ABSTRACT
Museums all over the world are telling stories about suffering and conflict in order to contest injustice and create social change. Drawing on experiences from an exploratory project called Memory Mondays at t he Danish Welfare Museum, Stine Grønbæk Jensen demonstrates that museums can contribute to the aim of social justice, with something more than educating the public about social exclusion and injustice. Grønbæk Jensen demonstrates how museums can be powerful spaces for the very individuals and groups who have been subjects of exclusion and injustice; a space where they can make sense of and deal with distressing memories. More specifically, she illustrates how memories, feelings, imaginations and reflections were awakened at the museum and how some participants, during their visits, managed to build a stronger sense of self, regain trust in their own memories and even create some new images, where memories were absent before. At the same time, she argues that a focus on history, rather than healing, and an approach towards the participants as contributing experts, rather than receivers of help, can be empowering.
