Preface

In 2009, the tradition of periodic gatherings of Baltic art historians was reestablished with the conference The Geographies of Art History in the Baltic Region in Tallinn, followed by (Un)Blocked Memory: Writing Art History in the Baltic Countries in 2011 in Kaunas and Representing Art History in the Baltic Countries: Experiences and Prospects in 2016 in Riga.4 At the same time, conferences of the Kumu Art Museum have included speakers and topics from other Baltic countries, addressing their art histories either in the context of Eastern Europe or in comparison with the Nordic region5; Kumu has also initiated a research programme, Art in the Baltic States during the Soviet Period: Regional Characteristics and Defining Interactions.6 In the Institute of Art History and Visual Culture at the Estonian Academy of Arts, Margaret Tali's research project on remembering and communicating difficult pasts in the Baltics7, and Kädi Talvoja's research on Soviet-era Baltic triennials and biennials8 are only a few examples of the new interest in rethinking the (art historical) past and present of these countries. [...]through their geopolitical location at the intersection of the East, the West and the North, those histories are always connected and often these connections are manifested in practices. [...]the benefit of a comparison is not only knowledge gained about others, but equally importantly the new knowledge gained about oneself. [...]the potential of this regional art history is, as mentioned above, the opportunity to redesign and broaden the field of art historical research while inspiring each other and bringing forth themes and methodologies that draw a new map of cultural interconnections. Dovydaityté analyses curatorial practices dealing with the (Soviet) industrial past, focusing on the community platform Backup Stories at the M. K. Ciurlionis National Museum of Art in Kaunas and eloquently demonstrating the interrelations of historical and present worlds, material and immaterial heritage, individual and shared recollections, and the continuous memory work that always both reveals and shapes the past. 1 The programme of the seminar, introductions to the panels and videos of the presentations and discussions can be found at https://kumu.ekm.ee/en/syndmus/seminar-likeness-in-difference-perspectives-on-baltic-regional-art-history-seminar-sarnasus-erinevuses-balti-regionaalse-kunstiajaloo-perspektiivid/ (accessed 23.