12-13 June 2025
Spontaneous Memorials: Contemporary Perspectives on their sociocultural, psychological and organisational impact
A two-day international conference, bringing together researchers, practitioners, artists and musicians
Conference Programme
Thursday 12th June 2025, Simon Building – note, parallel panels for day 1
09.00
Registration and coffee, Simon Building 3.44a
09.30
Welcome and Introduction, Simon Building 3.44a
09.45
Plenary Panel (Sudhesh Dahad, Jenny Marsden, Cristina Sánchez-Carretero, Robert Simpson, and Shona Whitton; Chaired by Ana Milosevic), Simon Building 3.44a
10.30
Break
Social, Political and Institutional Narratives of Spontaneous Memorials
10.50
Chair: Katharina Karcher
Amy Batley, The potential of urban community narratives in spontaneous memorials after terrorism (REMOTE)
Sakshi Awasthi, From Spontaneous Memorials to Collective Memory: Curatorial, Social and Psychological Impacts of the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial in Kutch, Bhuj, Gujarat, India.
Cristian Monforte Rubia, Spontaneous memorials and identity conflicts: the impact of identity tensions on the expression of popular emotion after the 2017 Barcelona attacks
Amy Batley, The potential of urban community narratives in spontaneous memorials after terrorism (REMOTE)
Sakshi Awasthi, From Spontaneous Memorials to Collective Memory: Curatorial, Social and Psychological Impacts of the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial in Kutch, Bhuj, Gujarat, India.
Cristian Monforte Rubia, Spontaneous memorials and identity conflicts: the impact of identity tensions on the expression of popular emotion after the 2017 Barcelona attacks
Case Study: Spontaneous Memorialisation in the Aftermath of the Grenfell Tower Fire
10.50
Chair: Margaret Holloway
Megan McCormick and Dimitra Ntzani, Tracing the Rhizomes of Trauma: Psychogeographies of protest and grief in Grenfell Tower Commemoration
Cathy Long and Lisa Nash, Memorialising Grenfell; Listening to the Silence, Capturing the Anger
Matt Hogan, Memorials In The Moment: Lessons from Grenfell for Emergency Management
Megan McCormick and Dimitra Ntzani, Tracing the Rhizomes of Trauma: Psychogeographies of protest and grief in Grenfell Tower Commemoration
Cathy Long and Lisa Nash, Memorialising Grenfell; Listening to the Silence, Capturing the Anger
Matt Hogan, Memorials In The Moment: Lessons from Grenfell for Emergency Management
12.20
Lunch
Installation: Tanja Hollander, Mourning Flowers / Flower Sleeve
Installation: Tanja Hollander, Mourning Flowers / Flower Sleeve
Psychological Impact of Spontaneous Memorials
13.30
Chair: Jan Seidler Ramirez
Louisa Blight, “Families First”: The Impact of Spontaneous Memorials in the Aftermath of the 2021 Plymouth Shootings (REMOTE)
Maëlle Bazin, Psychological impact of spontaneous memorials: the researcher’s emotional commitment and distancing strategies (REMOTE)
Jen Kavanagh and Kostas Arvanitis, The impact of collecting spontaneous memorials on the mental wellbeing of the record-keeping workforce
Louisa Blight, “Families First”: The Impact of Spontaneous Memorials in the Aftermath of the 2021 Plymouth Shootings (REMOTE)
Maëlle Bazin, Psychological impact of spontaneous memorials: the researcher’s emotional commitment and distancing strategies (REMOTE)
Jen Kavanagh and Kostas Arvanitis, The impact of collecting spontaneous memorials on the mental wellbeing of the record-keeping workforce
Activism, Protest and Creativity in Spontaneous Memorialisation
13.30
Chair: Dimitra Ntzani
Stepan Stepanenko and Alina Yarova, Grief, Protest, and Power: Exploring Spontaneous and Organised Memorials in the Context of War and Hostage Crises
Sayan Parial, “Night is Ours”: A Bricoleur of Affect, Activism, and Aesthetics
Binar Asri Lestari and Syifa Adiba, Justice in the Shadows: Aksi Kamisan as Indonesia’s Resilience Memorial
Katharina Karcher, Fighting for spaces of memory, fighting for change –spontaneous memorials in the aftermath of the Hanau shootings in 2020
Stepan Stepanenko and Alina Yarova, Grief, Protest, and Power: Exploring Spontaneous and Organised Memorials in the Context of War and Hostage Crises
Sayan Parial, “Night is Ours”: A Bricoleur of Affect, Activism, and Aesthetics
Binar Asri Lestari and Syifa Adiba, Justice in the Shadows: Aksi Kamisan as Indonesia’s Resilience Memorial
Katharina Karcher, Fighting for spaces of memory, fighting for change –spontaneous memorials in the aftermath of the Hanau shootings in 2020
15.05
Break
Spontaneous Memorialisation and/in Digital Media
15.30
Chair: Shona Whitton
Nilsu Erkul, Remembrance Beyond Barriers: Facebook Groups as Spontaneous Memorials for Varosha’s Displaced Communities
