#roamingexhibition Archives - Page 3 of 4

November 26, 2021November 26, 2021

Opening of the exhibition “Exiles, Migration Flows and Solidarity” at the Documentary Centre for the Historical Memory (Spain)

Yesterday, 25^th of November, the second of the three transmedia exhibitions included in the European Digital Treasures project, “Exiles, Migration Flows and Solidarity”, was successfully opened at the Documentary Centre of the Historical Memory (Spain).

Manuel Melgar Camarzana. Director of the Historical Memory Documentary Centre.

Severiano Hernández Vicente. Deputy Director-General of the State Archives.

This exhibition analyzes how migrations and exchanges have contributed particularly to building cultural diversity in Europe through the documentary treasures kept in European archives. And it is the outcome of the European cooperation, a clear example of the combination of the capacities, heritage, diversity, value, and inspiration of all those who have made this project possible.

The narratives displayed here combine different technological tools that allow us to get to know our written past through multiple channels. Visitors can interact with: 9 original documents from 4 different archives, 21 facsimiles from 7 countries, 18 digital reproductions of documents from 6 countries, displayed in interactive booths, 1 quiz game for people who love challenges, 1 memory matching game to encourage observation, 1 infinite running game to reward speed by catching archival documents, 1 interactive RPG game to learn how to work on an archive, 4 augmented reality experiences to explore parallel worlds and videos presenting the project and its merchandising products!

Through the selection of 44 documents from the archives that participate in the project, European migrations are narrated from a historical perspective. In a Europe that is currently facing one of its most important migration crises, the relevance of this exhibition is key. The narrative has been structured through three thematic pillars: Work-related Migration; War- related Migration; Political Uprising, Turmoil and Persecution.

The stories combine different tools and technological solutions, with which the public will be able to access the written past through multiple channels that will allow them to experiment, play, learn and share, with that unique ability that documents have to tell personal stories (letters, images, boarding passes, visas, certificates, etc.) behind the European migration figures.

The opening was chaired by Severiano Hernández Vicente, Head of the Spanish State Archives, by María Oliván, Head of the Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents Unit of the European Commissio, by Manuel Melgar, Director of the Documentary Centre of the Historical Memory, and by María Encarnación Pérez Álvarez, Government Sub-delegate in Salamanca. It was also attended by representatives of the University of Salamanca, of different archives of the province of Salamanca, by the members of the ‘European Digital Treasures’ project and a representation of the Spanish State Archives.

The exhibition can be visited until March 13^th, 2022 in Spain, with capacity restrictions and hygiene and safety measures established by health authorities to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Practical information: https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/cultura/areas/archivos/mc/archivos/cdmh/portada.html

Written by Spanish State Archives.

November 18, 2021November 22, 2021

Opening of the exhibition “Exiles, migratory flows and solidarity” at the Archives House (Norway)

After more than two years of work in the preparation of the three transmedia exhibitions included in the European Digital Treasures project, on 12^th of November, the exhibition Exiles, migratory flows, and solidarity was successfully opened at the Archives House (Norway).

This exhibition is the outcome of the European cooperation, a clear example of the combination of the capacities, heritage, diversity, value, and inspiration of all those who have made this project possible.

The narratives displayed here combine different technological tools that allow us to get to know our written past through multiple channels. Visitors can interact with digital reproductions of documents from nine European countries, a quiz game for people who love challenges, a memory matching game to encourage observation, an infinite running game to reward speed by catching archival documents, an interactive RPG game to learn how to work on an archive, three augmented reality experiences to explore parallel worlds and two videos presenting the project! On display are also merchandising products created by professional designers, inspired by the documents presented in the Digital Treasures exhibitions.

The opening ceremony was led by the National Archivist of Norway, Inga Bolstad. Afterwards, Ole Gausdal, who has been responsible for curating the exhibition, did a guided tour for the guests.

The opening was attended by the General director of the Book, Archives and Libraries of Portugal, Silvestre Lacerda and the Deputy Director of the Spanish State Archives, Severiano Hernández and members of the ‘European Digital Treasures’ project from the National Archives of Hungary, Malta, Spain, Portugal and from ICARUS. From Norway there were many invited guests from the National Archives of Norway and local and regional heritage institutions.

The exhibition can be visited until January 30^th, 2022, in Norway. The same exhibition will open in Salamanca, Spain on 25^th November 2021. Later, in 2022, it will open in Hungary, Portugal, Malta, and Austria.

