Remembering Together: Collective Creative Responses to the Pandemic

How do we document, remember and memorialise the near past? This is the question that brings together the work in this exhibition. During the pandemic, many of us grappled with the idea that we were living through a moment in history. For arts organisations, artists, local authorities, and universities, this was important work. 

Remembering Together: collective creative responses to the pandemic explores how two separate projects chose to make sense of the pandemic, reflecting on how we as a society remember and honour traumatic times. 

The University of Stirling Pandemic Oral History Project

In 2020, the University of Stirling Archives, Art Collection and colleagues in History and Politics recognised the seismic moment in history that the pandemic would be, and in response created the pandemic archive which consists of material such as diaries, official communications, videos and images, along with an oral history of staff and students’ experiences. This project is explored in the film ‘An Unusual Period of Unspecified Length’, which will be displayed in the exhibition. 

The Remembering Together Project

In 2023, each local authority in Scotland was tasked with commissioning an artist to work with communities to create a memorial to Covid-19. Artists worked with communities, holding space to connect, reflect and create together to honour those lost and acknowledge the ways in which covid is still affecting us. The memorials that were created range from physical objects such as tartan or bells to events and spaces, questioning our assumptions about what a memorial is. A selection from the projects will be on display here for the first time. 

About Human Experience

Each academic year, all of the Art Collection’s exhibitions, events and workshops are directly inspired by one of the University research themes.  In 2024-25 our chosen focus Human Experience will examine topics such as displacement, climate change, social deprivation and covid-19, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit and our ability to continue to create art through and about troubling times.

For details of outreach events being run alongside this theme and further information look on our what’s on page.

The Pathfoot Gallery is free to visit and open to all. See our further information about access and getting here.