that the names of the participating artists are still well celebrated internationally
in popular museums like the MoMa in New York and Tate Modern in London, it
is at least strange that this artistic manifestation has not been given a place within
the collective history of the city, let alone nationally or internationally.
In my research, I have investigated why there is such a lack of memory of Fo
rum, both locally, nationally and internationally. In this article, I will mainly focus
on the lack of 'local' memory. I aim to expose different characteristics and aspects
of Forum that show its importance in the context of the art scene in Middelburg
in the seventies and the early eighties. Having established its meaning and signifi
cance, I will describe its appreciation on local level, followed by signs that indicate
how Forum's memories currently manifest themselves on this level. In order to
create a substantial theoretical framework, I extensively dove into the discipline
of memory studies, a field which deals with 'the interplay of present and past in
220
The Art of Remembering Forum: the Local Memory
Marina Abramovic,
Lawrence Weiner,
Michelle Zaugg, Jill Puree,
Rémy Zaugg, Maria-Rosa
Boezem, Daniel Buren,
Thomas McEvilley, Ulay
and Maura Sheehan
during Forum en Scène,
Kuiperspoort Middelburg,
1984 (Collection of
Maria-Rosa and Marinus
Boezem, photographed by
Wim Riemens).
