This year marks 80 years since the end of World War II, which had devastating consequences for people in many countries. Despite this historical event providing many lessons, the world is once again experiencing a surge of conflict and war, with millions of individuals suffering. Often, individual and collective memories are not passed on, and may be forgotten. In this webinar, various panellists with different backgrounds will discuss how to pass on the memory of wartime tragedies to future generations.

 

About The contributors

 

Gill Webber

Gill Webber has worked in the culture sector for 35 years in senior roles for high profile organisations spanning galleries, libraries, archives and museums as well as broadcasting and higher education. She is currently Director of Chelsea Heritage Quarter, Trustee of the National Holocaust Museum and a Member of the AHRC Advisory Board. She spent nine years as Executive Director of Content and Programmes at the Imperial War Museums (IWM) where she created a programming strategy to reach beyond traditional visitors and subjects to a broader and more diverse audience. Gill ensured the museum’s relevance to today’s audiences by introducing current affairs-led digital and on-gallery programming on wars in the news today. She pioneered theatre, broadcast, digital, arts and performance methods to create programming that increased engagement, attracted new audiences and transformed perceptions of the IWM.

Sayuri Kose

Sayuri Kose is a journalist and writer based in the Netherlands. She is the grand-daughter of survivors of the atomic bombing in Nagasaki, with her grandfather experiencing the atomic bombing there. From 2016 to 2022, she worked for the Nagasaki Shimbun, covering issues related to the atomic bomb, peace and US military bases. In 2024, she was part of the reporting team covering the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway. She is currently researching the memories of Dutch prisoners of war held in Nagasaki and their families, exploring how wartime experiences are passed down within families and reinterpreted in new ways.

Meiro Koizumi

Meiro Koizumi (b. 1976, Japan; lives and works in Yokohama) is recognized for his experimental video installations and immersive environments. His practice often explores the tension between private emotion and collective memory, and examines how systems of power – whether political, cultural or technological – shape the individual. Working across video, drawing, sculpture and more recently VR and AI, he consistently draws viewers into psychological spaces where fragility, authority and identity are put to the test. His experimental VR Theater piece Prometheus Bound won the Grand Prize in the 24th Art Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival. In 2021, he won the Artes Mundi Prize (Cardiff, UK).

Jonathan Watkins (moderator)

Jonathan Watkins is an independent curator and writer, and was previously Director of the Ikon Gallery (1999-2022). Previously he worked for a number of years in London as Curator of the Serpentine Gallery (1995-1997) and Director of Chisenhale Gallery (1990-1995). He has curated a number of large international exhibitions including the Biennale of Sydney (1998), Facts of Life: Contemporary Japanese Art (Hayward Gallery, London 2001), Quotidiana (Castello di Rivoli, Turin 1999), Tate Triennial (2003), Shanghai Biennale (2006), Sharjah Biennial (2007), Negotiations (Today Art Museum, Beijing 2010) and the Guangzhou Triennial (2012). He was on the curatorial team for Europarte (Venice Biennale, 1997), Milano Europa 2000 (Palazzo di Triennale, Milan, 2000) and Riwaq (Palestinian Biennial, 2007). He curated the Iraqi Pavilion for the Venice Biennale in 2013 and Floating World, Bahrain in 2017. In 2019 Watkins was the curator of  Small Between the Stars, Large Against the Sky at the 9th Manif d’art, Quebec City Biennial.

 

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Booking Essential| Admission Free