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SPECPAT - "The Liberation Struggle Museum in Luanda: a study on the spectacularization of heritage"

Principal researcher: Ruy Llera Blanes

Research group: Environment, Sustainability and Ethnography


Keywords

Angola |Heritage | Memorialization | Spetacularization | Decoloniality

Funding Institution

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

State

Open

Start date

01-01-2024

End date

31-12-2024

Reference

PExCRIA/2023.2/SPECPAT


Abstract

In June 2023, the Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa made a state visit to Luanda where he visited the premises of the future Museum of the Struggle for Liberation, located in the former Casa de Reclusão, place of imprisonment for several protagonists of Angolan independence. As this was the first time the project was made public, Costa's visit was filled with political symbolism that is relevant in the context of post-colonial Lusophone cultural and heritage diplomacy. But, taking into account that the space in question also embodies a history of extreme post-colonial violence, what are the epistemological and political costs of the project? Based on the case study of the new museum, we propose to debate the processes of public ritualization and heritage performatization of the post-colonial Lusophone space. To this end, we will use the operative concept of “heritage spectacle” to discuss the actors, relationships and representations surrounding heritage processes.

Team

Associated researchers

André Soares

Diana Espírito Santo

Full members

João Mineiro

Full members

Paulo Raposo