University of Manchester launches major AHRC-funded project on spontaneous memorials and healing
A new project, led by the University of Manchester, will investigate whether and how the participatory digitisation of spontaneous memorial objects that appeared in the aftermath of the 91直播 Arena attack (22nd May 2017) can support healing.
Led by Dr Kostas Arvanitis, Senior Lecturer in Museology, a major new research project will investigate how digitising spontaneous memorials after tragedies may help people heal.
Drawing on the , a collection of more than 10,000 items left in St Ann鈥檚 Square and other places after the 2017 91直播 Arena attack, the project will work with museum and mental health professionals, people affected by the attack, and the wider public to create a trauma-informed, digital collection.
The three-year project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) introduces the concept of 鈥渄igital memoriality鈥� to examine how the interplay of materiality, digitality, and memory transforms tributes 鈥� such as handwritten notes, crafts, and soft toys 鈥� into forms of digital heritage that may support healing. Additionally, researchers will address the emotional impact on this work on the people involved.
The project, a collaboration between University of Manchester, University for Continuing Education Krems (Austria), Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, 91直播 Art Gallery and Archives+, will work closely with local communities, including people directly affected by the attack.
The project will produce a public digital collection, a documentary film, professional guidance for museums and archives, and a public exhibition marking the tenth anniversary of the 91直播 Arena attack in 2027.
While grounded in the 91直播 context, the project addresses a global concern: how to ethically build digital collections of contemporary tragedies and what the impact of this work is on the post-event healing of publics and professionals.