Picking Your Battles: The Presentation of War and Conflict in UK Museums
War has long been exhibited to the public, through the triumphant display of captured material and prisoners, to specific museums, exhibitions and galleries created to document and memorialise conflicts. While in the UK there remains a substantial public appetite to learn more about this aspect of human behaviour, there are challenges to presenting war in any museum environment, both for museum professionals and visitors. Museums sit in the space between myths, truths and complications – but must engage with all three if they are to analyse and discuss war and conflict effectively. This paper will explore some of these challenges and assess the solutions of presenting events that happened “back then” as well as “over there” for UK audiences. It will provide an insight into the methods and considerations that govern museum work and the presentation of military history and heritage.
Dr Peter Johnston is Assistant Director of the Imperial War Museum.
- this seminar is free to attend but advance registration is required.
This session is a hybrid session and in-person tickets are limited.
This page was last updated on 14 March 2025