Shanshan Wu, Vlogging as Spontaneous Memorial: Transcultural Narratives of Chinese Students in the UK During COVID-19
Vicki Leibowitz and Cristina Garduño Freeman, Bus stops and Bedrooms: Digital Practices of Spontaneous Memorialisation in War-torn Ukraine
Nilsu Erkul, Remembrance Beyond Barriers: Facebook Groups as Spontaneous Memorials for Varosha’s Displaced Communities
Shanshan Wu, Vlogging as Spontaneous Memorial: Transcultural Narratives of Chinese Students in the UK During COVID-19
Vicki Leibowitz and Cristina Garduño Freeman, Bus stops and Bedrooms: Digital Practices of Spontaneous Memorialisation in War-torn Ukraine
The Sound and Music of Spontaneous Memorialisation
15.30
Chair: Binar Asri Lestari
Katelyn Hearfield, “The Songs That We Sing”: Collective Processing and Affective Labor after the Manchester Arena Bombing (Pre-recorded)
Anne Whitehead, Sounding the Angel: Recording the Grassroots Memorial at the Angel of the North
Heather Sparling, Cartographies of Vicarious and Disenfranchised Grief: Intangibly Memorializing the 2020 Nova Scotia Mass Shooting in Song
Katelyn Hearfield, “The Songs That We Sing”: Collective Processing and Affective Labor after the Manchester Arena Bombing (Pre-recorded)
Anne Whitehead, Sounding the Angel: Recording the Grassroots Memorial at the Angel of the North
Heather Sparling, Cartographies of Vicarious and Disenfranchised Grief: Intangibly Memorializing the 2020 Nova Scotia Mass Shooting in Song
17.00
End of Presentations
17.15
Drinks Reception, Martin Harris Centre
18.00
Introduction and Live Performance: Kevin Malone and Adam Swayne, Fence, photograph, pandemic, piano: The Makeshift Music of Sudden Memorials (Adam Swayne appears with support from The Ida Carroll Trust). Martin Harris Centre
19.00
End of Day 1
Friday 13th June 2025, Simon Building
08.30
Registration and coffee
09.00
Welcome
Collecting, Documenting, and Managing Spontaneous Memorials
09.10
Chair: Ana Milosevic
Stephanie Gibson and Shannon Wellington, Beyond the First Wave: Understanding the Ebb and Flow of Trauma Collections (pre-recorded)
Matthew Jago and Karen Hampton, Hillcrest Primary School Tragedy (pre-recorded)
Gretchen Abuso, Spontaneous Reminders of Disaster: The Case of Typhoon Washi in the Philippines (REMOTE)
Stephanie Gibson and Shannon Wellington, Beyond the First Wave: Understanding the Ebb and Flow of Trauma Collections (pre-recorded)
Matthew Jago and Karen Hampton, Hillcrest Primary School Tragedy (pre-recorded)
Gretchen Abuso, Spontaneous Reminders of Disaster: The Case of Typhoon Washi in the Philippines (REMOTE)
10.40
Break
Theoretical Frameworks and Practical Guidance in Managing Spontaneous Memorials
11.00
Chair: Anne Whitehead
Margaret Holloway, Theorising Spontaneous Memorials: towards a framework
Hannah Jones, Mike Rogers and David Morris, Rapid Response Collecting: developing practical guidance for the archives sector
Kostas Arvanitis and Robert Simpson, PLAN – CARE – HEAL: A conceptual and operational framework for collecting and managing spontaneous memorials
Margaret Holloway, Theorising Spontaneous Memorials: towards a framework
Hannah Jones, Mike Rogers and David Morris, Rapid Response Collecting: developing practical guidance for the archives sector
Kostas Arvanitis and Robert Simpson, PLAN – CARE – HEAL: A conceptual and operational framework for collecting and managing spontaneous memorials
12.30
Lunch
Installation: Samuel Yves, Fragments of Paris: Spontaneous Tributes after November 13
Installation: Samuel Yves, Fragments of Paris: Spontaneous Tributes after November 13
The Long-Term Life of Spontaneous Memorials
13.45
Chair: Kostas Arvanitis
Nicole Sully, Flowers on Elm: Spontaneous memorials following the assassination of John F. Kennedy (REMOTE)
Melissa Barthelemy, We Remember Them: The Use of Artifacts from the May 23, 2014 Isla Vista Memorial Archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara (REMOTE)
Jan Seidler Ramirez, Prolonging Impermanence and Pushback to Permanence: Two Cases at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum Memorial
Nicole Sully, Flowers on Elm: Spontaneous memorials following the assassination of John F. Kennedy (REMOTE)
Melissa Barthelemy, We Remember Them: The Use of Artifacts from the May 23, 2014 Isla Vista Memorial Archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara (REMOTE)
Jan Seidler Ramirez, Prolonging Impermanence and Pushback to Permanence: Two Cases at the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum Memorial
15.15
Break
15.45
Keynote: Pam Schwartz, To What End? We remember but it’s not never again
16.45
Closing
17.00
End of Conference
Photo Gallery
