Momentum: Exhibitions and Memory

Museums are the link between the past and the future. We invite you to join us in Tartu, Estonia at the Estonian National Museum for the International Committee for Exhibitions (ICEE) annual conference, Momentum: Exhibitions and Memory, taking place September 29 – October 2, 2024.

Building off of the success of the 2023 conference in Medellin, Colombia, and produced in partnership with the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and ICOM Estonia, Momentum: Exhibitions and Memory will host 150 attendees from museums all over the world. Each day will have a grounding theme and will start with a moderated conversation between two international keynote speakers. Daily themes will include: Memory and the Future of Museums; the Intersection of Memory, Innovation, and Exhibitions, and How do Exhibitions Shape Memory? Momentum will also feature the ever-popular Traveling Exhibition Marketplace along with a series of travelling exhibition workshops and sessions. Each day will end with visits to local museums where participants will have the opportunity to explore, learn, and discuss how museums in Estonia are serving their community in new and different ways.

Momentum will coincide with programming planned in celebration of Tartu as the European Capital of Culture in 2024.The general concept of the Tartu 2024 cultural program centers around three aspects related to the influence of art on the future of Europe — an environmentally friendly culture with an emphasis on real human interactions and strong communities.

Additionally, Momentum is committed to sustainable practices in identifying strategies to lower our carbon footprint, including low paper waste, use of public transportation, and locally sourced food.

Keynote Speakers
Draft Schedule

About us

The International Committee for Exhibitions (ICEE) is a community of dreamers and risk-takers of content creators and museum leaders. It is a forum where new content can be shared, where ideas can be pitched, and where partnerships are formed. Exhibition exchange is more than just traveling exhibitions; it is about big ideas and how we share them.

The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is the only global network of historic sites, museums and memory initiatives that connects past struggles to today's movements for human rights.

The Estonian National Museum is an ethnographic museum, focusing on the everyday life and cultural changes of Estonian and Finno-Ugric peoples. Opened in a new building in 2016, the museum comprises of vast collections, professional conservation, research, and educational departments. It also functions as a cultural center with diverse exhibitions and program activities. The museum's primary goal has been to broaden its impact on society by increasing the participation of various communities and cultural groups in the museum's activities and serving as a catalyst for innovation based on heritage.