The conference will focus on monuments from the Soviet occupation period, paying particular attention to their ambiguous but significant place in the context of the cultural heritage of the recent Soviet past. Conference participants are invited to discuss these monuments not only as remnants of a past regime, but also as tangible and intangible heritage of the Soviet era and as historical evidence of the occupation, which should be included in the process of explaining and updating history.

The conference organisers invite applications from cultural heritage specialists, art scholars, artists, as well as historians, memory studies researchers, and scholars from other fields working on issues related to monuments as dissonant heritage.

Submission of applications: interested participants are invited to submit a summary of their paper (no more than 200 words) and a short biography by August 22, 2025 to: dissonantmonuments@gmail.com. Confirmation of participation in the conference will be sent by August 29, 2025.

The conference is organised by the Latvian Society of Art Historians and Curators in collaboration with the Art Academy of Latvia, the Latvian National Heritage Board, and the Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art. Conference working group: Ieva Astahovska, Rihards Pētersons, Jana Grostiņa, Dana Stuce.

More information at the Latvian Society of Art Historians and Curators website: https://ej.uz/dissonantmonuments.