Written by the National Archives of Norway

Some members of the team of the European Digital Treasures project.

September 7, 2021November 17, 2021

The Papal recognition of the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem in 1113

At around 1048 the Fatimid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah gave permission to some merchants from the Republic of Amalfi to build a hospital in Jerusalem. The community, which was led by Blessed Gerard, ran the hospital and became independent during the First Crusade in around 1099. This was the origin of the Knights Hospitaller.

This Bull, issued by Pope Paschal II on 15^th January 1113, is considered to be the founding charter of the hospital. It transformed what was a community of pious men into an institution within the church. By virtue of this document, the Pope officially recognized the existence of the new organisation as an integral and operative part of the Roman Catholic Church.

Papal Bull 1113 – National Library of Malta.

In it, the Pope formally recognized the foundation of the hospital, which became a lay-religious order under the sole patronage of the church. The Bull gave the right to elect its Grand Masters without interference from external authorities.

The Bull includes a list of the Order’s hospitals and hospices in France and Italy, indicating that it was not limited to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and that it already had a European dimension.

This document, from the National Library of Malta, forms part of The Construction of Europe, one of the three transmedia exhibitions developed by the European Digital Treasures project.

Leonard Callus, Head Office National Archives of Malta

August 25, 2021November 17, 2021

Merchandising products: soap gift set “Colóquio dos simples”

We introduce a new merchandising product developed for the project “European Digital Treasures”. It’s a set of soaps whose fragrances and properties are inspired by the plants, colours and textures of the west coast of India.

Every soap bar was produced using plants identified and described by Garcia de Orta in one of his 59 colloquies that constitute his work “Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs, and Medicinal Things of India, and on some fruits found there, where some things of practical medicine and other things good to know are addressed”, published in Goa, in April 10^th, 1563. For each plant, the author, a Portuguese physician and botanist or naturalist, born in 1501, registered: the names in Portuguese, Greek, Latin, Sanscrit, Arabic and in several local dialects; the origin – the places where they spontaneously grew or were cultivated; the markets where they could be found; their characteristics, therapeutic uses and the way of administration.

All this knowledge was gathered and organized by Garcia de Orta over a period of more than thirty years spent in India. He left for India in March 12^th, 1534 as the physician of the Captain-Major of the Sea of India, Martim Afonso de Sousa, whom he accompanied for four years, in campaigns on sea and land on the west coast of India, that took him from Diu to Ceylon and to the coast of Cambay. Orta went on an expedition to the region of Gujarat, was in the ports of northern India as well as inland, crossing the peninsula of Kathiawar, from Diu to Ahmedabad. He visited Concan, Canara and Malabar. At the end of 1538, Martim Afonso de Sousa returned to Portugal and Garcia de Orta stayed in Goa. He was the physician of viceroys, royal governors and Indian potentates. Orta was also a merchant, namely of drugs or of products of a medical nature, and owned his own ship.

This work by Garcia de Orta was selected for “Exhibition no. 3, The European Discoveries: From the New World to New Technologies“, organized for the project “European Digital Treasures”.

The document’s complete description, produced by the archive that holds it, the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, is available online and can be accessed here.

This new merchandising product was created by the Portuguese designers Diogo Bessa, Mário Fonseca and Ana Catarina Silva, of the School of Design of the Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave (IPCA), and the several stages of the process of creation and development are shown in this video.

Lucília Runa, Senior Archivist / E-administration and innovation, General Directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries, Portugal

Ana Isabel Fernandes (trad.), Senior Technician / Communication Office, Torre do Tombo National Archive, General Directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries, Portugal

July 21, 2021July 21, 2021

European discoveries: from the new world to new technologies. Inauguration of one of the exhibitions of the European Digital Treasures project!

After more than two years of hard work, one of three transmedia exhibitions planned in the scope of the European Digital Treasures project will be open in Lisbon under the title European Discoveries: from the new world to new technologies. The event will take place at Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, on 22^nd of July 2021.

The idea of “discovery” – of exploring the unknown, of finding and trying new things, of creating new objects and artefacts, from innovative to conventional challenges – has been a constant in human and European history.

Over the centuries, its pursuit has united lands and peoples of various European nations in common endeavours. The story of the development of science and technological progress is truly a chapter of international cooperation in the history of Europe.

