This essay describes the heritage of nineteenth century positivism on museum display protocols and suggest the way in which the new strategies of art and design can effect radical change. The museums of Vienna are compared to the 19 Bergasse museum in a discussion of the conventions that govern memory and forgetting. The role of displays and collections in constructing European heritage is discussed and it is suggested that arts have a critical role to play in maintaining the knowledge of the mechanisms of forgetting and repression.
The book is the output of the EU Framework 7 funded research project MeLA on the Museum in the Age of Migrations.