Interdisciplinary public history interventions in DRR in Museums and schools in Quito
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Elisa Sevilla
Universidad San Francisco de Quito Ecuador
esevillap@usfq.edu.ec
Author(s):
María Elena Bedoya1 , María Antonieta Vásquez2 , Karina Barragán3 , María José Jarrín4 , Camilo Zapata5 , Marjorie Encalada6 and Wilson Ruiz7
1University Of Manchester, Malenabedoya@Yahoo.Com, GBR
2Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Mar_Ianto@Yahoo.Es, ECU
3Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Karibarragan@Hotmail.Com, ECU
4Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Majosejarrin@Gmail.Com, ECU
5Universidad San Francisco De Quito, Camilozapatatapia@Gmail.Com, ECU
6IG Escuela Politécnica Nacional, ECU
7Fundación Museos De La Ciudad, ECU
In this talk we will discuss the role of historical memory and art based imagination tools (art installations, podcasts, public history) in visualising the complexity of how risk is built for educational purposes. Formal and informal education normally targets the idea of preparedness in case of an event (earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption, etc.). We think there is a big opportunity for impact, if DRR education is targeted from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a narrative that draws from history and memory and that uses art (visual, musical, theatre) to communicate and visualise the past to imagine the past. The GCRF Tomorrow’s Cities Hub in Quito has partnered with the museums of Quito (Fundación Museos de la Ciudad) for this work. They are pioneers in adapting their activities towards different vulnerable communities that may be the most affected in the event of a disasterĶ¾ they work with social, neighbourhood and community organisations, women's groups, the elderly, children and adolescents, the educational community, people with disabilities and members of sexual dissidence and the GLBTIQ community. On the one hand, we will discuss how, through collaborative work and interdisciplinary dialogue, we have proposed interventions in the permanent exhibits that adapt to the thematic of each of three museums. In the Museo del Carmen Alto we approached risk from a dialogue with the religious culture of the city, the role of feminine figures of care and protection, and a reflection on political responsibility. In the Museo de la Ciudad we discuss the long history of human settlements and disaster risk in the Quito territory, and how through the city development we have managed, reduced risk or built more risk. Finally, in the Museo Interactivo de Ciencias, we discuss through maps, artistic interventions on soil core (in Spanish “testigo” or “witness”) and the physics behind building codes, the relationship between the development of the city and its subsoil. On the other hand, we will reflect on the opportunities that multimedia interactive digital platforms can have in schools together with the exhibits in the Museums to discuss risk and propose ways to avoid building more risk in the city we live in. Through a work with pilot schools we have developed a digital tool for use in schools so that teachers can use it for discussing risk in different subjects (history, social, mathematics, natural sciences, as well as art and language/literature).
Envisioning the future by learning from the past: arts and memory in interdisciplinary disaster risk reduction reserarch