About the Project
Over 100 older people from 7 European countries have worked with artists to make their life stories into Memory Boxes. These boxes are touring museums and galleries across Europe this year. On view together, they offer a fascinating mosaic of Europe's cultural heritage over the last 80 years. The exhibition is supported by a programme of performances, lectures and workshops.

Partners:

• Age Exchange Reminiscence Centre London, England
• Stadtteilzentrum Agathof, Kassel, Germany
• Department of Culture, Kotka, Finland
• Pere Tarres Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
• Czech Alzheimer Society, Prague, Czech Republic
• Foundation of Associations for Mutual Help, Cluj, Romania
• College of Social Work , Poznan, Poland

The Project So Far
The application to Culture 2000 was prepared by Pam Schweitzer, Co-ordinator European Reminiscence Network and Angelika Trilling from the Social Services Department, Kassel, Germany

In September 2004, all the partners met in London for a training and induction weekend, together with some of the artists responsible for creating the Memory Boxes with the older people in the different countries.

Between October 2004 and March 2005 Pam Schweitzer and Angelika Trilling have undertaken training in reminiscence arts for all the participating projects in their own countries.

Over the winter months, each participating organisation has created 20 Memory Boxes. Older people have worked over five or six sessions with artists who have received training in reminiscence to create Life Portraits based on their memories and their momentos.

Each Memory Box will have a short life story beside it and an explanation of the way the box was created by the artist and the older person. This will be in all the languages of the project so that visitors in every country can enjoy and understand the display.

In mid March all the partners will meet in Kassel, with ten of their Memory Boxes to create a combined exhibition. There will be a conference and practical workshops for the people of Kassel led by project partners and artists, plus a theatre performance by young people basing their play on the stories in the Kassel Memory Boxes.

Sponsors