Introduction

OVER THE PAST three decades, several cultural history museums in Europe and beyond have been trying to incorporate migrants and migration in their narratives, so as to include the history of migration in broader national stories. The collections supporting these narratives usually consist of tangible and intangible evidence, objects such as travel and identity documents, certificates of birth, marriage, or education, photos, books, clothes, and personal or domestic items, along with stories: memories from lands left behind, accounts of travel, and earlier trials. Pieces of luggage have been emblematic. Suitcases have become symbols of migration, of diaspora, of what it entails to leave home and go somewhere else, whether voluntarily or not. The aim of such exhibitions is usually twofold: first, they encourage or facilitate integration and inclusion by recognizing, highlighting, and appreciating newcomers’ contribution to their adopted land and society; second, they allow for the creation of new, more nuanced, and inclusive national histories.

Recent years have witnessed the publication of many works on migration and museums. Some have been the result of research programs. Others represent the outcome of a long-standing interest in the museum world, specifically regarding how, as museums, we inclusively represent the “Other” within our institutions. Despite focusing on exhibitions about the refugee “crisis,” this chapter does not seek to add to the long list of publications. It aims to contribute to the discussion on museums as institutions that have social responsibility and that are activist institutions that cannot remain inert and numb to contemporary social issues. Of the many exhibitions organized in Athens and Thessaloniki in 2016, two are used to illustrate how museums are already trying to shed their sluggish, structured ways, to become agile, responsive, activist institutions, ready to collaborate with unconventional partners, like humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). I argue that activism in museums needs to be put within a different framework to that which currently applies, suggesting instead that the “ethics of care” might provide a helpful theoretical framework for museums that would allow their activism to contribute to society in a real way. Therefore, this chapter is not about refugees and their inclusion in museums, but the author's reflections on how museums and heritage institutions might expand their role by supporting and engaging people in need, to become a platform for heritage discourse that is more attuned to the demands of contemporary societies.