AVMCI

The Project

On the symbolical date of 27 January 2010, the 65th return of the Liberation of the Concentration Camp of Auschwitz – the internationally renown media artist and curator Wilfried Agricola de Cologne launched SFC -Shoah Film Collection – an independent art project and international initiative addressed to young generations of artists and filmmakers to deal with the topic of Shoah (Holocaust) and collective trauma caused by totalitarianism by using new technologies and contemporary approaches in order to keep vivid the memory of humanity through sensitizing via art. Meanwhile an outstanding collection of experimental and documentary art film & videos contributed by more than 60 artists from 14 countries was raising.

It is not the first time that Agricola de Cologne was dealing with the Holocaust. When he started after the fall of the Wall in Berlin (1989) his first mobile memorial project “A Living Memorial Spaces of Art” to be launched in 1995 on occasion of the 50th return of the end of World War II as his personal contribution for the reconciliation between Germans & Jews and German & Polish people, the time of the technology and media development was not yet mature enough for realizing his ideas for incorporating movement in this contemporary art project. Standing under the Patronage of the late President of Central Jewish Council of Germany, Ignatz Bubis, this mobile memorial was installed until 1998 43 times in Poland, Czech Republic & Germany.

While young generations are not affected directly any more 70 years after the historical Holocaust, they are confronted currently instead of this with the global wide phenomena of terror, violence, persecution and expulsion which have their roots in the same kind of insane ideology causing the Holocaust. Understanding them these days means understanding the Holocaust 70 years ago.

But the Holocaust is not only standing as a symbol for death and destruction, but also as the victory of humanity. So, keeping vivid the memory of the Holocaust means always to keep vivid the memory of humanity for future generations. The Holocaust must not happen again, neither in Rwanda, nor Middle East, nor Latin America nor elsewhere in the world. Never more!

From the beginning of mankind, art has been used as a medium for transporting individual and collective memory from the Past to the Present and Future. In these terms, especially since 2000, the new media technologies allow advanced forms of artistic expressions by involving the people, viewers or users more directly via audio-visual media and interactivity.

In 2012, SFC – Shoah Film Collection became the starting point for the expanded initiative CTF – Collective Trauma Film Collections dealing with collective trauma caused by totalitarianism worldwide, incorporating later in 2012 the collection of documentaries by young Cambodian film makers – Cambodia 1975-1979 – focussing on the genocide in Cambodia and the post genocide era until these days, a collaboration with Royal University of Phnom Penh, MetaHouse Phnom Penh, GIZ (Germany) and artvideoKOELN.

In order to make the Shoah Film Collection available to a wider audience, Wilfried Agricola de Cologne created an experimental event context, entitled: A Virtual Memorial – Commemorative Interventions which is placing SFC –Shoah Film Collection in the context of complementary interventions, such as lectures, exhibitions, a symposium, artists presentations, screenings performances of different kind and much more in order to start a discussion on many levels and activate the artists, as well as the audience.

After the first pilot project „ A Virtual Memorial Riga 2012“ – a collaboration between Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum and NOASS – The Latvian Video Art Archives and artvideoKOELN/Wilfried Agricola de Cologne, and the second one,„A Virtual Memorial Vilnius 2013“ – a collaboration between The Jewish Cultural Center Vilnius and State Gaon Jewish Museum Vilnius and artvideoKOELN/Wilfried Agricola de Cologne.

A Virtual Memorial Foundation & artvideoKOELN international
are cultural projects directed by Wilfried Agricola de Cologne.

The European Parliament took Patronage
over the manifestations of Shoah Film Collection in

A Virtual Memorial Riga 2012
http://riga2012.a-virtual-memorial.org

A Virtual Memorial Vilnius 2013
http://vilnius2013.a-virtual-memorial.org

A Virtual Memorial Warsaw 2013
http://warsaw2013.a-virtual-memorial.org

A Virtual Memorial Milan 2014
http://miland2014.a-virtual-memorial.org
also under the Patronage of
Milan Municipality (District 9)
Regional Municipality Lombardia,
Contemporary Documentation Center of Jewis Culture Foundation.