Memorials, monuments and commemorations

NIKU conducts research and provides guidance on how sculptures, monuments and memorials, both historical and contemporary, are managed and utilized in modern society.

NIKU conducts research and provides guidance on how sculptures, monuments and memorials, both historical and contemporary, are managed and utilized in modern society. This work includes exploring how cultural heritage plays a role in commemorative traditions, such as national, regional and city anniversaries. Key areas of focus include: 

  • Developing digital databases for monuments and memorials, such as those owned by municipalities. These databases include information on their condition, symbolic significance, and public surveys about people’s attitudes and behaviors toward sites with monuments and memorials. 
  • Analyzing the political use of monuments and memorials and how the past is commemorated through themes such as local or national heroes, nationalism, colonialism, historical narratives, symbolism, and the use of material and intangible heritage. 
  • Exploring the challenges and roles of national monuments in contemporary society. 
  • Investigating the intersection of policy and practice in national initiatives aimed at incorporating memorials and monuments representing immigrant communities in public spaces. 
  • Facilitating dialogue-driven tools to foster conversations and communication among diverse stakeholders about controversial monuments and memorials.  
  • Examining the short-term and long-term impacts of anniversaries, the engagement of various stakeholders, and how these commemorations align with sustainability goals. 
  • Examining the role of memorials and monuments in community building.  
Torgrim Sneve Guttormsen

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Guttormsen can answer questions regarding monuments

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