As the documents in this exhibition so clearly show, discoveries happened in Europe in the most diverse contexts, involving people from many different countries, in all historical periods: from isolated individual ventures to collective and even national undertakings; from the silence and comfort of a library to the controlled chaos of a construction site or a mine; from princely courts to artisans’ workshops. The protagonists and agents of these discoveries were a cross-section of European society. One finds famous intellectuals and anonymous craftsmen; highly skilled academics and almost illiterate sailors; aristocrats and workers, people from all countries and all levels of society.

While some of these documents refer to famous episodes and people who have become famous, others relate to stories that are much less known and almost forgotten. The variety of types of documents in this exhibition also confirms the variety of themes and contexts in which the desire to discover was exercised. One can find letters, books, photographs, X-ray images, drawings, manuscripts, printed leaflets, maps, reports, patent applications and much more, from the early Middle Ages to the 20^th century.

Preserving the memory of the world of discoveries and inventions, of scientific progress and technological advances, is to protect one of the most characteristic elements of European identity and heritage.

The exhibition is organised around three pillars:

1 – Medicine
2 – Energy and Industry
3 – Transport and Navigation

Letters, consultations and more works of Alexandre de Gusmão: The aerostatic machine of Father Bartolomeu de Guerreiro
PT/TT/MSLIV/1011

The visitors can interact with:

9 original documents from Torre do Tombo
34 digital reproductions of documents from eight countries distributed by interactive exhibitors
3 documents that allow the visitors to experience augmented reality technology
3 video games
2 videos presenting the project and its merchandising products

The National Archive of Torre do Tombo is a central state archive of national scope. It holds a diverse universe of archival heritage, including original documents from the 9^th century to the present day, in a wide variety of media, fulfilling its main mission to safeguard, enhance and disseminate this heritage.

Torre do Tombo is one of Portugal’s oldest institutions. Since its installation in one of the towers of S. Jorge Castle in Lisbon, in the 14^th century, until 1755, it served as the Archives of the king, his vassals, the administration of the kingdom and overseas possessions, also keeping the documents resulting from relations with other kingdoms.

On 1^st November 1755, the tower collapsed during an earthquake. The documentation was collected from the rubble and temporarily kept in a wooden hut. On 26^th and 27^th of August 1757, it was transferred to the São Bento da Saúde Monastery located in the west of the city.

In 1990 the archive was transferred again, this time to a new building, built from scratch to house the National Archive, located on the perimeter of the university city of Lisbon and classified as national heritage since 2012. With a floor area of 54 235m², it has seven floors, four of which are for storerooms that house 140 linear km of shelving. From around 35 linear km of documentation when it was transferred to the new building, it has now reached the present day with around 100 linear km.

It is therefore in this magnificent building guarded by its 8 majestic gargoyles that the European Digital Treasures project will take place!

Written by DSIEQ/DGLAB

July 6, 2021July 6, 2021

Merchandise product: Regiment of the declination of the sun

We present another design product inspired by the documents chosen for transmedia exhibitions of the European Digital Treasures project.

Its creators are the designers Diogo Bessa, Mário Fonseca and Ana Catarina Silva, from the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave.

Regiment of the declination of the sun, 1564

The source of inspiration for this product was the “Regiment of the declination of the sun which goes in letters that mean the name of Sir Fernão Lopes Martins Freire de Andrade and his daughter Lady Isabel Freire“, whose holder is Torre do Tombo, the National Archive of Portugal. This Portuguese document from 1564 is a type of nautical document, from the age of discoveries, intended to allow the calculation of the vessel’s latitude to its pilots. Thus, they had, for each day of the year, the necessary corrections to compensate for the sun’s declination when measuring their meridian height.

The illuminated capital letters and marbled endpapers of the binding inspired the drawings of the new merchandise product, an écharpe, presented in a transparent envelope, which is 100% recycled material, containing contextual information about the document that inspired it and about the National Archive of Torre do Tombo.

The following video presents the various stages of the creation and development process of this product.

ÉCHARPE, Portugal, Designers Diogo Bessa; Mário Fonseca; Ana Catarina Silva

Written by Mário Sant’Ana, Senior Technician / E-administration and innovation and
Ana Isabel Fernandes (trad.), Senior Technician / Communication Office,
Torre do Tombo National Archive,
General Directorate of Books, Archives and Libraries, Portugal

June 30, 2021June 30, 2021

Opening of the exhibition “The Construction of Europe” at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Spain)

After more than two years of work in the preparation of the three transmedia exhibitions included in the European Digital Treasures project, yesterday, 29^th of June, the first one, The Construction of Europe – History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1000 Years, was successfully opened at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Spain).

