The Sybir Memorial Museum is part of the international artistic project Art of Remembrance, which aims to create a platform for reinterpreting the history and memory of the Second World War through contemporary art.

The exhibition in Nijmegen presents the outcomes of several months of work by four distinguished artists: Rebekka Bauer, Raphaël Dallaporta, Juhana Moisander, and Gail Ritchie. Each of them had the opportunity to spend time at one of four important memorial sites in Europe—dedicated to the history of the Second World War—in order to find inspiration for creating works that convey the spirit of history in a contemporary form. In addition to the Sybir Memorial Museum, these include the Bastogne War Museum, La Coupole Centre d’Histoire, and the Fondazione Nuto Revelli.

The location of the exhibition is also significant for our history. During the Second World War, the Dutch cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen were the scene of Operation Market Garden, in which Polish paratroopers under the command of General Stanisław Sosabowski took part. Many of them had previously experienced deportation to Siberia.

The exhibition in the Netherlands will be on display in the coming weeks. Afterwards, the artworks will travel across Europe, visiting all partner institutions involved in the project. In June, Art of Remembrance will be presented at the Sybir Memorial Museum—its only venue in Poland. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see, among other works, a piece by Juhana Moisander, a Finnish artist who created an audiovisual installation inspired by the stories of Sybiraks during his residency at the Sybir Memorial Museum.

The opening was part of the 10th edition of the LRE Forum, organized by the Liberation Routes Europe Foundation—the coordinator of the Art of Remembrance project.

The project Art of Remembrance is co-funded by the European Union. More information is available at: www.art-of-remembrance.eu.