Museums: Safeguarding Our Memories in Perpetuity

Abstract

The complexity of Hong Kong’s socio-political situation reveals the complexity of the role that museums are playing in representing collective memories and collective solidarity. The displays and collections of the institutions reflect the power dynamics amongst curators, funders, and audiences. In this contribution, I use one of the newest museums in Hong Kong, M Plus Museum (M+), as a case study to explore the concept of solidarity and how it is related to the collective memories represented by museums. I first focus on the special project, the Hong Kong Visual Culture collection, and its inaugural exhibition to examine whether it can produce a sense of collective solidarity as a sentiment. Then, based on the interconnection between collective memories, collective solidarity, and museum displays, I investigate the dilemma that M+ faces in relation to the political standpoint of its funders and audiences.