The narratives displayed here combine different technological tools that allow us to get to know our written past through multiple channels. Visitors can interact with: 8 original documents from 4 different archives, 20 facsimiles from 7 countries, 22 digital reproductions of documents from 6 countries, displayed in interactive booths, 1 quiz game for people who love challenges, 1 memory matching game to encourage observation, 1 infinite running game to reward speed by catching archival documents, 1 interactive RPG game to learn how to work on an archive, 4 augmented reality experiences to explore parallel worlds and videos presenting the project and its merchandising products!

During yesterday’s morning, there was a presentation for the media and, later, after the opening ceremony, a representative of the National Archives of Hungary, Zoltán Szatucsek, responsible for curating the exhibition, did a guided tour for the guests.

The opening was chaired by María Dolores Jiménez-Blanco, general director of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Spain; by Silvestre Lacerda, general director of the Book, Archives and Libraries of Portugal on behalf of the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union; and by María Oliván, head of the Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents Unit of the European Commission. It was also attended by the members of the ‘European Digital Treasures’ project from the National Archives of Norway, Hungary and Malta and a representation of the Spanish State Archives, led by Severiano Hernández, deputy director of the Spanish State Archives.

Additionally, the Archive of the Crown of Aragon also hosted a semi-virtual meeting of the European Archives Group (EAG). The first meeting of this group since 2019.

The exhibition can be visited until October 29^th, 2021 in Spain, with capacity restrictions and hygiene and safety measures established by health authorities to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical information: http://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/archivos-aca/destacados/expo-digital-treasures.html

Written by Spanish State Archives

June 10, 2021January 23, 2023

The EDT-Exhibition Welcome Video

Starting from the end of June 2021 in Barcelona the three transmedia exhibitions start all over Europe and will last till October 2022. The basic idea of the project team was to welcome visitors to the individual exhibitions by means of a short video clip and to present and summarise the exhibition concept as it were in a nutshell. This video will greet visitors during the exhibitions on TV screens mounted overhead and, as it were, convey a first impression.

You can watch the video here (English).

On the one hand, the participating institutions are presented, which make the exhibited documents available; on the other hand, a selection of documents that is as diverse as possible symbolises each individual thematic focus of the exhibition (The Making of Europe – Exile, Migration Flows and Solidarity – European Inventions and Discoveries). Each participating institution is represented by three documents, with each document explained with a short title and dating. In addition, the welcome video also provides an overview of the timetable of the exhibitions in the different countries.

To meet the needs of local visitors, no less than seven language versions of the video have been produced, namely in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Maltese, Hungarian and German.

In addition to the above-mentioned area of application, it is also planned to use this video, accompanied by a background melody, as a general presentation medium for the EDT project, a kind of business card for the project.

Written by Dr. Karl HEINZ, MAS,
Science & Strategy
ICARUS – International Centre for Archival Research

May 12, 2021May 12, 2021

The Construction of Europe: The first exhibition of the European Digital Treasures project to be opened

After more than two years of work in the preparation of the three transmedia exhibitions included in the European Digital Treasures project, we are approaching the opening of the first of them, The construction of Europe – History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1000 Years, that will take place next June 29^th2021 at the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Spain).

Works of Seneca, 14th century. Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Spain)

This exhibition tells the story of Europe along with its construction as a concept, which has changed over time. Created and shaped by the people who lived there, it also provides a collective identity for its inhabitants.

The exhibition, built on 50 documents grouped into 4 ‘pillars’, examines the common history of Europe under the following headings:

1: The Spirit of Europe.
2: The Diversity of Europe.
3: The Multiple Faces of Christianity.
4: The Heritage of Enlightenment.

Different transmedia interactive products have been created (4 videogames, 1 edutainment app, digital catalogues, augmented reality technology) to tell the stories of our shared past to the public – to young and old, to history enthusiasts and expert historians, to unexpected and anticipated user communities of archives.

