Protection of Ukrainian heritage | Canadian museums want to contribute

The Canadian Museums Association wishes to contribute actively to the preservation of the heritage of Ukraine and to put an end to the war led by Vladimir Putin in this country.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

So says Massimo Bergamini, Acting Director General and CEO of the Canadian Museums Association (CMA), in an open letter published in The Press this Friday.

“The courageous resistance of the Ukrainian people shows us that the flame of national identity still burns brightly within them. As leaders in Canada’s cultural sector, we have a responsibility to protect this flame, but also to make it shine in our country and to set an example so that others do the same,” writes Mr. Bergamini in his letter.

Joined by The Presshe says he wants to move from words to deeds and help his Ukrainian counterparts in their race to preserve their heritage damaged by Russian bombings in all the main cities of the country.

“One of the things I try to do is to contact representatives of the museum sector in the field to find out their needs,” he said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Bergamini also wishes to draw the attention of the Canadian government.

Massimo Bergamini intends to hold a meeting this Friday or in the days to come with representatives of museums, museum associations, art gallery owners and other leaders in the field to establish an action plan and see how and with what ways they can provide assistance in the field. The CMA has nearly 500 member institutions and a network of 2,700 partners across the country.

In his letter, Mr Bergamini outlines his concerns about the conditions under which Ukrainian heritage actors must act to protect their assets. “Across Ukraine, museum staff and volunteers are working to protect rich collections of historic art,” he writes. However, the rush to save books, paintings and other artifacts left little time to think about the use of specialized packaging materials, or even temperature and humidity controlled storage. »

Erasing the collective memory of Ukraine

In addition, the director of the AMC is harshly attacking Vladimir Putin, who, he says, has decided to put Ukraine “on fire and blood” and to erase its collective memory.

“In addition to targeting hospitals, schools, shelters and residential buildings, Russian forces are now deliberately launching their missiles at museums, historical sites and other houses of culture in Ukraine,” argues- he.

However, heritage is the memory of countries, he recalls. “Museums, art galleries, libraries and archives are repositories and custodians of a people’s stories. They allow us to remember who we are and where we come from. To destroy a nation, conquerors always seek to eliminate its collective memory and the artifacts that sustain it – and that’s exactly what Putin is trying to do. »

Mr. Bergamini’s approach is part of an international movement. Thus, after the outbreak of the invasion, the International Council of Museums (ICOM) condemned it and called on all parties involved to “respect international conventions for the protection of heritage and museums in times of conflict”.

The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), an organization bringing together Canadian, American and Mexican members, went in the same direction in a press release dated March 3. “Ukraine has a rich cultural heritage. Its museums contain objects dating from antiquity, the Byzantine and medieval periods and the XVII^and century to today. Its collections include works of Ukrainian art, folk art, ethnography and religious icons of great rarity. »

UNESCO has also added its voice to these appeals.

Since the start of the conflict, museums and cultural establishments, some of which have become refuges for civilians, have been hit by bombs. In the cities, many works of art (sculptures, fountains, statues, etc.) have been protected with sandbags in the hope of preserving them.