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Gorée Memory Palace

Toumieux, Johanna Blanche Marguerite LU (2024) AAHM10 20241
Department of Architecture and Built Environment
Abstract (Swedish)
Gorée is a small island 2 kilometres off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, known as a significant location of the Transatlantic slave trade, and a destination for locals and tourists interested in the subject. From French colonial cultural policies to post-independence national discourses, several buildings on Gorée became places where memory was crystalised and publicised.
The most prominent being the House of Slaves, responsible for amplifying the symbolic discourse of African slaves transiting through the “Door of No Return” onto the international stage. Archaeological and historical findings point to a different history, but the narrative predominates to this day and sustains the tourist economy.
This thesis focuses on another significant... (More)
Gorée is a small island 2 kilometres off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, known as a significant location of the Transatlantic slave trade, and a destination for locals and tourists interested in the subject. From French colonial cultural policies to post-independence national discourses, several buildings on Gorée became places where memory was crystalised and publicised.
The most prominent being the House of Slaves, responsible for amplifying the symbolic discourse of African slaves transiting through the “Door of No Return” onto the international stage. Archaeological and historical findings point to a different history, but the narrative predominates to this day and sustains the tourist economy.
This thesis focuses on another significant heritage site in Gorée: the Governor’s Palace ruin. Its oceanfront location and good condition provide an opportunity to complement existing cultural structures by creating a different kind of Commemorative space - a Memory Palace dedicated to the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Different from a Museum or a Heritage site, the Memory Palace is turned towards an understanding of the past to enrich and inform contemporary culture. The approach consists of using the responsibility of Memory as an interactive substance: material to encounter, stories to experience and heritage to immerse ourselves in.
The outcome is for Memory to become a fuel for creative expression, a common ground for artists of different backgrounds to discuss, explore and struggle with a painful and oppressive past productively. Redefining the colonial Roume Palace as a Gorean cultural icon aims to be a gesture towards opening up the stage to different narratives, allowing visitors to travel through a Memory Palace bridging the space between the past and contemporary Senegalese culture. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Toumieux, Johanna Blanche Marguerite LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Revitalising the Roume Palace ruin on Gorée Island
course
AAHM10 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Colonial Heritage, Memory, Transatlantic Slave Trade
language
English
id
9155146
date added to LUP
2024-06-13 07:26:20
date last changed
2024-06-13 07:26:20
@misc{9155146,
  abstract     = {{Gorée is a small island 2 kilometres off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, known as a significant location of the Transatlantic slave trade, and a destination for locals and tourists interested in the subject. From French colonial cultural policies to post-independence national discourses, several buildings on Gorée became places where memory was crystalised and publicised.
The most prominent being the House of Slaves, responsible for amplifying the symbolic discourse of African slaves transiting through the “Door of No Return” onto the international stage. Archaeological and historical findings point to a different history, but the narrative predominates to this day and sustains the tourist economy.
This thesis focuses on another significant heritage site in Gorée: the Governor’s Palace ruin. Its oceanfront location and good condition provide an opportunity to complement existing cultural structures by creating a different kind of Commemorative space - a Memory Palace dedicated to the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Different from a Museum or a Heritage site, the Memory Palace is turned towards an understanding of the past to enrich and inform contemporary culture. The approach consists of using the responsibility of Memory as an interactive substance: material to encounter, stories to experience and heritage to immerse ourselves in.
The outcome is for Memory to become a fuel for creative expression, a common ground for artists of different backgrounds to discuss, explore and struggle with a painful and oppressive past productively. Redefining the colonial Roume Palace as a Gorean cultural icon aims to be a gesture towards opening up the stage to different narratives, allowing visitors to travel through a Memory Palace bridging the space between the past and contemporary Senegalese culture.}},
  author       = {{Toumieux, Johanna Blanche Marguerite}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Gorée Memory Palace}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}