Territory of Terror Memorial Museum: saving Ukrainian museum collections

About the project

Thanks to the support of the EU and the selfless efforts by experts, the Territory of Terror Museum in Lviv was able to join the evacuation and provide temporary shelter with appropriate conditions to the collections from the Kyiv Art Gallery and the Luhansk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

The grant and technical assistance from the European Union allowed the Lviv museum to get the premises and staff ready for work under military threats. In particular, modern video surveillance and air purification systems were installed, roller shutters for windows in the museum and office premises to protect exhibits, equipment and workers from window glass fragments in case of close breaks, as well as power generators and uninterrupted power sources. Photographic equipment for duplicating/digitising the collections, heat-resistant cabinets to store graphic artworks, a variety of special packaging material and folders for the potential evacuation of artworks have been procured. In addition, during martial law, the museum premises became a place of heating and temporary stay of citizens in the cold season. Thus, additionally for this purpose, with the allocated funds, they have purchased thermos flasks, heaters and other vitals. Thanks to the support, technical re-equipment and extreme lessons learned, the Territory of Terror team is considering the possibility of becoming a guest exhibition platform for evacuated collections in the future, and later – for inviting museums of Ukraine to temporarily place their expositions or exhibitions in the museum premises.

Project timeline: April – November 2022

Project supported by

House of Europe is an EU-funded programme fostering professional and creative exchange between Ukrainians and their colleagues in EU countries and the UK. The programme focuses on different professional fields: culture and creative industries, education and youth work, social entrepreneurship, and media. This encompasses 20+ separate programme lines enabling to keep working despite the war, to carry out personal projects, or to enrol in courses, conferences, and internships in the EU and the UK. The programme funds cultural cooperation and literature translation between Ukraine and the EU and the UK, along with the revitalisation of cultural infrastructure. House of Europe supports the safeguarding of Ukrainian cultural heritage and the development of creative and educational start-ups. Various learning and matchmaking opportunities such as Digital Labs, workshops, discussions, conferences, and hackathons are offered.

Learn more: https://houseofeurope.org.ua/

The ALIPH Foundation (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas) is the main global fund exclusively dedicated to protecting cultural heritage that has become endangered during hostilities or after a conflict. ALIPH finances concrete projects carried out on the ground, hand-in-hand with local partners, authorities, and communities. From March 2022 to June 2023, with financial support also from the EU, ALIPH supported 310 cultural organisations in Ukraine.

Read more about the ALIPH Foundation: https://www.aliph-foundation.org/

Project implemented by

The memorial museum of totalitarian regimes – Territory of Terror – is a municipal organisation focused on research, understanding and presenting the tragic history pages of the middle of the 20th century in view of the today’s challenges. Among the its key focus areas are exhibitions and awareness projects, urban space artistic interventions, cooperation with subject-matter organisations in Ukraine and other countries, documenting oral historic testimonies about tragic events from the 1930s to the present. The museum is based in Lviv on the territory of the former ghetto (1941–1943) and Transit Prison No. 25 (1944–1955).

https://museumterror.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TerritoryTerror/