ISS 25 (1995).pdf - The International Council of Museums

continent, but where the feeling of national identity is not a questionable
idea. As an emerging nation in the arena of economical growth, Brazil
faces today another kind of warfare: the problem of Power is not a
question of political boundaries and territories, it is a problem of social
boundaries and of the ownership of land and wealth. The unbalance of
Power is at the basis of social struggle, of death, corruption and
destruction of human values, in the core of Brazilian nationality. Three
case studies may be presented in order to approach the problem of
museums and museology, and their roles and relationships with different
communities, in different situations. In only one of these cases, there is a
Museum: a community based museum. In the two other cases, there are
no museums at stake, but no more than potato fields, a big river, and
what I would call an experiment of "popular museology", if one may
consider this possibility .. .
Not by coincidence, the three cases take place in the southern region of
the country, in an area of great rural properties and of small agricultural
farms, of highly developed industrial plants concentrated around rich
urban centres, of fast growing towns and of thousands of villages and
rural nuclei spread along the vast territory of fields and mountains. It is
not difficult to imagine the variety and the strength of social contrasts
one can find there (as in many other regions of Brazil). The great
majority of the population in this area has an European origin, chiefly
German and Italian, constituting the third or fourth generation of
descendants of the immigrants who came to this country since the second
half of the 19th century until early this century. The problem of identity
is a major point in the development of these communities, having still
strong links with their cultural roots but already merged in what we
could call the Brazilian cultural melting pot, and environment. In the last
8 years, I had the opportunity to work as a consultant and a partner in
three projects that may be seen as "case studies" for the discussion of the
role of museums and of cultural heritage in the life of people and of their
communities.
1. The "Schmitt-Presser" House
The place is New Hamburg, a rich town growing fast with the industry of
shoes production, exported all over the world. From its name one can
easily know the cultural origins of its population (around 300 thousand
people). After years of decay, an old house in the oldest quarter of the
town, the "Old Hamburg", has been restored by the local authorities and
protected under the list of national monuments, as a true example of the
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