEcAR723IaLCjYUqxaS4xRQxiTmtF.1

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