Viceroys’ Palace. Archive of the Crown of Aragon (Spain)

It is very significant that the venue of this first exhibition regarding the construction of Europe is the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, which is one of the oldest archival institutions in Europe and considered to hold one of the largest and most valuable document collections of medieval Europe. In March 2015 it was awarded the European Heritage Label by the European Commission due to the role it has played in the history and culture of Europe. This distinction is only held by 48 institutions throughout Europe.

The Archive of the Crown of Aragon is a state-owned archive that is managed directly by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain and it brings together more than seven centuries of history between its walls.

The purpose of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon is to safeguard, preserve, organise and divulge the documentation which, proceeding from different institutions, has been building up in its repositories over seven centuries and now belongs to the Spanish Historical Heritage.

The Archives of the Crown of Aragon contain documents of the Counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon dating from the 9th to the 18th century as well as other documents from various civil and ecclesiastic bodies. The Archive was created by a royal decision of Jaime II of Aragon in 1318 in the premises of the Royal Palace, situated in Plaza del Rey.

Since 1853 the Palace of the Viceroy has been the headquarters of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. It was built between 1549 and 1557 by master Antoni Carbonell, and it is listed in the Historical and Artistic Buildings Index of Barcelona, and as a National Monument. Its origins lie in a decree of the Cortes held by Emperor Carlos V at Monzón in 1547 creating this extension to the Palacio Real Mayor as the seat of the Viceroy of Catalonia.

The Palace of the Viceroy was restored in 2006 and since it reopened after renovation works in January 2007, it has been used for teaching, specialist research and educational activities, with guided visits to the historic areas and the temporary exhibition room, where the history of the Archive and its collections are explained. It also has a Teaching Room for workshops and training courses and a Conference Room with seating for 120 people.

Text: Spanish State Archives

April 28, 2021April 28, 2021

The impact of COVID-19 on the Digital Treasures exhibitions

The archival treasures, documents and records kept by the archives around the world lie in their peaceful places in their cases, boxes or folders in those never-ending mysterious storage rooms. Our exhibitions mean that the history itself is brought to life. When an exhibition is set up, the archival records are being carefully digitised or taken out and are prepared by professional restorers to be displayed to the public. In presenting these records for cultural, educational purposes – some of them being many hundred years old – the exhibitions play a particularly important role.

Heritage of a Nation – Landmarks of Hungarian History exhibition opening in August 2020, Budapest, Hungary. Credits: Zsuzsanna Lantos, National Archives of Hungary

When we think about the recently erupted epidemic, it is hard to miss its impact on the cultural sector. Last year new exhibitions were planned and opened just to be closed right after opening and it has been a new experience for all of us to cope with the challenges that have been triggered by COVID-19. The pandemic has disrupted traditional working practices in the sector, making the digital transformation of cultural heritage institutions more important than ever. However, these challenges resulted in many positive changes that might have been delayed if the pressure of digitisation had not come in waves. The digital strategies have drastically changed and we had to keep focus on what is important.

The main aim of the exhibitions is to make the archival material available to the citizens of the world, families, students, travellers, art enthusiasts, pensioners and so on, to help them get closer to their roots, their history and cultural heritage. These records are the base of every nation’s history involved and should be made available for everyone who is curious enough to observe and understand them. Though our physical exhibitions remained closed, the digital world has opened new windows in exhibition planning. Some of the main challenges were preparing teams for working with digital technologies, a budget, preparing factors for choosing a direction for further activities and through it all, most importantly keeping good health in the focus. Virtual exhibitions have emerged, the digitisation of archival records has accelerated, archival educational material was prepared for the online classes. Social media became the main event space for openings, virtual book launch events and workshops. Our digital content has grown rapidly and as a result, our institutions became more transparent and accessible to the public.

In the framework of the European Digital Treasures project, three exhibitions are being prepared. The archival digitisation processes in the partner countries have worked effectively, but COVID-19 has caused some serious impacts on the exhibition’s physical openings in some countries. The crisis has directly implied the delay in the opening of the exhibitions; the first exhibition of the project is ‘The Construction of Europe’, it will finally open in late June, 2021 at the Archives of the Crown of Aragon, Spain and will be the first exhibition to start the series of exhibitions of the European Digital Treasures project.

All measures considered, the archives have adapted their facilities to guarantee the protection of both workers and citizens who access them. All institutes are currently working on a plan that will allow the safest way of engaging in exhibitions after reopening.

Author: Anna Palcsó, Public Education Officer, National Archives of Hungary