The Ledra Palace Project: Dealing with Difficult Heritage

The Ledra Palace project deals with the representation of difficult history in museums and investigates ways in which technology can help to overcome any obstacles this entails. Difficult heritage consists of elements of a past that are considered important but can also be contested and awkward. Especially in countries dealing with social or political conflict, such as Cyprus, it can be very challenging for museums to represent different layers of contested heritage and even help visitors negotiate difficult heritage. If we could think of one building that best exemplifies the troubled recent history of Cyprus that would be the

Ledra Palace Hotel. Once praised as the jewel of Cypriot modernity in the heart of its capital, now it is a crumbling dwelling accommodating the United Nations Peacekeeping Force next to the division line between the southern and the northern parts of Cyprus. Following an extensive archival research, as well as a layered and participatory collection of testimonials, the ‘Ledra Palace Museum’ will become, through the use of interactive media, an imaginary space where - without the practical and political restrictions of an actual museum - we can re-imagine, the future of museums that deal with difficult heritage.