Twelfth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

Today, for both exhibitions and museums souvenir shops are of commercial importance; furthermore, they add to the overall experience of visitors (Hampel, 2010; Brook, 1997; Cave, Baum and Joliffe, 2014). Souvenirs usually confirm a particular experience; they may be even educational and they serve as a memento of something that has left an impact (Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt, 2006). Extending the approach by Maurice Halbwachs, souvenirs are in fact ‘tangible ideas’. This contribution seeks to explore the narrative quality of selected souvenirs. It questions not so much the role of an individual item available for purchase, but the meaning of thematic objects in museum shops that reflect on a country’s history and heritage. For this purpose, I focus on three examples: 1. Souvenirs depicting the Berlin Wall – moving from a historical event towards the symbolism of a far more generic idea of ‘freedom’. 2. Souvenirs commemorating the First World War and their particular importance for the British public in the context of the War’s centenary. 3. Souvenirs that reflect the experience of dark tourism. It is argued, that what is often at play is an emotional and social ‘imagineering’ that serves to dislodge the souvenir from the reality of historical events and the actual heritage.